"How can you make losing weight simple? There's an old saying in business that goes something like, "If everybody is doing the same thing one way - do the opposite" Meaning don't follow the herd. An example of this, in my business, is in our marketing approach. Most of my competition, because of fear of the economy, have cut back on their marketing costs. Many people, including my accountant, have suggested I do the same. However, I am of the mindset that this has created a massive OPPORTUNITY. So I have almost doubled my marketing budget and expanded into television. The result? We are busier then ever before.
How does this relate to mindset for weight-loss? If you read my opening blog/email last week I talked about the difference between a "smart" plan and a "dumb" plan. Today, I will further explore that and hopefully it will have a very positive impact on your health goals. Simply stated, there are certain universal laws that govern how our bodies operate. One of those laws is THE LAW OF ADAPTATION. Simply put, your body (and mine) requires two very important components if it is going to change - TIME AND REPETITION. If you think about it, any thing your body or mind wants to do requires those two things to be successful. And - it doesn't matter what you've been taught to believe, it doesn't matter if you're a boy or a girl, it doesn't matter what month it is (or season) - for you to lose weight this is a simple fact that we must recognize. Remember, you and I didn't put all this weight on in one or two weeks. What makes us think it will come off in that time? Guess what - it won't. Why do you think all of these miracle diets and fast weight loss fix products never work? Why is it that everyone you know who's attempted to do a 30 day cleanse - or the like - usually ends up back to where they started or worse? Because it's unnatural - and that makes it VERY DIFFICULT. To me that's a "dumb" plan.
Let's explore a simple plan - first, assume it's going to take a while and that there's no rush. In the beginning take simple steps that are more natural and less stressful. One very simple approach is to STOP looking at how much weight you want to lose. That can be a very stressful and disheartening thought. Instead, come up with a smaller, very achievable goal in the near future. For example, don't say, "I need to lose 50 pounds by May - so on Monday I am going to only drink water, have a protein bar for breakfast, a salad for lunch and 5 carrots for dinner. I am also going to start PX 90 (a 6 day a week training program that is brutal)." That's too much. You are asking so much from your mind and body that very few people can achieve that. Instead, don't think about the total amount, try to set a very reasonable weekly goal which will allow you to make just a small and reasonable change and will be EASY to achieve. Something like, "Starting next week I want to lose 2 pounds per week. To do that (which is so easy), I will stop having desert Monday through Friday"....... yup, that's it. No exercise (that will come later), no fasting - just cutting out junk at night, and even then it's only during the week, not the weekends. All you are doing is "Eliminating", not adding - simple, right? Read this quote about "Elimination" from the great martial artist and film star, Bruce Lee, "One does not accumulate, but eliminate. It is not daily increase, but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity.". That's one of my favorite inspirations. Too many of us live in the "multi-tasking" lifestyle, where we are constantly adding things, activities,etc. which lead to more stress. Happiness can come from ELIMINATING, too.
So, that's this weeks lesson. Focus on small things you can eliminate. Have a simple and EASILY achievable short term goal. AND NO STRESS. As you start to achieve these small goals and feel good about yourself - we will then start to talk about what kinds of foods you should eat and when to eat them. After that we'll talk about getting lean and mean. So, until next week...
P.S. I'm 5 lbs lighter following this first part of the plan. You can do it!!!!!!
Watching your back,
Dr. Brad
201-651-9100
