I think: Transforming your body is one of the greatest experiences you will ever have.
It has the amazing power to change your whole life. That is why it is probably one of the mot sought after and most powerful things in this world. I believe that the ability to transform your body is probably one of the few things in this life that cannot be oversold. That is why I am here, doing what I do. When someone overcomes what is necessary to transform his or her body into their ideal body, the results are extremely powerful. They seem to literally explode into action in all areas of their lives and begin living in a new direction. They never regret a single step they took, no matter how severe it felt at the time, and they can never express in words how much the change means to them. Not once have I seen someone transform their body without also transforming and overhauling their lives. Not once. So this losing weight/ body transformation stuff is deep. On the surface, it looks like it’s all in the technique. Eat these foods, do these exercises. Hell, hire a personal trainer! Just do this and you will lose weight right? Here is my answer: IF IT WERE JUST ABOUT WHAT FOOD TO EAT AND WHICH EXERCISES TO DO THEN YOU WOULD NOT BE READING THIS. I will say it again: if the answers to getting your ideal body were just in a diet and exercise program, then we would all be fitness models.
The answers to how to eat and how to exercise are out there. As much as part of me hates to admit it, they are there. For Free. On the Internet, in the library and usually in your own head already. The true obstacle is not finding the right plan, it is how to overcome your own barriers in order to execute the right plan. Training your mind for success is one of the most worthwhile and rewarding skills you can learn. But they do not teach it in school, college or even the weight loss and diet books. What a shame! Because by NOT teaching you how to train your mind, our educational system and fitness professionals therefore leave you with the impression that weight loss “just automatically happens” when you find a quality program or the right trainer. And I hate to break it to you, but the reality is… that’s just not the case. Sure, you can lose a lot of weight and start down the path to achieving your ideal body but without incorporating the mental aspect of training for great success, you will eventually encounter your “permanent” barrier. Because the reprogramming required to overcome your permanent barrier is really what the whole journey is about. It’s what makes weight loss and body transformation such a rich experience that changes people’s whole lives every time. Some people’s barrier is at the entrance to the road and for some it’s 10 pounds away from their ultimate goal. But it is where you feel hopeless, helpless and lost. And no amount of diet and exercise advice can save you. Over the years, with my clients and my own experience, I’ve developed a library of mental training techniques specifically aimed at helping others overcome their barriers to weight loss success. They will be compiled and released later on this year in by book MIND GAMES: Mental Training Systems for Finally Achieving Body Transformation” , but I had to take at least these 3 and share them now so I can show how powerful just a few simple steps can be in a body transformation. In this e-book, I will share 3 techniques for conditioning your mind for the success you deserve in less than 10 minutes a day. Once you’ve tried your technique(s), please contact me, Anna Smith, about your experiences at annathetrainer@me.com-- I’d love to hear about it.
MENTAL TRAINING IS AN AWKWARD LIFE RAFT
The results of mental training are like a life raft to those who are struggling, but there is a catch. The results of training your mind are astonishing, empowering, life changing and sometimes shocking. But, if I am being honest, the mental training itself is awkward. Especially if you’ve never done it. But keep in mind… THE RESULTS ARE WORTH THE EFFORT For example: When I was pregnant, I was interested in natural childbirth. Sounds brave right? To say I was terrified of it was an understatement so I was in the front row of childbirth class determined to learn as much as I could before I delivered ANYTHING. Our leader did this experiment. After she taught us how to condition our minds using breath, and focus, and use lights, music and all our senses, she had us hold ice. Yep. We held ice in our hands for 1 minute in a bright room just holding it to see how long we could go. The longest anyone could hold out was 29 seconds. Then we did the same experiment using all those tools she taught us and everyone made it the full minute and felt fine. Even the guys! Another example: Do not under any circumstances think or picture in your mind, ready> Now its important you do not think about a BIG PIPING HOT SLICE OF PIZZA right out of the oven, with cheese melting off the sides, the crust browning just at the edges, and covered in pepperoni. I say it again, DO NOT THINK ABOUT FRESHLY BAKED CHEESE AND PEPPERONI PIZZA! Try not to have that for lunch now! ☺ If you want to be successful at body transformation, you’ve got to get real and get serious about training your mind. If you want to find out what is holding you back, invest in your self. Learn the techniques like those here and those in Mind Games that needed to remove the barriers and allow you to get this done and get on with your life. The mind is infinitely powerful. It’s time to use it to your advantage. So before I get to the techniques, I’d like to ask that you commit to trying at least one of them for 30 days. That means, if you forget about it for a few days, miss a weekend, go to bed and wake up realizing you forgot it last night, whatever the case – you get right back on track as soon as you remember because you promise to commit to trying at least one of these techniques for 30 days. I need to warn you that the first 2 weeks is NOT the time to quit. Repetition is the only way this works.
REPETITION IS THE ONLY WAY THIS WORKS REPETITION IS THE ONLY WAY THIS WORKS REPETITION IS THE ONLY WAY THIS WORKS REPETITION IS THE ONLY WAY THIS WORKS REPETITION IS THE ONLY WAY THIS WORKS REPETITION IS THE ONLY WAY THIS WORKS REPETITION IS THE ONLY WAY THIS WORKS REPETITION IS THE ONLY WAY THIS WORKS REPETITION IS THE ONLY WAY THIS WORKS REPETITION IS THE ONLY WAY THIS WORKS REPETITION IS THE ONLY WAY THIS WORKS REPETITION IS THE ONLY WAY THIS WORKS REPETITION IS THE ONLY WAY THIS WORKS REPETITION IS THE ONLY WAY THIS WORKS Did that help make the point?
HOMEWORK and TECHNIQUES
You are going to need some quiet time and a pen and some paper. This is going to be a work in progress then you will want to have it in a form you can read every day all together as efficiently as possible. I have a tested and proven journal worksheet and mental training template for daily reading in the Mind Games book, but you’ll basically need a notebook or journal of some kind that you can read once in the morning and once at night for now. STEP 1 – SET THE EXACT GOAL You’ve heard it a million times. If you do not know what the heck you are working so hard to achieve, then where in the world are you focusing your energy? On what you shouldn’t do? If you get what you focus on (think pizza in the above example) then that strategy should go straight to the trash bin. The words around the focus don’t matter. You need a destination to focus on. So sit back and imagine exactly what this goal looks like. What does it measure? If it’s weight, a measurement, a clothing size, or if you want to set an athletic goal, is it running a mile, 2 miles, 3 miles? In how long? Set the exact goal you want. In fact, set 3 of them. Do not move to step 2 until you have done this. STEP 2- FIND OUT WHY YOU WANT YOUR GOALS If the reasons you want to achieve this goal cannot outweigh the comfort of old habits and the temptation to eat foolishly, blow off a workout, halfway do a workout, or give up all together, then I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you are dead in the water. Under each goal you’ve set, write 20 reasons why you want to achieve that goal. Some prompts to help you get all 20 are helpful: Why do you want this goal now not later? What is your current health/weight costing you in your daily life? How does it make you feel? When you achieve your goal, standing there in your new body, how will that feel? What will have changed? What about life will be better for you then? What about life will be better for those around you then? So on and so forth until you get to 20. Then take each one and ask why that one is important and search for the root cause. It's usually different than your initial impression of why you want this. And if it gets uncomfortable, then you are probably on the right track! STEP 3- REPROGRAM YOUR SELF-TALK There are whole books on this topic, so I will cut right to the chase. You talk to yourself all day and all night. And what you say is based on what you really thing about yourself. It is your perception of you. Much how a child is shaped by the feedback of a parent, this is your feedback. If you have no idea how you talk to yourself, take a day and observe. It will reveal your self-image at its deepest level. Most of us have no idea what we are thinking about all day long. It requires a high level of self-awareness and involves focused intention on listening to what we are saying to ourselves to discover. A lot of time will be spent on this in Mind Games so that you know exactly those self-images that are holding you back but the quickest route will be to put this in our context and use it for an example. First we think a thought. For example, my favorite (have you ever thought this?) “Why wont the scale move? Or “Why is this so hard for me?” “I’ll never really have an amazing body, but I’ll just do the best I can.” Now remember, this is not a one-time thought right? This is a thought that goes through the brain regularly, hundreds, thousands of times over your life! That thought then comes out in words. “I like food too much” “I don’t have the willpower ” “Well, I’m trying to lose weight again…” “If I ever lose this weight…” “No matter what I do, I just can’t lose weight” “I hate having to get up and go exercise…” “It’s not fair that I can’t eat my favorite foods…” “Why is losing weight so HARD…” “I hope I can get this last 10 pounds off by Christmas…” “I don't want to be fat anymore” “I’d love to get rid of this gut” Those words are repeated over and over again strengthening the belief that deep down, this person is a weight loss failure. With that belief, the actions this person takes are not effective, how can they be? These actions become habits over time. This person is habitually failing at their dreams. The good news is that the only thing you as a human truly have control over is your thoughts. A person thinking like this is going to make different food choices, and have a totally different workout than this very same person who is feeding their brain with “I am in control of my every action” “I’m worth every effort I make” “It’s awesome to be achieving this goal…” “I am getting leaner and stronger everyday…” “I love knowing my Holidays wont be clouded with worry over my weight this year!” “I can’t wait to see how much faster I can go today in my workout!” This is the same person who is on purpose using their thoughts and words towards their goals. I bet this person takes different actions, and creates different habits and then enjoys a whole different set of results. Thoughts create your current circumstances and results, whether you know it or believe. Regardless of your weight loss “program!!! Now, for your assignment, think about you, already at your goal, living in your daily life having already achieved your goal. Wait. Don’t keep reading. Stop and close your eyes and picture you at your goal. Welcome back. Wasn’t that nice? Now, describe yourself in the picture in your mind in sentences starting like these: “I am…” “I am…” “I am…” These are the affirmations you need to read every day and they should bring about the feeling that you had while you were imagining your goal. Write these affirmations after your goals and why statements in your notebook. STEP 4 - ELIMINATE GOAL AMNESIA You think you don’t’ have goal amnesia, right? For crying out loud all you think about is losing weight! I believe you. But I know everyone can relate to this. You have a function on Saturday night. All your people whose opinions you value will be there. It’s 3 weeks away, you are wishing you were eating well and exercising more, but you are not. Two weeks away, you experience the same thing. One week to go, you start to tighten up. Saturday of the event you are up at the crack of dawn getting in a workout and eating like a mouse. IT’S EASY TO FOCUS ON YOUR GOAL WHEN IT IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU So the rest of this is simple. Put it all right I front of you for 10 minutes a day. In the morning take 1 minute to just sit and breathe. Clear your mind. Count how many seconds your in breath is and do the same for your out breath. Listen for any noises around you. If you start thinking about dinner, that coworker, your hangnail…just come back to counting your breath length and listening to your surroundings. It’s a long minute at first! The first several times you do it, you will want to throw in the towel, so remember that. Give it a minute and then move on. You’ll be getting 2 chances a day to see how it goes, so no hurry. Then spend the next 4 minutes reading your journal from the three steps above. All you need to do is read and believe those goals. Read and believe those affirmations and feel what success feels like. If they don’t get you kind of fired up just thinking about the possibilities of this new line of thinking, you have to go back to the drawing board and put your heart into this creation. In the evening just before bed, do it again.
