A major new clinical research study, involving more than 14,000 people and spanning some 16 years, has allowed us to identify what does--and what definitely does not--lead to safe, struggle-free, lasting weight loss. As a result, we now know "The 10 Commandments Of Weight Loss Success."
Commandment #1: Get The Facts Before You Act!
Be certain that whatever you do is based on real data, not on hype and wild claims. Recent research has revealed a wealth of new insights into what works--and what doesn't. Some prime examples:
- An astonishing 96% of weight loss attempts fail.
- We gain back a tragic 95% of all the pounds we lose.
- Dieting is worse than useless. It's counterproductive.
- Relying on will power often leads to weight gain.
- Most of the reasons we're overweight have nothing to do with food or diet.
- But, not being aware of these simple truths, people turn to food-based approaches like dieting--and fail by the millions.
Commandment #2. Set Realistic Weight Loss Goals.
Your "target weight" must be based in reality, not fantasy. If you're trying to look like Barbie or Ken (or Pamela Anderson or "Arnold,") you are in Fantasyland--and in danger as well. Make your goal to be healthy...not "perfect."
Commandment #3. Beware Diet Industry "Solutions."
Failed diets cause tremendous amounts of unnecessary suffering. Yet we still turn to dieting and other heavily-promoted "solutions" because the Diet Industry still pushes them relentlessly. Climbing out from under their avalanche of misinformation is "Weight Loss Job #1."
Commandment #4. Understand That Weight Loss Success Is NOT About Food
Being overweight is actually not "the problem," but a physical symptom of a non-physical problem. In other words, the excess weight you can see is only a symptom of a problem you can't see. We fail because we can't solve problems by attacking symptoms, but only by dealing with the real, root causes of obesity.
Commandment #5. Know Who You Are Losing Weight For
Who are you really trying to please or impress by losing weight? The only acceptable person to lose weight for is you. If your goal is to please or impress anyone else, you are already in trouble. Getting to your healthiest weight is one thing in life that really should be "all about you."
Commandment #6. Get Your Whole Being Involved
"Body-only" or "food-oriented" weight loss approaches are doomed from the start. For lasting weight loss, you must involve your "whole" being -- your body, mind, and spirit. See weight loss success as a 3-legged stool. If even one leg is missing, the stool will collapse--no matter how sturdy the other two legs are. To succeed, you must involve and align all three aspects of yourself toward your weight loss goals.
Commandment #7. Be Very Careful What You Put In Your Mouth
Diet drugs, pills, and "metabolizers" are, at best short-term fixes. At worst, they can be deadly. Weight loss pills not only breed dependency, but the minute you stop, you "Yo-Yo" back to your original weight--or higher.
And just because something is "natural" doesn't mean it's healthy. Nature is full of things that can kill humans and other animals. (Amazon tribes count on it!)
Commandment #8. Have A Realistic Time Frame
Trying to lose more than 1-2 pounds per week sets you up to get sick, to fail, to be miserable, and probably all of the above. "Losing 10 pounds in 2 days" is very unlikely and very unhealthy. You didn't put on your unwanted pounds in a hurry. Don't try to take them off that way.
Commandment #9. You MUST "Tune Up" Your Colon For Long-Term Health
Poor colon function is epidemic, dangerous, and is a primary factor in excess weight. Too little exercise, too much protein, fat, sugar, salt, alcohol, nicotine, and not much fiber adds up to lousy colon function--causing discomfort, sluggish digestion, poor nutrient assimilation, heartburn, gas, allergies, even cancer.
Fortunately, colon function is easy, inexpensive (and very rewarding) to correct. (For more details about the crucial importance of colon health, please read the article here, or send an e mail to frank@coachfranksmoot.com)
Commandment #10. See Effort and Struggle As "Red Flags"
Fact: Nearly everyone who stays at their target weight year after year uses a proven "success recipe" that makes success struggle-free and virtually effortless. Only a few researchers are aware of this. And you can be sure you won't hear it from the Diet Industry.
Dr. Frank B. Smoot, MA, DD, is a professional weight loss coach and counselor, author of dozens of related articles, and creator of several highly effective weight loss programs, including "Get Motivated For Life!" and "Weight Loss God's Way." He is available at http://www.CoachFrankSmoot.com and http://www.WeightLossGodsWay.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Frank_Smoot
Friday, August 6, 2010
"How Blast Past Your Fitness Barriers!" - Part 3 By Frank Smoot
Welcome to Part Three of this 6-part series. Today we'll continue to explore the insider secrets of how to deal with the inevitable roadblocks, bumps, and barriers on the road to lifelong fitness success.
Last time we looked at Roadblocks 4-6 and how to blast them out of your way. In today's article (Part 3) we'll look at the next three in some detail. I'll cover the rest of them as we move through this 6-part series.
Success Roadblock Number Seven: Severely Limiting (But Unconscious) Self- Sabotaging Beliefs And Attitudes Are Still In The Way
In Chapter 8 we laid out a step-by-step plan for creating your own personal health and fitness Recipe For Success. As you got into steps six through nine of that program, your primary job was to evaluate whether your current plan was working. If it's not, it's a safe bet that you still have some "search and replace" work to do with your beliefs and attitudes.
The bad news about beliefs and attitudes is that they are very often hiding out in your subconscious, where you can't really detect them. It's hard to conquer an enemy you can't see.
The good news is, you don't have to identify and replace all of your problem beliefs and behaviors. All you really need to do is correct enough of them to tip the balance scale in your favor.
You only need to achieve what I call a "critical mass" of self-supportive beliefs and attitudes. Once you have that, it's a simple matter of statistics. In any given circumstance, you will now be more likely to make a healthy decision and a healthy choice than an unhealthy one. Does that make sense?
Success Roadblock Number Eight: An Inadequate Sense Of Self-Worth
As you may have guessed, the previous roadblock related to Success Factor One, and this one relates to another Success Factor. Based on my own experience, I have never met a coaching client who didn't have some self-worth / self-esteem / deservability issues.
As resilient as we human beings are, most of us have still been beaten up enough in childhood -- either physically, psychologically, or perhaps both -- that our sense of value as a person is nowhere near what it could or should be. And that's truly tragic, because low self-esteem most often keeps us from claiming or even acknowledging the good things that are rightfully ours.
One reason I prefer to the term "deservability" over "self-esteem" is because the psychological community has tended to look upon the latter as a single, measurable factor. Then they have traditionally tended to label people as either having high self-esteem, low self-esteem, or something in between.
The truth, however, is that we all have areas of good self-esteem and not so good self-esteem. We all have what I call "cavities" in our self-esteem.
It is the presence or absence of these cavities that ultimately determines what we do and do not believe we deserve in life -- even including good health, fitness, and happiness. Until we fully understand the consequences of having low deservability, we probably won't take any serious steps to fix it, which means we probably won't end up getting the good things that we should be getting and enjoying in life.
Success Roadblock Number Nine: A Habitually Poor Self-Image
As with a low sense of deservability, a poor self-image is almost invariably the product of our early childhood experiences. What sets our self-image apart from our self-esteem is that it is primarily a visual thing as opposed to a psychological thing.
If you close your eyes and visualize yourself in the buff, it's pretty hard to avoid discovering what your true self-image is. And if visualizing yourself naked causes negative feelings in you, then you can be sure you have some work to do in this area.
This brings us to another pitfall to be especially careful of. Almost without exception, people believe that they will feel better about themselves when they look better. But this is exactly backwards. The truth is, you will begin to look better only when you feel better about yourself.
Now, obviously, if you woke up tomorrow morning perfectly fit and trim and at your ideal weight, you'd feel pretty good about that. But if you didn't also learn to feel good about you, then you would almost certainly gain back your weight and get sloppy again pretty soon.
On the other hand, once you develop a true, deep-down affection and appreciation for who you are, then you will naturally and automatically move in the direction of healthier behaviors, with the inevitable result being a healthier body and a happier life.
The roadblocks you've just read about were excerpted from my new ebook, "Ultimate Fitness Secrets: Revealed!" To learn how to blast all 20 roadblocks out of your way, and discover the secrets of lifelong, struggle-free fitness, bulletproof health, and low-stress living, please visit the UltimateFitnessRevealed.com web site and get the whole story!
Please stay tuned for Part Four!
Dr. Frank B. Smoot, MA, DD, is a professional fitness & weight loss success coach, and the creator of several highly-effective fitness and weight loss programs. For full details please visit [http://www.UltimateFitnessSecretsRevealed.com], http://www.CoachFrankSmoot.com, and http://www.WeightLossGodsWay.com or email "Dr. Frank" at DrFrank@CoachFrankSmoot.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Frank_Smoot
Last time we looked at Roadblocks 4-6 and how to blast them out of your way. In today's article (Part 3) we'll look at the next three in some detail. I'll cover the rest of them as we move through this 6-part series.
Success Roadblock Number Seven: Severely Limiting (But Unconscious) Self- Sabotaging Beliefs And Attitudes Are Still In The Way
In Chapter 8 we laid out a step-by-step plan for creating your own personal health and fitness Recipe For Success. As you got into steps six through nine of that program, your primary job was to evaluate whether your current plan was working. If it's not, it's a safe bet that you still have some "search and replace" work to do with your beliefs and attitudes.
The bad news about beliefs and attitudes is that they are very often hiding out in your subconscious, where you can't really detect them. It's hard to conquer an enemy you can't see.
The good news is, you don't have to identify and replace all of your problem beliefs and behaviors. All you really need to do is correct enough of them to tip the balance scale in your favor.
You only need to achieve what I call a "critical mass" of self-supportive beliefs and attitudes. Once you have that, it's a simple matter of statistics. In any given circumstance, you will now be more likely to make a healthy decision and a healthy choice than an unhealthy one. Does that make sense?
Success Roadblock Number Eight: An Inadequate Sense Of Self-Worth
As you may have guessed, the previous roadblock related to Success Factor One, and this one relates to another Success Factor. Based on my own experience, I have never met a coaching client who didn't have some self-worth / self-esteem / deservability issues.
As resilient as we human beings are, most of us have still been beaten up enough in childhood -- either physically, psychologically, or perhaps both -- that our sense of value as a person is nowhere near what it could or should be. And that's truly tragic, because low self-esteem most often keeps us from claiming or even acknowledging the good things that are rightfully ours.
One reason I prefer to the term "deservability" over "self-esteem" is because the psychological community has tended to look upon the latter as a single, measurable factor. Then they have traditionally tended to label people as either having high self-esteem, low self-esteem, or something in between.
The truth, however, is that we all have areas of good self-esteem and not so good self-esteem. We all have what I call "cavities" in our self-esteem.
It is the presence or absence of these cavities that ultimately determines what we do and do not believe we deserve in life -- even including good health, fitness, and happiness. Until we fully understand the consequences of having low deservability, we probably won't take any serious steps to fix it, which means we probably won't end up getting the good things that we should be getting and enjoying in life.
Success Roadblock Number Nine: A Habitually Poor Self-Image
As with a low sense of deservability, a poor self-image is almost invariably the product of our early childhood experiences. What sets our self-image apart from our self-esteem is that it is primarily a visual thing as opposed to a psychological thing.
If you close your eyes and visualize yourself in the buff, it's pretty hard to avoid discovering what your true self-image is. And if visualizing yourself naked causes negative feelings in you, then you can be sure you have some work to do in this area.
This brings us to another pitfall to be especially careful of. Almost without exception, people believe that they will feel better about themselves when they look better. But this is exactly backwards. The truth is, you will begin to look better only when you feel better about yourself.
Now, obviously, if you woke up tomorrow morning perfectly fit and trim and at your ideal weight, you'd feel pretty good about that. But if you didn't also learn to feel good about you, then you would almost certainly gain back your weight and get sloppy again pretty soon.
On the other hand, once you develop a true, deep-down affection and appreciation for who you are, then you will naturally and automatically move in the direction of healthier behaviors, with the inevitable result being a healthier body and a happier life.
The roadblocks you've just read about were excerpted from my new ebook, "Ultimate Fitness Secrets: Revealed!" To learn how to blast all 20 roadblocks out of your way, and discover the secrets of lifelong, struggle-free fitness, bulletproof health, and low-stress living, please visit the UltimateFitnessRevealed.com web site and get the whole story!
Please stay tuned for Part Four!
Dr. Frank B. Smoot, MA, DD, is a professional fitness & weight loss success coach, and the creator of several highly-effective fitness and weight loss programs. For full details please visit [http://www.UltimateFitnessSecretsRevealed.com], http://www.CoachFrankSmoot.com, and http://www.WeightLossGodsWay.com or email "Dr. Frank" at DrFrank@CoachFrankSmoot.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Frank_Smoot
"How Blast Past Your Fitness Barriers!" - Part 2 By Frank Smoot
Yes, as much as we'd like the road to fitness to be straight, smooth, and uninterrupted, it's a fact of like that you're going to bump into a few obstacles along the way.
Last time we looked at Roadblocks 1-3 and how to blast them out of your way on the road to success. In today's article (Part 2) we'll look at the next three in some detail. I'll cover the rest as we move through his 6-part series.
Success Roadblock Number Four: Inadequate Motivation - You Don't Have Clear & Compelling Reasons To Succeed
As a success coach, I can tell you that very few people understand the necessity for having compelling reasons to power them toward their goals. If you don't have sufficiently strong motivations to overcome the inertia of the status quo, then you're either going to stay right where you are or end up right back where you are. It's really just that simple.
So what you need are two kinds of motivations. First, you need strong and compelling reasons why it's critically important for you to succeed. You need to be clear about the "cost-benefit equation" How will you benefit from achieving your goals? How will your life improve?
Second, you need strong and compelling reasons why it is utterly unacceptable for you to fail. Together, these opposing motivations will provide you with both the "push" and "pull" we talked about in Chapter 8 -- a truly powerful combination!
Success Roadblock Number Five: Rationalizing Your Self-Defeating Behaviors
If there's one thing we're all really good at, it is rationalizing our own self-defeating behaviors. I think this is something we learn from birth, or perhaps even in the womb, since all of us seem to suffer from it one way or another.
You can call it denial or whatever else you want, but the fact is that we seem to like to plod along from one day to the next in a blissful state of ignorance about our problems, and particularly about our health problems.
Actually, considering the state of contemporary "health care," this is completely understandable. As I never tire of pointing out, our medical / pharmaceutical / food processing industry is much more focused on illness than on health. And we, the public, can't help but pick up the money "vibe" behind everything they do.
Not that there aren't thousands of sincerely dedicated health care providers out there, but any objective observer would have to say that contemporary medicine is all about getting rid of the symptom, because they simply don't have either the time, the will, or the skill to solve problems at its root.
That's why it becomes our job to "repossess" the responsibility for our own health-care, to come out of denial, to be wide awake about the problem, and to actively pursue and find our own solutions. If we'll leave it up to the health-care industry, we'll have no one to blame but ourselves when we fail.
Success Roadblock Number Six: Arguing For Your Own Limitations
If this is a concept you're not familiar with, I can tell you it's a mighty important one. In a way, it is closely aligned with Success Factor Number One -- the belief that you can and will succeed. [Details about the ebook that explains the four Success Factors are at the end of this article.]
You can tell when you're arguing for your own limitations when you hear yourself starting sentences with, "I have never been able to..." or "This sort of thing just runs in my family," or "I don't see how I could ever..." or, the most popular one of all, "Yes, but..."
Arguing on behalf of your own limiting beliefs is the surest way to make sure they stay intact and in place, and continue to sabotage you forever.
It's safe to say that you have been arguing for a lot of your own limiting beliefs for as long as you have been able to argue. Can you think of any personal beliefs that fall into that category?
Several places in this book I have suggested that you start a Success Journal. Keeping this journal is a mandatory part of the success process. I've also talked about the importance of recognizing the negativity in your own internal dialogue. That's why I suggest keeping a Negativity Journal, where you will start to zero in on the specific wording that your negative, self-sabotaging beliefs and attitudes feed into your mind.
Being able to actually see your negative inner dialogue in print will make a huge difference in your consciousness awareness, and that is the first step toward eliminating any self-sabotaging behavior.
The roadblocks you've just read about were excerpted from my new ebook, "Ultimate Fitness Secrets: Revealed!" To learn how to blast all 20 roadblocks out of your way, and discover the secrets of lifelong, struggle-free fitness, bulletproof health, and low-stress living, please visit the UltimateFitnessRevealed.com web site and get the whole story!
Copyright 2006 Frank Smoot
Dr. Frank B. Smoot, MA, DD, is a professional fitness & weight loss success coach, and the creator of several highly-effective fitness and weight loss programs. For full details please visit [http://www.UltimateFitnessSecretsRevealed.com], http://www.CoachFrankSmoot.com, and http://www.WeightLossGodsWay.com or email "Dr. Frank" at DrFrank@CoachFrankSmoot.com. Thanks!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Frank_Smoo
Last time we looked at Roadblocks 1-3 and how to blast them out of your way on the road to success. In today's article (Part 2) we'll look at the next three in some detail. I'll cover the rest as we move through his 6-part series.
Success Roadblock Number Four: Inadequate Motivation - You Don't Have Clear & Compelling Reasons To Succeed
As a success coach, I can tell you that very few people understand the necessity for having compelling reasons to power them toward their goals. If you don't have sufficiently strong motivations to overcome the inertia of the status quo, then you're either going to stay right where you are or end up right back where you are. It's really just that simple.
So what you need are two kinds of motivations. First, you need strong and compelling reasons why it's critically important for you to succeed. You need to be clear about the "cost-benefit equation" How will you benefit from achieving your goals? How will your life improve?
Second, you need strong and compelling reasons why it is utterly unacceptable for you to fail. Together, these opposing motivations will provide you with both the "push" and "pull" we talked about in Chapter 8 -- a truly powerful combination!
Success Roadblock Number Five: Rationalizing Your Self-Defeating Behaviors
If there's one thing we're all really good at, it is rationalizing our own self-defeating behaviors. I think this is something we learn from birth, or perhaps even in the womb, since all of us seem to suffer from it one way or another.
You can call it denial or whatever else you want, but the fact is that we seem to like to plod along from one day to the next in a blissful state of ignorance about our problems, and particularly about our health problems.
Actually, considering the state of contemporary "health care," this is completely understandable. As I never tire of pointing out, our medical / pharmaceutical / food processing industry is much more focused on illness than on health. And we, the public, can't help but pick up the money "vibe" behind everything they do.
Not that there aren't thousands of sincerely dedicated health care providers out there, but any objective observer would have to say that contemporary medicine is all about getting rid of the symptom, because they simply don't have either the time, the will, or the skill to solve problems at its root.
That's why it becomes our job to "repossess" the responsibility for our own health-care, to come out of denial, to be wide awake about the problem, and to actively pursue and find our own solutions. If we'll leave it up to the health-care industry, we'll have no one to blame but ourselves when we fail.
Success Roadblock Number Six: Arguing For Your Own Limitations
If this is a concept you're not familiar with, I can tell you it's a mighty important one. In a way, it is closely aligned with Success Factor Number One -- the belief that you can and will succeed. [Details about the ebook that explains the four Success Factors are at the end of this article.]
You can tell when you're arguing for your own limitations when you hear yourself starting sentences with, "I have never been able to..." or "This sort of thing just runs in my family," or "I don't see how I could ever..." or, the most popular one of all, "Yes, but..."
Arguing on behalf of your own limiting beliefs is the surest way to make sure they stay intact and in place, and continue to sabotage you forever.
It's safe to say that you have been arguing for a lot of your own limiting beliefs for as long as you have been able to argue. Can you think of any personal beliefs that fall into that category?
Several places in this book I have suggested that you start a Success Journal. Keeping this journal is a mandatory part of the success process. I've also talked about the importance of recognizing the negativity in your own internal dialogue. That's why I suggest keeping a Negativity Journal, where you will start to zero in on the specific wording that your negative, self-sabotaging beliefs and attitudes feed into your mind.
Being able to actually see your negative inner dialogue in print will make a huge difference in your consciousness awareness, and that is the first step toward eliminating any self-sabotaging behavior.
The roadblocks you've just read about were excerpted from my new ebook, "Ultimate Fitness Secrets: Revealed!" To learn how to blast all 20 roadblocks out of your way, and discover the secrets of lifelong, struggle-free fitness, bulletproof health, and low-stress living, please visit the UltimateFitnessRevealed.com web site and get the whole story!
Copyright 2006 Frank Smoot
Dr. Frank B. Smoot, MA, DD, is a professional fitness & weight loss success coach, and the creator of several highly-effective fitness and weight loss programs. For full details please visit [http://www.UltimateFitnessSecretsRevealed.com], http://www.CoachFrankSmoot.com, and http://www.WeightLossGodsWay.com or email "Dr. Frank" at DrFrank@CoachFrankSmoot.com. Thanks!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Frank_Smoo
"How Blast Past Your Fitness Barriers!" - Part 2 By Frank Smoot
Yes, as much as we'd like the road to fitness to be straight, smooth, and uninterrupted, it's a fact of like that you're going to bump into a few obstacles along the way.
Last time we looked at Roadblocks 1-3 and how to blast them out of your way on the road to success. In today's article (Part 2) we'll look at the next three in some detail. I'll cover the rest as we move through his 6-part series.
Success Roadblock Number Four: Inadequate Motivation - You Don't Have Clear & Compelling Reasons To Succeed
As a success coach, I can tell you that very few people understand the necessity for having compelling reasons to power them toward their goals. If you don't have sufficiently strong motivations to overcome the inertia of the status quo, then you're either going to stay right where you are or end up right back where you are. It's really just that simple.
So what you need are two kinds of motivations. First, you need strong and compelling reasons why it's critically important for you to succeed. You need to be clear about the "cost-benefit equation" How will you benefit from achieving your goals? How will your life improve?
Second, you need strong and compelling reasons why it is utterly unacceptable for you to fail. Together, these opposing motivations will provide you with both the "push" and "pull" we talked about in Chapter 8 -- a truly powerful combination!
Success Roadblock Number Five: Rationalizing Your Self-Defeating Behaviors
If there's one thing we're all really good at, it is rationalizing our own self-defeating behaviors. I think this is something we learn from birth, or perhaps even in the womb, since all of us seem to suffer from it one way or another.
You can call it denial or whatever else you want, but the fact is that we seem to like to plod along from one day to the next in a blissful state of ignorance about our problems, and particularly about our health problems.
Actually, considering the state of contemporary "health care," this is completely understandable. As I never tire of pointing out, our medical / pharmaceutical / food processing industry is much more focused on illness than on health. And we, the public, can't help but pick up the money "vibe" behind everything they do.
Not that there aren't thousands of sincerely dedicated health care providers out there, but any objective observer would have to say that contemporary medicine is all about getting rid of the symptom, because they simply don't have either the time, the will, or the skill to solve problems at its root.
That's why it becomes our job to "repossess" the responsibility for our own health-care, to come out of denial, to be wide awake about the problem, and to actively pursue and find our own solutions. If we'll leave it up to the health-care industry, we'll have no one to blame but ourselves when we fail.
Success Roadblock Number Six: Arguing For Your Own Limitations
If this is a concept you're not familiar with, I can tell you it's a mighty important one. In a way, it is closely aligned with Success Factor Number One -- the belief that you can and will succeed. [Details about the ebook that explains the four Success Factors are at the end of this article.]
You can tell when you're arguing for your own limitations when you hear yourself starting sentences with, "I have never been able to..." or "This sort of thing just runs in my family," or "I don't see how I could ever..." or, the most popular one of all, "Yes, but..."
Arguing on behalf of your own limiting beliefs is the surest way to make sure they stay intact and in place, and continue to sabotage you forever.
It's safe to say that you have been arguing for a lot of your own limiting beliefs for as long as you have been able to argue. Can you think of any personal beliefs that fall into that category?
Several places in this book I have suggested that you start a Success Journal. Keeping this journal is a mandatory part of the success process. I've also talked about the importance of recognizing the negativity in your own internal dialogue. That's why I suggest keeping a Negativity Journal, where you will start to zero in on the specific wording that your negative, self-sabotaging beliefs and attitudes feed into your mind.
Being able to actually see your negative inner dialogue in print will make a huge difference in your consciousness awareness, and that is the first step toward eliminating any self-sabotaging behavior.
The roadblocks you've just read about were excerpted from my new ebook, "Ultimate Fitness Secrets: Revealed!" To learn how to blast all 20 roadblocks out of your way, and discover the secrets of lifelong, struggle-free fitness, bulletproof health, and low-stress living, please visit the UltimateFitnessRevealed.com web site and get the whole story!
Copyright 2006 Frank Smoot
Dr. Frank B. Smoot, MA, DD, is a professional fitness & weight loss success coach, and the creator of several highly-effective fitness and weight loss programs. For full details please visit [http://www.UltimateFitnessSecretsRevealed.com], http://www.CoachFrankSmoot.com, and http://www.WeightLossGodsWay.com or email "Dr. Frank" at DrFrank@CoachFrankSmoot.com. Thanks!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Frank_Smoo
Last time we looked at Roadblocks 1-3 and how to blast them out of your way on the road to success. In today's article (Part 2) we'll look at the next three in some detail. I'll cover the rest as we move through his 6-part series.
Success Roadblock Number Four: Inadequate Motivation - You Don't Have Clear & Compelling Reasons To Succeed
As a success coach, I can tell you that very few people understand the necessity for having compelling reasons to power them toward their goals. If you don't have sufficiently strong motivations to overcome the inertia of the status quo, then you're either going to stay right where you are or end up right back where you are. It's really just that simple.
So what you need are two kinds of motivations. First, you need strong and compelling reasons why it's critically important for you to succeed. You need to be clear about the "cost-benefit equation" How will you benefit from achieving your goals? How will your life improve?
Second, you need strong and compelling reasons why it is utterly unacceptable for you to fail. Together, these opposing motivations will provide you with both the "push" and "pull" we talked about in Chapter 8 -- a truly powerful combination!
Success Roadblock Number Five: Rationalizing Your Self-Defeating Behaviors
If there's one thing we're all really good at, it is rationalizing our own self-defeating behaviors. I think this is something we learn from birth, or perhaps even in the womb, since all of us seem to suffer from it one way or another.
You can call it denial or whatever else you want, but the fact is that we seem to like to plod along from one day to the next in a blissful state of ignorance about our problems, and particularly about our health problems.
Actually, considering the state of contemporary "health care," this is completely understandable. As I never tire of pointing out, our medical / pharmaceutical / food processing industry is much more focused on illness than on health. And we, the public, can't help but pick up the money "vibe" behind everything they do.
Not that there aren't thousands of sincerely dedicated health care providers out there, but any objective observer would have to say that contemporary medicine is all about getting rid of the symptom, because they simply don't have either the time, the will, or the skill to solve problems at its root.
That's why it becomes our job to "repossess" the responsibility for our own health-care, to come out of denial, to be wide awake about the problem, and to actively pursue and find our own solutions. If we'll leave it up to the health-care industry, we'll have no one to blame but ourselves when we fail.
Success Roadblock Number Six: Arguing For Your Own Limitations
If this is a concept you're not familiar with, I can tell you it's a mighty important one. In a way, it is closely aligned with Success Factor Number One -- the belief that you can and will succeed. [Details about the ebook that explains the four Success Factors are at the end of this article.]
You can tell when you're arguing for your own limitations when you hear yourself starting sentences with, "I have never been able to..." or "This sort of thing just runs in my family," or "I don't see how I could ever..." or, the most popular one of all, "Yes, but..."
Arguing on behalf of your own limiting beliefs is the surest way to make sure they stay intact and in place, and continue to sabotage you forever.
It's safe to say that you have been arguing for a lot of your own limiting beliefs for as long as you have been able to argue. Can you think of any personal beliefs that fall into that category?
Several places in this book I have suggested that you start a Success Journal. Keeping this journal is a mandatory part of the success process. I've also talked about the importance of recognizing the negativity in your own internal dialogue. That's why I suggest keeping a Negativity Journal, where you will start to zero in on the specific wording that your negative, self-sabotaging beliefs and attitudes feed into your mind.
Being able to actually see your negative inner dialogue in print will make a huge difference in your consciousness awareness, and that is the first step toward eliminating any self-sabotaging behavior.
The roadblocks you've just read about were excerpted from my new ebook, "Ultimate Fitness Secrets: Revealed!" To learn how to blast all 20 roadblocks out of your way, and discover the secrets of lifelong, struggle-free fitness, bulletproof health, and low-stress living, please visit the UltimateFitnessRevealed.com web site and get the whole story!
Copyright 2006 Frank Smoot
Dr. Frank B. Smoot, MA, DD, is a professional fitness & weight loss success coach, and the creator of several highly-effective fitness and weight loss programs. For full details please visit [http://www.UltimateFitnessSecretsRevealed.com], http://www.CoachFrankSmoot.com, and http://www.WeightLossGodsWay.com or email "Dr. Frank" at DrFrank@CoachFrankSmoot.com. Thanks!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Frank_Smoo
How To Blast Past Your Fitness Roadblocks! - Part One By Frank Smoot
Sure, you'd love to get fit, stay fit, and have it all be a piece of cake. But in real life, the cake often seems a lot more appealing than the fitness.
The truth is, when you set out to go from not-so-fit to "Wow, I love my body like this!" you're going to bump into a few obstacles along the way. With that reality in mind, here's a look at the Top 20 Roadblocks To Fitness Success, and how to keep them from kicking you to the curb.
In today's article (Part 1) we'll look at the first three in some detail. I'll cover the rest as we move through his 6-part series.
Success Roadblock Number One: Attacking Symptoms While Ignoring Root Causes
I have listed this as Roadblock Number One for a very good reason. Just as the American "health care" system has degenerated into having a near-total focus on eliminating symptoms without ever correcting -- or even acknowledging -- the real, root cause of a problem, so it is in the areas of fitness, health, and happiness.
You want instant happiness? That's been the pharmaceutical companies' top money-maker for decades. To their way of thinking, getting you hooked on a chemical crutch is just a smart business decision. That way you'll become their bread and butter -- a "repeat buyer."
And just as there's a pill for every little problem with your health (courtesy of your friendly neighborhood pharmaceutical mega-corporation), you can also find a "quick-fix" remedy for your every fitness problems.
There's every imaginable kind of device that promises you the sun, moon, and stars. You want instant weight loss? Saturday morning TV will give you a ton of "solutions." Of course, none of them work. But that doesn't seem to slow down sales very much.
Am I overstating the case? Not really. You see, here in America we are absolutely obsessed with quick fixes and easy solutions. And we'll spend every dime we have to get them.
The tragic irony is that doing what actually works is not only less expensive and much healthier, it's also quicker. Because when you make your changes where it counts -- in your own motivations -- then doing the healthy thing becomes automatic, and you're now set for a struggle-free lifetime of real fitness, great health, and the kind of happiness that no pill can provide.
That's why the major focus of this book is on making changes where it counts, by identifying your self -sabotaging beliefs and attitudes, and replacing them with self supportive ones. And if you will focus on doing that first and foremost, these other 19 roadblocks will become little more than speed bumps that you can step over easily whenever you come to one.
Success Roadblock Number Two: Problems With Goals - (Unrealistic, Lame, Extreme, Vague)
If you don't know where you want to go, how do you expect to get there? And if you don't know where you want to go, any road will get you there. That's why a large part of success involves three basic things:
First you have to be clear about where you are. Second, you have to be clear about where you want to go. And third, you need some kind of a realistic plan for getting there. If you've been following the guidelines laid out for you in this book, you're off to a very good start.
Just keep in mind that setting goals is a process of continual refinement. You don't need to get it perfect from the start. You just need to have a reasonably good sense of where you want to go, and then be willing to continuously refine your goals as you go.
Success Roadblock Number Three: A Fuzzy/ Unfocused / Inconsistent Vision
A goal is something you put in writing -- ideally with as much clarity and specificity as possible -- and a vision is something you see in your mind's eye. It is a picture, an image, of what your life will look and feel like when you reach your goals. Many experts believe that clear vision is the single most powerful factor in propelling you toward your goals.
That's because our brains relate more naturally to pictures than to words. Way back before people could communicate through the spoken or written word, they could almost certainly form images in their minds. And it's been demonstrated time and again that a clear mental image of what you want to experience is an extremely powerful tool for helping you get there.
The problem for most people is that they don't spend very much time focused on what they want, but instead dwell on what they have and don't want. Creating a clear vision and keeping that vision in front of your mind's eye also gives your ego something to attach itself to, which helps transform it from being your worst enemy into being a powerful ally on the journey to success.
The roadblocks you've just read about were excerpted from my new ebook, "Ultimate Fitness Secrets: Revealed!" To learn how to blast all 20 roadblocks out of your way, and discover the secrets of lifelong, struggle-free fitness, bulletproof health, and low-stress living, please visit the UltimateFitnessRevealed.com web site and get the whole story!
Please stay tuned for Part Two!
Copyright 2006 Frank Smoot
Dr. Frank B. Smoot, MA, DD, is a professional fitness & weight loss success coach, and the creator of several highly-effective fitness and weight loss programs. For full details please visit [http://www.UltimateFitnessSecretsRevealed.com], http://www.CoachFrankSmoot.com , and http://www.WeightLossGodsWay.com or email "Dr. Frank" at DrFrank@CoachFrankSmoot.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Frank_Smoot
The truth is, when you set out to go from not-so-fit to "Wow, I love my body like this!" you're going to bump into a few obstacles along the way. With that reality in mind, here's a look at the Top 20 Roadblocks To Fitness Success, and how to keep them from kicking you to the curb.
In today's article (Part 1) we'll look at the first three in some detail. I'll cover the rest as we move through his 6-part series.
Success Roadblock Number One: Attacking Symptoms While Ignoring Root Causes
I have listed this as Roadblock Number One for a very good reason. Just as the American "health care" system has degenerated into having a near-total focus on eliminating symptoms without ever correcting -- or even acknowledging -- the real, root cause of a problem, so it is in the areas of fitness, health, and happiness.
You want instant happiness? That's been the pharmaceutical companies' top money-maker for decades. To their way of thinking, getting you hooked on a chemical crutch is just a smart business decision. That way you'll become their bread and butter -- a "repeat buyer."
And just as there's a pill for every little problem with your health (courtesy of your friendly neighborhood pharmaceutical mega-corporation), you can also find a "quick-fix" remedy for your every fitness problems.
There's every imaginable kind of device that promises you the sun, moon, and stars. You want instant weight loss? Saturday morning TV will give you a ton of "solutions." Of course, none of them work. But that doesn't seem to slow down sales very much.
Am I overstating the case? Not really. You see, here in America we are absolutely obsessed with quick fixes and easy solutions. And we'll spend every dime we have to get them.
The tragic irony is that doing what actually works is not only less expensive and much healthier, it's also quicker. Because when you make your changes where it counts -- in your own motivations -- then doing the healthy thing becomes automatic, and you're now set for a struggle-free lifetime of real fitness, great health, and the kind of happiness that no pill can provide.
That's why the major focus of this book is on making changes where it counts, by identifying your self -sabotaging beliefs and attitudes, and replacing them with self supportive ones. And if you will focus on doing that first and foremost, these other 19 roadblocks will become little more than speed bumps that you can step over easily whenever you come to one.
Success Roadblock Number Two: Problems With Goals - (Unrealistic, Lame, Extreme, Vague)
If you don't know where you want to go, how do you expect to get there? And if you don't know where you want to go, any road will get you there. That's why a large part of success involves three basic things:
First you have to be clear about where you are. Second, you have to be clear about where you want to go. And third, you need some kind of a realistic plan for getting there. If you've been following the guidelines laid out for you in this book, you're off to a very good start.
Just keep in mind that setting goals is a process of continual refinement. You don't need to get it perfect from the start. You just need to have a reasonably good sense of where you want to go, and then be willing to continuously refine your goals as you go.
Success Roadblock Number Three: A Fuzzy/ Unfocused / Inconsistent Vision
A goal is something you put in writing -- ideally with as much clarity and specificity as possible -- and a vision is something you see in your mind's eye. It is a picture, an image, of what your life will look and feel like when you reach your goals. Many experts believe that clear vision is the single most powerful factor in propelling you toward your goals.
That's because our brains relate more naturally to pictures than to words. Way back before people could communicate through the spoken or written word, they could almost certainly form images in their minds. And it's been demonstrated time and again that a clear mental image of what you want to experience is an extremely powerful tool for helping you get there.
The problem for most people is that they don't spend very much time focused on what they want, but instead dwell on what they have and don't want. Creating a clear vision and keeping that vision in front of your mind's eye also gives your ego something to attach itself to, which helps transform it from being your worst enemy into being a powerful ally on the journey to success.
The roadblocks you've just read about were excerpted from my new ebook, "Ultimate Fitness Secrets: Revealed!" To learn how to blast all 20 roadblocks out of your way, and discover the secrets of lifelong, struggle-free fitness, bulletproof health, and low-stress living, please visit the UltimateFitnessRevealed.com web site and get the whole story!
Please stay tuned for Part Two!
Copyright 2006 Frank Smoot
Dr. Frank B. Smoot, MA, DD, is a professional fitness & weight loss success coach, and the creator of several highly-effective fitness and weight loss programs. For full details please visit [http://www.UltimateFitnessSecretsRevealed.com], http://www.CoachFrankSmoot.com , and http://www.WeightLossGodsWay.com or email "Dr. Frank" at DrFrank@CoachFrankSmoot.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Frank_Smoot
obsessive Weight loss.....
I have been having some very unhealthy thoughts and feelings the last few months, I am so obsessive about my weight loss and the lack there of. I keep thinking that I need to work out everyday for 3 hours and that I need to only eat 500 calories a day, (probably don't get many more than that any ways)I keep thinking about starvation (would make me deathly ill) and many other dangerous and other unhealthy ways of loosing weight.
I know that I should be happy about the weight that I have lost, because I have lost A Lot but I am not happy. I still would love to loose 100 more pounds, but that would put me at an unhealthy weight and honestly I only need to loose another 60 or so. The problem is getting myself back into the loose weight mode. It seems like every one around me is obsessive about weight loss, whither or not they have any thing that they need too loose.
When I reflect back on my child hood I always had a weight problem, I was always over weight. I was on one diet after another and I seemed to loose for a little while then I would stop. I hate being obese, it is not fun and some times I feel powerless to my own mind and self destructive ways and thoughts.
When I look into a mirror I don't see a woman who has lost 170 pounds, that has gone from 420 lbs to 270. I see a 420 pound woman and she makes me sick, she is ugly and she disgust me and I do not like her, and most of the time I avoid looking into mirrors all the time. They tend to tell the ugly truth and I don't want to see it or hear it. I don't know what to do to stop this train of thought, I am not sure about how to go about make me feel better about my self.
I have found some articles that I think might help all of us get over and past our destructive weight loss road blocks. Good luck every one lets see if we can get through this together.
I know that I should be happy about the weight that I have lost, because I have lost A Lot but I am not happy. I still would love to loose 100 more pounds, but that would put me at an unhealthy weight and honestly I only need to loose another 60 or so. The problem is getting myself back into the loose weight mode. It seems like every one around me is obsessive about weight loss, whither or not they have any thing that they need too loose.
When I reflect back on my child hood I always had a weight problem, I was always over weight. I was on one diet after another and I seemed to loose for a little while then I would stop. I hate being obese, it is not fun and some times I feel powerless to my own mind and self destructive ways and thoughts.
When I look into a mirror I don't see a woman who has lost 170 pounds, that has gone from 420 lbs to 270. I see a 420 pound woman and she makes me sick, she is ugly and she disgust me and I do not like her, and most of the time I avoid looking into mirrors all the time. They tend to tell the ugly truth and I don't want to see it or hear it. I don't know what to do to stop this train of thought, I am not sure about how to go about make me feel better about my self.
I have found some articles that I think might help all of us get over and past our destructive weight loss road blocks. Good luck every one lets see if we can get through this together.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Keep on Keeping on.....
I know that it has been a while since I've blogged, I set a goal for my self that I was going to blog regularly and I just haven't had anything to blog about. Life has been absolutely insane, most days I don't know wither I am coming or going but I manage to get through.
My husband and I had started walking a couple months ago and it really helped my back pain A LOT, I was rather surprised Dr. Clifford keep telling me that if I would get active it would help with the back pain. I am a firm believer in the power of exercises. I am hoping to start getting my weight to start going down again, even though I haven't lost weight I have gone down another clothing size. Which makes me feel good, I really would like to get down to a size 12 some day. All I can do is keep on keeping on and get back on the wagon, I have been watching what I eat very carefully the last little while I don't always make the smartest food choices, and I am trying to do better at that.
My body has this wonderful thing that it does, every time I eat something that it doesn't like I get sick and it is a horrible feeling. You would think that, that in it's self would keep me from eating these foods but it doesn't always. I need to get away from eating easy foods and really concentrate on protein's, protein's and more protein's. I know that a well balanced diet is good but since I had my gastric bypass I can not eat Carbs I get sick.
Something else that I have been doing better at is drinking A LOT of water. Between 100 and 200 ounces a day, it depends on the day and how I feel to how much I drink. There are days that I feel really dehydrated and those are the days that I really pack in the water, and on top of it being healthy for you it is also very good for your back, so that has been helping with my back as well.
So....other than that not really a whole lot is going on in my life, I just spent a fun packed week with my sisters kids (will post pics soon), Spending time with my 80 year old grandmother. They gave her a pacemaker almost a month ago, but is still having difficulties breathing. We know that her time is close at hand and I think about her and worry about her everyday. I know that she doesn't want to die and is not ready to but she is just in so much pain, and is having a hard time not being able to do anything. I am hoping to spend some more time with her before she dies, she is the last living of her family.
Keep her in your prayers, remember that I love all of you deeply and that your love and support over the past two years has helped more than you know. I keep thinking that I need to do some recent pictures and post them on here it has been a while! Have a wonderful week!
Ciao
My husband and I had started walking a couple months ago and it really helped my back pain A LOT, I was rather surprised Dr. Clifford keep telling me that if I would get active it would help with the back pain. I am a firm believer in the power of exercises. I am hoping to start getting my weight to start going down again, even though I haven't lost weight I have gone down another clothing size. Which makes me feel good, I really would like to get down to a size 12 some day. All I can do is keep on keeping on and get back on the wagon, I have been watching what I eat very carefully the last little while I don't always make the smartest food choices, and I am trying to do better at that.
My body has this wonderful thing that it does, every time I eat something that it doesn't like I get sick and it is a horrible feeling. You would think that, that in it's self would keep me from eating these foods but it doesn't always. I need to get away from eating easy foods and really concentrate on protein's, protein's and more protein's. I know that a well balanced diet is good but since I had my gastric bypass I can not eat Carbs I get sick.
Something else that I have been doing better at is drinking A LOT of water. Between 100 and 200 ounces a day, it depends on the day and how I feel to how much I drink. There are days that I feel really dehydrated and those are the days that I really pack in the water, and on top of it being healthy for you it is also very good for your back, so that has been helping with my back as well.
So....other than that not really a whole lot is going on in my life, I just spent a fun packed week with my sisters kids (will post pics soon), Spending time with my 80 year old grandmother. They gave her a pacemaker almost a month ago, but is still having difficulties breathing. We know that her time is close at hand and I think about her and worry about her everyday. I know that she doesn't want to die and is not ready to but she is just in so much pain, and is having a hard time not being able to do anything. I am hoping to spend some more time with her before she dies, she is the last living of her family.
Keep her in your prayers, remember that I love all of you deeply and that your love and support over the past two years has helped more than you know. I keep thinking that I need to do some recent pictures and post them on here it has been a while! Have a wonderful week!
Ciao
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