Last week I posted an "Opportunity" tease regarding a Step-By-Step 6 Week Challenge. Today is an introduction to what you can expect from this six week experience. If you missed the post from last week, be sure to read it before continuing on below....Final Week & New Opportunity
As I said, this will be "starting the week of April 8, 2013 (on that Tues, 4/9/13), there will be a 6 week manageable and step by step (including workouts) Challenge for either the beginner or those in need of some hand holding to get past those obstacles that keep tripping them up along their journey to fitness (and/or fat loss). This is a great opportunity to get some shadow support, how to info and advice from someone who is not only educated on all aspects of the process and certified, but who has also been there and done that from every aspect of the journey!"
The difference in this 6 week challenge versus others is that there will be daily/weekly posts of instruction and assignments to get you on your way to achieving your fitness and/or fat loss goals without "dieting" or someone pushing or guilting you too hard too fast, but actually guiding you into making those lifestyle changes that will best benefit you on your journey! I am only doing this for 6 weeks because following these initial 6 weeks of "how to's" there will be a subsequent 6 weeks of the "next step" challenge to build on the habits you develop in these 6 weeks which will take you further down your journey!
Below is some foundational information to help you get your mind ready for what lies ahead on this 6 week progression. Tomorrow, I will post on Goals and how best to establish them so you can spend some days thinking about your journey thus far before getting started next week. Again, this is not one of those "challenges" where you have to "prepare" anything ahead of time as I will be giving you all of those steps along the way to get you ready for the 6 weeks to follow. At this time, and until next Tuesday, April 9th, you just need to get your mind cleared of past obstacles and get ready for an entirely new and very doable healthy lifestyle! Please sign up for the daily e-mails so you are sure to see all tips and steps along the way.
***
STRESS is one of the biggest obstacles anyone faces in trying to live, succeed, survive, etc., and it most definitely hinders all of us when trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle.Stress is the most common reason that people abandon their plans to change behavior. Stress depletes self-control, lowers feelings of self-efficacy, and decreases energy and motivation. Too much stress triggers negative emotions such as anxiety, anger, and sadness. When people feel bad, they look for ways to feel better. Coping with negative emotions is more important for most people than sticking to a lifestyle-modification program. The perceived future benefits of lifestyle modification can be overwhelmed by feelings of deprivation at the present time. (Tice, Bratslavsky, & Baumeister, 2001)
We will never be free from stress, but we can learn to better cope and manage the stresses and stressors in our daily lives. The first step is to recognize the stresses, stressors, and responses, forgive the past and move forward positively into the future understanding that mistakes will be made but with every step comes new opportunity to apply what we have learned and be better for it!
Below is an excerpt from The American Council on Exercise's Strategies for Behavior Modification Course:
"Willpower is the ability to ignore temporary pleasure or discomfort to pursue a longer term goal, and it is a biological function. It is a mind-body response, not a virtue. Anyone using willpower for long periods or for multiple tasks will have less resolve to make better choices. A review of the literature on self-control and decision-making abilities has shown that willpower is inherently limited Baumeister, 2003). That is, self-control depletes willpower in much the same way that exercise temporarily depletes physical power. Researchers have found that in experiments where people exert their willpower on one occasion, they have difficulty doing so a second time (Baumeister, 2003). This effect was discovered with all sorts of self-control tasks, such as avoiding tempting foods, suppressing emotions, and sticking with challenging problems. Using willpower is, in essence, using one’s rational side to control or dictate what the emotional side wants—and it is not really a fair fight, as emotions are a more powerful driver of decisions than reason. If clients set too many goals or have goals that are too large and imposing, they can, by force of will, maintain things for a short period. At the first sign of trouble, however—when they get stuck in traffic on the way home from work or have extra responsibilities in dealing with family matters—their resolve crumbles, and they get too worn out to maintain the new, difficult behaviors. Given that willpower is inherently limited, clients should have strategies to conserve it. Planning in advance for moments of weak self-control reinforces willpower when it is needed most. For example, when a client makes food choices when he or she is hungry or tired, the choices made are often of poor nutritional quality. A better strategy is to organize meals for the day in advance when the client has moments of greatest strength. Another effective strategy for conserving willpower is to think in advance about how to deal with specific obstacles as they arise. In a study on exercise and self-regulation, investigators found that people who wrote in a journal about how they would handle barriers to exercise were more likely to stick with an exercise program (Sniehotta et al., 2005). Another study found that journaling in advance about overcoming barriers helped people succeed at a challenging self-control task, even after a previous task had depleted their willpower (Webb & Sheeran, 2003)."
***
Why the info on stress and willpower? Because those are two of the biggest obstacles we face in trying to exchange bad habits for good. Starting out for some can seem easy, but then sticking to it is difficult. For others they know "all the right things to do," but just can't do them for very long. Others only think they know what to do and go along with whatever diet fad and fail because those fads are too strict and unhealthy to follow long-term. The cure for any of this is knowledge, balance, forgiveness, planning, and daily application. Throw out the goal of perfection because it doesn't exist. Accept that each day is it's own experience and an opportunity for growth. Plan a response to known obstacles for best success. Take this 6 Week Step-By-Step How-To Succeed Challenge to learn how!
"Problem solving is about defining the problem and then brainstorming possible solutions. Theoretically, this process should lead to behavioral changes which become habits, and then result in a new healthier lifestyle." The American Council on Exercise
No comments:
Post a Comment