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The Successes & Failures of
Fitness
In the age of information, many of the
principles of health and fitness have
become all but common knowledge.
Nevertheless, there still is a very clear
divide between those people who become
successful and losing weight and/or
staying fit and those who do not.
Why is that? And what can you do to
improve your chances of being in the
successful minority as opposed to the
unsuccessful majority?
When it comes to the world of weight loss
and being fit, there are generally two
areas that help to determine what you can
expect for your efforts.
- Genetic
Factors
- Psychological
Factors
Most of the
information out there is geared around
the Genetic factors and how to compensate
for any natural shortcomings with a
certain amount of physical activity and
dieting.
One of the most popular topics along the
lines of genetics is that of Body Type.
Anatomical body type is generally broken
down into 3 basic groups: Ectomorphic,
Mesomorphic, and Endomorphic.
Ectomorphic types are characterized as
people with thin, up and down body frames
who have the easiest time keeping their
weight under control. Basketball players
and runway models will often fit into
this category.
Mesomorphic body types are characterized
as people with athletic frames and
generally muscular, well-proportioned
bodies. Bodybuilders and dancers will
often fit in here.
Endomorphic body types tend to be
generally round figures and will often
have the most trouble in keeping unwanted
weight off of their bodies.
Most of us are combinations of two or
more of these types with one being more
dominant than the others.
One important note about these anatomical
types is that while they may give some
insight to how you look on the outside,
they can deceive us as to how healthy you
are internally. Many people who may be
"thin" are literally decaying
inside due to bad habits (poor diet,
smoking, lack of exercise).
By contrast, there are many people who
are not stereotypically thin, but are
pictures of healthy due to healthy
lifestyles (proper nutrition, physical
activity).
The general role of knowing your body
type is to get an explanation of how your
body will tend to respond to your diet
and lifestyle in terms of how easy or
challenging it may be for you to
"hold it together" in certain
areas. Another way of classifying your
body is by which of your
hormone-producing glands dominates the
way you process nutrients in the food you
eat.
These Glandular ("metabolic")
types will fall into one of 4 categories:
Adrenal, Thyroidal, Pituitary, or
Gonadal. The explanation of each is very
similar to that of the anatomical body
types above. The adrenal type tends to
correspond with the mesomorphic
anatomical type. The thyroidal is similar
to the ectomorphic, and the pituitary to
the endomorphic.
The gonadal type is a women-only
classification that is a hybrid of being
slender on the top but somewhat larger
below the waist with a greater amount of
body fat. The gonadal body type among
women is more commonly referred to as
being "pear shaped".
There is a third type of body
classification that you may come across
that originated in Ancient India. It has
to do with "Doshas" - how the
energy fields of the earth and your
physical mass interact to influence how
you feel.
This is not directly related to the
physical aspect of weight loss but tends
to give you an idea on how what
psychological advantages or challenges
you may have when it comes to getting and
staying fit.
This brings me to a major point of
clarity in this article:
As valuable as all of the body type
information may be to learning your body,
it is not the "end all" that it
is often marketed to be.
You are neither "guaranteed" to
look and feel great nor
"doomed" to be overweight and
unhealthy simply based on your genetics
and body classification. Body types
should only be used to give you insight
on what advantages or challenges that you
may have in your quest for life-long
fitness---not a life or death sentence
that limits what you can achieve.
In reality, the Psychological factors
related to how you look and feel are
really where the rubber meets the road in
weight loss and staying healthy and fit.
It is here that you will find the tools
to overcome whatever physical challenges
that you are faced with. Therefore, it is
here where you absolutely focus the
MAJORITY of your energy if you are become
and stay successful with your health and
fitness goals.
One thing that many people do not
consider is how the knowledge of their
"body type" and what that means
affects their psychological outlook in
the first place.
Many "fit" people who look
great because they eat right and exercise
do so because they already believe that
they've "got something" that is
valuable and maintained. Therefore, their
healthy lifestyle is just a matter of
course.
The importance of the effect that your
outlook on your results cannot be
ignored. To put it plainly, your outLOOK
directly affects your outPUT.
If you don't happen to be one of those
people who seem to "naturally"
have it together when it comes to your
body (or you have been before but have
since lost the "magic"), then
what you will need to do is simply tap
into the strength of your own psyche to
push you toward success.
There are 5 Key Steps that you need to
follow in order to take advantage of your
own reservoirs of power, drive, and
confidence.
- Self
Acceptance
In order for ANY of
this to work, you will want to
either have or develop of certain
level of self acceptance for your
body and all of its great points
as well as its weaknesses.
This
doesn't mean that you have to be
satisfied with yourself when you
may be out of shape. What is DOES
mean, however, is that you have
to be "ok" with having
YOUR "best body"---not
someone else's.
- Find the
Keys to Your Own Motivation
Different things
work for different people. While
there may be 4 or 5 body types,
there are even more different
personality types. You may want
to try several different types of
motivational tools to see which
one you respond to best for the
results you want. Here are a few
ideas of things to try:
- Having
a workout/diet buddy (or
buddies)
- Motivational
books and tapes
- Imagining
how you will look and
feel when you reach YOUR
personal best
- Thinking
of the quality of life
benefits of being healthy
and fit
And there
are tons more.
- Setting
Attainable Goals after You've
Gotten #1 and #2 Firmly Under
Your Belt
Most people try to
simply pull random goals out of
the sky. This can often lead to
first failure then disappointment
when issues with self acceptance
are combined with a lack of
understanding what motivates you.
- Drown
Yourself in Those Things that
Motivate You
Once you've figured
out what works for you, DROWN
yourself in it! If it works, then
work IT. Take full advantage of
the #1 factor in successfully
achieving weight loss and
maintaining physical fitness.
- Maintain
Your Progress by Making Fitness a
Lifestyle
As many of you know
by now, I am NOT a fan of
traditional diets. They simply do
not work. More than anything
else, it is your day-to-day
lifestyle that will determine
what results you get, and your
psychological outlook is what
either drives you to or pulls you
away from the activities that
form that lifestyle.
There is simply no
reason on earth that you cannot be one of
the "Successful" people when it
comes to weight loss and fitness.
Educate yourself on your body's strengths
and weaknesses, then develop a winning
attitude by provided your psyche with
effective motivation that it will respond
to. That's the hardest part. And its very
doable with the right information and
coaching, which is why I came up with the
YourBestBodyNOW web site and
weight loss program for people just like
you. The rest, as they say, is will be a
cinch.
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for Australian residents and is not a
substitute for independent professional
advice. Information and interactions
contained in this Web site are for
information purposes only and are not
intended to be used to diagnose, treat,
cure or prevent any disease. Further, the
accuracy, currency and completeness of
the information available on this Web
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Services, Its Affiliates, Researchers or
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