Motivation and Mindset

Getting It Right This Year

There is a saying that goes….. ‘If you fail to plan then you are planning to fail!

The A-team never step out without a plan as Hannibal says, ‘He loves it when a plan comes together!’

This year I want you to feel the same I want you to love it because your plan has come together!

But first you have to plan!

Start with a blank sheet of paper and decide what it is you want to achieve, what are your goals.

Now decide on a time frame for achieving them.

And finally for this section ask yourself, ‘is this goal of mine realistic in this time frame I have set? ‘

Once you have done the above you have completed step 1 you should be able to feel the beginning sparks of success.

By placing your goals down in black and white you have made a map but this is not good unless we have a route to follow to get to our destination.

Planning the route is the hardest part but is the most important. Everyone gets excited by their goal but you don’t have the steps or route to get to your destination you’re likely to get lost on the way.

New sheet of paper required I think or if your green you can write on the back.

I want you to write all the things that you will need to do to achieve the goal. Group them under different headings so that you understand all that is involved in achieving your goals. As you know absolute training is all about healthy weight loss. So if your goal was to lose weight then your headings and list might look a little bit like this:

Diet

Plan day by day what to eat
Make a shopping list
Clear the cupboards of all crap food
Etc etc etc

Exercise

Decide what type of exercise I want to do
Find classes or get a membership
Place into my diary with the same importance as a business meeting my training days and times

Motivation

Identify all factors that could cause you to have a decrease in motivation.

Slow results
No results
Busy at work
etc

Support

Build yourself a support network.

Get a training partner
Keep a food diary with a friend and compare
Tell people your goals and time frame and ask tem to help you when you are out with them buy not forcing you to have coffee and a cake or to have that sweet, sticky pudding etc.

Build yourself a strategy for coping with any problems that might appear. For instance always keep nuts in your desk or car, so that if a meeting over runs you have a healthy snack to get you through rather then hitting the garage and a chocolate bar!

Become a member of the A-team and Plan to succeed as ‘I pity the fool’ who doesn’t have plan!

We are here for you every step of the way if you need help with the planning or execution just call or email.

Committed to your success

Keith and Clare

01494 783 685

info@absolute-training.com

It Definitely Affects Your Brain

Hows your Grey Matter doing?

Are you focusing on your weight loss or body image results or is your concentration and motivation wavering?

Are you craving and therefore heading for the naughty foods more and more?

Exercise could be the key ingredient when it comes to stopping your cravings.

I know, sad…. But it looks like it’s true according to research performed this year.

Here at Absolute training HQ people are always saying to us how when they exercise they make better food choices and their cravings diminish.

There are 2 reasons for this;

Exercise helps your body control blood sugar
Exercise could strengthen the decision making part of the brain

As option 1 has been covered in many articles in many publications and other peoples blogs I’m going to cover the latest research which is about exercise and it’s effects on your decision making ability, lets talk about your BRAIN.

Your Brain and Over Eating

At the front of your brain there are a special group of cells that are called the prefrontal cortex. This area of

your brain is responsible for your DECISION MAKING skills.

The study, referenced below demonstrated a decline in signalling from this part of the brain. Which leads to poorer decisions being made about food choices.

There is a saviour though….. EXERCISE!

Exercise is great to help you with your weight loss or body image, it burns calories, increases your metabolism, releases endorphins in to your blood making you feel good…. Or as one of our clients say’s his ‘Em dolphins’ are doing fine!

The reduction in signalling is not due to damage to the area, it is rather the results of relentless strain placed on the area by people who continuously over eat, an obesogenic environment. The over use of these area in the prefrontal cortex my lead to impairment facilitating further impulses to over eat!

Physical activity may be used to counteract the drive to over eat as it enhances goal orientated decision making.

So exercise, whether you love it or hate it is a necessary evil in the battle of the bulge!

See you at a training session soon, Right?