Beating the bulge and tips to eating sensibly over Christmas

The average person gains 2.5kg over Christmas - but it's not just down to greed. Dietician Dr Susan Roberts reveals the hidden psychological triggers that trick us into over-eating...

Not only turkeys fatten up at this time of year. It’s shockingly easy to gain 2.5kg or even 5kg in the three weeks between early December and the start of the New Year.

The result is not just a few extra inches around the middle but also an overwhelming sense of disappointment because, in retrospect, the enjoyment we got from those extra calories is pretty paltry compared to the long hard slog of taking them all off again.

Of course, avoiding the festive binge isn’t impossible, but there’s a lot more to it than just vowing to count our calories.

The real challenge of Christmas isn’t the food we eat, but the circumstances in which we eat it.

On Christmas Day alone, we eat about 3,000 calories more than we need with the first chocolate eaten at 8.39am (according to recent research).

This isn’t just down to greed — it’s a natural human response to a particular set of triggers.

The huge amounts of food prepared cause unconscious overeating — the sight and smell of it sets off metabolic signals of hunger and expand our stomach so that we need to eat more to feel equally full.

And then there is the food itself.

The defining characteristic of traditional festive items — the bacon-roasted turkey, butter-laden stuffing, potatoes cooked in goose fat, Christmas pudding with brandy cream and rich fruit cake topped with marzipan and icing — is that they’re extremely high in calories and very low in fibre. In other words, you have to eat huge amounts of them before you feel full.

Unfortunately, the challenges don’t stop there.

That huge variety of food on the Christmas table is part of what makes Christmas dinner special, right? Wrong.
The sheer luxury of choice means that most diners eat an extra 400 calories simply tasting all of the delights on offer.

And you know that lovely big crowd at the dinner table?

Well, according to research you can add another 35 calories to your intake for every guest settling down for the festive lunch — with, say, 11 guests at the table, you’ll probably eat an extra 400 calories without realizing it.

Eating in a group relaxes us, and the sight of other people tucking in encourages us to do the same.

These ‘social facilitators’ of overeating are so effective at increasing our mealtime calorie count that nursing homes — where weight loss is often a problem — are starting

Research also reveals that having music playing when you eat means you’ll consume an extra 100 calories on top, as it takes your mind off being careful about what you eat.

And all of this is before the traditional evening spent in front of the box, complete with favourite snacks in hand. This adds at least another 140 calories.

And then there are the after-effects of that delicious meal. Studies show that, even if you try like crazy to keep calories down to usual levels on Christmas Day, you will be hungrier and eat more at the next meal.

Again, this happens because our nervous system is activated by the sight of the delicious looking food in front of us (it’s true that we eat with our eyes), and this causes our digestive system to speed up.

This results in us digesting food faster, meaning that we will have an empty stomach again, all too soon.

It may seem unfair and counterproductive today, but what nutrition scientists call the ‘second meal’ effect served us well during earlier times when our genes were  evolving, because it made it possible to have multiple meals on those occasional times when an abundance food was there for the taking.

Today, the negative cycle of having one great blow-out meal and then not being able to snap back to more sensible-sized portions happens because those delicious high-fat and high-sugar foods, which don’t fill us up as fast as fibrous foods would, speed up our metabolic rate.
This then triggers hunger pangs at the next meal making it hard to resist — no matter how much we ate at the last meal.

It’s the reason you can go out for a slap-up meal in the evening and despite rolling into bed feeling uncomfortably full — and promising you won’t eat again for a week — you wake up starving. So the slippery slope starts, and is continued as party after party gets in the way of avoiding overeating.

But enough of the doom and gloom. Keeping the weight off at Christmas isn’t an impossible task.

Although we can’t get away from our instinctive eating behaviors, we can learn to control them.

If you are the one in charge of making food, arming yourself with some basic knowledge about the produce you’ll be eating — and consigning the very large plates to the back of the cupboard — will ensure you can step onto the scales come January 2 and feel good about it. Or at least not feel too bad.

Even if you’re dining out and feel uncomfortable asking your host for changes, there are some easy invisible ways to control your natural biology and cut down on all the ‘unthinking’ calories eaten.

So put a nice thin picture of yourself up on the fridge to keep weight control in mind, and use these five simple tips — based on my effective ‘I’ diet weight control programme, to help yourself.

1. BE PREPARED

Even if you’re not the one cooking the Christmas meal, you don’t have to be at the mercy of your host.

One surefire way to limit overeating is to add 100-150g of a really high fibre cereal like All Bran to your regular meals (some people like to sprinkle it on salads for a crouton effect, or you can just have it with milk for an extra course) for two days before the overeating starts.
Rather than eating smaller portions in the run-up to Christmas to ‘bank’ calories — which is exactly what will cause bingeing later — give yourself this meal-booster to gain fullness and control.

You won’t be hungry when you sit down, meaning you can enjoy a couple of days of rich food but you’ll automatically want to eat far less.

 

2. SKIP THE BORING STUFF

Every festive meal has some high calorie things you don’t particularly care for, so save your calories for the foods you really do love.

By not looking at, smelling and especially tasting even a single bite of the mundane items — my list here would include crisps and other non-special starters and snacks, any Christmas cake that is not homemade, and mince pies unless they come from Marks & Spencer or your mum — you avoid revving up metabolic hunger signals unnecessarily.

As for work parties and other events where the food is simply all-round poor — have something satisfying such as high-fibre cereal with milk or an apple to eat before you go, and keep a glass of soda water or tonic in your hand for a calorie-free option (alcohol is full of ‘empty’ calories that will pile on the pounds before you’ve even eaten a single sausage wrapped in bacon).

Not wolfing down the canapes at five of the ten parties you’ll attend between now and January 2, is much easier than you might imagine.
The trick is, not to get started. By avoiding the first bite, you prevent the metabolic signals of hunger, that rev up when you put food in your mouth, giving you an appetite for something bigger. It is the easiest way to cut excess calories — and poundage — in half.

3. MICRO-MANAGE THE TABLE AROUND YOU

Surreptitiously controlling your food

So as you take your seat at the Christmas table, bear in mind that short, skinny neighbours will serve themselves smaller portions and tempt you to eat less than tall overweight or athletic ones.

If you can’t choose to sit next to somebody who only weighs eight stone, keep the high-calorie foods and alcohol moving down the table, making sure that none of it ends up within reach.

If you’ve ever found yourself sitting near to a bowl of crisps and unable to ignore them you’re not alone.

Numerous studies have shown that how close you are to food determines how much you load on your plate, so even simple steps like this can be a big help.

4. RECOVER CONTROL THE VERY NEXT DAY

Yes, we have the metabolic effects of feasts like Christmas Day that make us ready for another good meal all too soon (with those high fat foods speeding up our digestion and increasing our hunger levels), but that doesn’t mean you are helpless. The key to nipping negative cycles in the bud is doing recovery activities in the right order. Although cutting out high-calorie treats starting the next day might seem like the right place to start, in fact this superficially easy route frequently leads to failure because you get hungry and then cheat.

Before you know it, you’ve eaten more than you would have if you’d just stuck to your usual routine.

The key here in my clinical experience is to satisfy yourself before the hunger kicks in and that means eating filling, fibrous foods before your stomach starts rumbling from hunger.

Put yourself on a high-fibre regime the very next morning — high-fibre cereals, bean dishes and low-carb, high-fibre breads are the best for giving you that feeling of all-round fullness — and see how quickly you lose the urge to overeat.

5. THROW OUT THE WELL-INTENTIONED FOOD GIFTS

Yes, I know your best friend or sister-in-law would be offended if she knew that you tossed her box of luxury chocolates in the bin, but if she doesn’t know she can’t mind.

Controlling your own food — the food that you buy and bring into the house yourself — is much easier than the free stuff other people hand over.
So do yourself a favour and, unless the food is something healthy like a fresh, fragrant loaf of homemade wholemeal bread, be willing to consign it to the rubbish (or pass it on to someone else) and pat yourself on the back for being tough.

In the toxic food environment we live in, controlling your weight takes real effort and the more you can take control of food in the immediate space around you, the easier it will be.

Turn Back your Body Clock

You know how many candles lit up your last birthday cake. This is your chronological age but do you really know your REAL body age? This may be very different depending how fit you are. Regular exercise can slow several aspects of ageing, such as muscle and bone. Research shows that a person that exercises has a 20yr advantage over a sedentary person in terms of function. For example, studies show that the running time of a 65yr old active person is about the same as a sedentary 45yr old. Of course you would be much older than your chronological age if you were a coach potato. 

Try these self-tests developed by the Cooper Institute of Aerobic Fitness in Dallas. Comparing your scores with your age and sex can give you a good indication of how fit you are. The numbers also can provide a good baseline to compare yourself with six weeks or six months from now. When you see that you started out being able to do only as many sit-ups as the average 60-year-old, then after working out for two months, could do as many as the average 30-year-old, that's a great motivator.

Test 1 - Upper Body Strength: 

Perform as many push-ups as you can in one minute. 

Men should have only their hands and toes touching the floor; women can use the "modified" position, with their hands and knees touching the floor.

The average score for women in their twenties is 26, in their thirties is 21, in their forties is 15, in their fifties is 13 and over sixty is 8. The average score for men in their twenties is 33, in their thirties is 27, in their forties is 21, in their fifties is 15 and over sixty is 15.

Test 2 - Abdominal Strength: 

Perform as many sit-ups as you can in one minute, keeping your knees bent, feet flat on the floor, arms at your sides and palms down with fingers extended. Curl up only until your shoulder blades lift off the floor, and let your fingers slide forward along the floor about three inches.

An "intermediate" range for women in their twenties is 25 to 45, in their thirties is 20 to 40, in their forties is 18 to 35, in their fifties is 12 to 30 and over sixty is 11 to 25. The intermediate range for men in their twenties is 30 to 50, in their thirties is 22 to 45, in their forties is 21 to 40, in their fifties is 18 to 35, and over sixty is 15 to 30.

Test 3 - Flexibility

To gauge the flexibility of your lower back and hamstrings, tape a yardstick to the floor, then place a foot-long strip of tape perpendicular to the yardstick at the 15-inch mark. Take off your shoes and sit on the floor with your legs straight, straddling the yardstick with the "0" end closest to your groin and your heels on the piece of tape at the 15-inch mark. Place one hand on top of the other and lean forward slowly with your legs straight, reaching as far forward along the yardstick as you can without bending your knees.

Your score is the point at which your fingertips touch the yardstick at maximum reach. 

The average score for a woman in her twenties is 20", in her thirties is 19", in her forties is 18", in her fifties is 17.9" and over 60 is 16.4". The average score for a man in his twenties is 17.5", in his thirties is 16.5", in his forties is 15.3", in his fifties is 14.5" and over sixty is 13.5".

Test 4 - Aerobic Fitness

Timing how long it takes you to run or walk a certain distance, and your heart rate response to that effort, is a good indication of your cardiovascular endurance. At Step into Life Hallett Cove we run scientifically based cardiovascular sessions that target various heart rate zones through interval training techniques. We also offer regular fitness testing on our timetable which includes all the above 4 tests. 

Keeping fit is more important than ever with age. If after performing the above test you are unhappy with the results, then regular exercise is the answer. 

Exercise can help boost your fitness at any age so it is never to late to exercise and turn back your body clock.

Jason Kimber

Personal Trainer / Director

Step into Life Hallett Cove
hallettcove@stepintolife.com


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Top 10 Weight Loss & Healthy Living Tips

Tip 1 - Eat breakfast everyday.  

Eat breakfast everyday. Breakfast kickstarts your metabolism, helps you to concentrate and perform better at work and aids in weight loss. If you are not used to eating breakfast start with a small bowl of oats with warm milk (honey to taste) and 2 glasses of water. Very quick to prepare and has all the necessary nutrients to start your day.

Tip 2 - Drink more water during the day.

Aim to drink a least 8 - 10 big glasses per day, or about 2.5 - 3ltrs. This may be difficult for some. I find the easiest way to achieve this is to have 2 big glasses of water with every meal. If you do this it is already 6 glasses. All you then need to do is add 2 more glasses between meals and you are there! Remember though if you are a coffee drinker you will need to drink 2 extra glasses of water for every coffee because coffee dehydrates 600mls for every cup! There are so many benefits to drinking more water. Here is a short list of 5 key health benefits:

• You actually need to 'drink water to lose water'. When we dont drink enough water during the day our bodies retain fluid so we can actually look a feel fatter than we really are!
• If you drink 2 glasses of water before every meal you will eat less aiding in weight loss. Just One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters! (studies in Washington)
• Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer!!
• Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.
• Lack of water is the #1 reason for daytime fatigue.

Tip 3 - Early to Bed, Early to Rise! Get 7 - 8hrs sleep every night

Exercise, eat right, and get a good night’s rest = Weight Loss. According to recent data on the relationship between weight loss and sleep, if you want to lose weight you really need to do all three. When you are sleep deprived you body has an increased craving for food and not feeling full. Sleep deprived people tend to chose different food to snack on, mainly high calorie sweets and salty starchy foods. When your body is not hungry for sleep, it won’t be so hungry for food either! 

Getting enough sleep is essential for the normal functioning of all systems in the body and has direct effect on the individual's mental and physical health. Sleep, like diet and exercise, is important for our minds and bodies to function normally.    

Tip 4 - Supplement your nutrition with high quality Multi-Vitamin/Mineral and Fish Oil Tablets

You are putting in the time and effort into your training, which is the key to staying fit externally and internally, but nutrition is equally important. Are you providing you body with the nutrients it needs? Our lives are busy; fast paced and stressful. The bodies general requirement for certain vitamins and minerals is higher in some lifestyle circumstances such as physical exercise, illness, stress, pollution, poor diet, the excessive consumption of alcohol and caffeine. Our diet is not always what we would like it to be. The supplementation of vitamins and minerals will assist with these deficiencies. Supplementation with a daily multivitamin and mineral as well as Omega 3 Fish Oil will help to maintain health in the following ways:

• General Health and Wellbeing
• Assist with healthy ageing
• Improve Cellular activity through antioxidants (prevent colds, flues and viruses)
• Maintain healthy cholesterol levels
• Reduction of inflammation associates with Arthritis
• Maintenance of a healthy cardiovascular system
• Migraine Management

Not all supplements are created equal and there are plenty of poor quality products on the market. Supplements need to be made from high quality trace elements and of pharmaceutical grade. I have done extensive research in this area and can highly recommend the Step into Life range of Supplements. 

Tip 5 - Reduce Salt in your Diet 

A key to healthy eating is choosing foods lower in salt and sodium.  Most Australians consume 2-3 times more salt than they need. The current recommendation is to consume less than 2.4 grams (2,400 milligrams [mg] ) of sodium a day. That equals 6 grams (about 1 teaspoon) of table salt a day. The 6 grams include ALL salt and sodium consumed, including that used in cooking and at the table.  Too much salt in your diet is the leading cause of high blood pressure, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke.  

Too much salt stops the body from recycling calcium. If you don’t get enough calcium to replace it from your diet, your body is forced to take calcium out of your bones to keep blood at the right level. This can cause osteoporosis to develop.

Interestingly, too much salt in you diet also causes fluid retention. This means if you drink the required amount of water in the day and have a high salt diet, your body will retain this fluid and you will look bigger than you actually are! You will also weigh more! (Contestants used this tactic on The Biggest Loser when they had immunity. This is now banned.)

Make sure you check the sodium content of your foods next time you go shopping. You may be very surprised how high is salt our foods actually are. A great salt substitute is called 'Herbamare'. It is a certified organic Sea Salt seasoned with Herbs and Vegetables. This is available from any supermarket.

Tip 6 - Take the stairs instead of the elevator

Taking the stairs is a great way to get in shape, improve cardiovascular function and strengthen and tone the legs muscles.

Given all our modern conveniences including cars, elevators, escalators, and computers, it is easy to go through a whole day without getting much physical activity. Activities that you can fit into your daily routine – like choosing the stairs instead of the elevator – is increasingly being urged by public health experts who point to mounting evidence that small amounts of exercise accumulated throughout the day can provide significant health benefits.  

  

Some reasons to take the stairs:

• People spend an estimated two-thirds of their lives at their place of employment. In order to stay healthy, we need to find ways to incorporate physical activity into our workday.
• Physical activities like stair climbing are a great way to cope with job-related stress
• Climbing just two flights of stairs everyday could result a loss of 2.7kg or 6lbs per year. Six flights a day could help you trim nearly 18 lbs. Why Weight?
• Adding stairs to your day can add years to your life. Studies show that risk of cardiovascular disease and death is lower among those who are regular Stair climbers.
• Stair climbing can also add life to your years. Those who climb stairs on a daily basis have greater leg strength and aerobic capacity, allowing them to participate more fully in a wide range of daily activities.
• Taking the stairs is often faster than waiting for an elevator during peak usage times. Take the test and time your trip. Often for trips of 7 floors or less, the stairs are the quickest way to your destination.
• Using the stairs requires no special skill, equipment or clothing and it burns twice as many calories as walking. Step right up!!

Stair climbing is quite strenuous. When you start taking the stairs begin slowly and take one flight at a time. Gradually increase the number of stairs you do. The more you go up and down the stairs, the stronger you’ll become and the easier it will be. Be aware that you may not want to take the stairs if you have knee problems, arthritis or a heart or lung condition.

Stair climbing is also a great way to fight the weight gain that often comes with the holiday season and winter months. Taking the stairs burns more calories per minute than most other forms of physical activity.

Don't have stairs at your workplace? You can park your car further away or get off the bus one stop away........but if you’re running late for work, don’t blame it on me! :)

  

Tip 7 - Eat less fat - but do it wisely

We've known for some time that limiting high fat foods in the diet can be helpful with weight loss. That's because fats pack in 9 calories per gram compared to only 4 calories per gram from proteins or carbohydrates. To many, the message to limit fats implied an endorsement to eat unlimited amounts of fat-free products. Just to clarify, fat-free foods have calories too. In some cases fat-free foods have as many calories as their fat laden counterparts. If you eat more calories than your body uses, you will gain weight. Eating less fat will help you to lose weight. Eating less fat and replacing it with excessive amounts of fat-free products will not.

Tip 8 – Slow down! You Eat to Fast!

EVERYTHING in our lives is fast – fast cars, fast trains, fast lanes, fast money, fast broadband and, of course, fast food. There’s lunch on the run, dinner in under 30 minutes, two-minute noodles and take-away to grab and run. Life – and eating – is rushed and stressful. Eating slowly is also one fo the most successful techniques to help lose weight. A recent study of 30 women showed that eating slowly helped them reduce food intake by around 66 calories (275kilojoules) at each meal.

It takes 20 minutes for our stomach to tell our brains that we are full. If we eat fast, we can eat way past what we need. This causes us to be overweight, develop chronic health problems and reduce our quality and quantity of life.

Slow down using this "Fork Down!" technique that has helped many people. You may even notice yourself tasting your food, enjoying it more and losing weight.

Here's How:

1. Put food in your mouth.
2. Put your fork, spoon, or chopsticks on the table.
3. Release your fork, spoon or chopsticks from your hand.
4. Chew your food. Chew it well. Pay attention to taste and texture.
5. Empty your mouth.
6. Pick up your fork and reload it with food. (Do not do step six until your mouth is 100% empty.)
7. Continue the technique through the whole meal. Notice if your eating time increases. Notice too if you naturally eat less.

Tip 9 – Plant This Idea: Fill Up On Fibre

Fibre is an important part of our diet, but what is it and how do we get the amount we need to reap its healthy rewards? One-way to remember fibre: Think plants.

Dietary fibre is found only in plant foods like whole grains, fruits, nuts and vegetables. It consists of certain carbohydrates our bodies can’t digest or absorb in the bloodstream. Instead of being used for energy like other carbohydrates, fibre is eliminated, taking with it waste products the body doesn’t need.  
There are two types of dietary fibre – soluble and insoluble. Both are beneficial but have very different missions. Soluble fiber, found in foods like oats and oat bran, brown rice and beans, may help decrease blood cholesterol levels, reducing your risk of heart disease. Soluble fibre can also help control the rise of blood sugar levels after eating.
Insoluble fiber, also known as “roughage,” helps to “move things along” in the digestive tract. Sources of insoluble fiber include whole-grain breads and cereals; wheat, oat and corn bran; many vegetables, like broccoli, green beans and sweet potatoes. Some foods, such as oatmeal and beans, have both soluble and insoluble fibre.
When making your food choices, don’t get hung up on which fibre is which. By eating a variety of plant-based foods, you will get fibre in your diet while also enjoying great tasting meals. Eating high- fibre foods can help you feel full sooner, so you eat less. 
  
You can increase your daily fiber with these tips:

• Eat whole-grain cereals for breakfast.
• Eat at least two pieces of whole fruit per day, such as pears, apples, bananas and strawberries. Add them to your cereal, yogurt or salads.
• Eat whole-wheat bread. Remember, just because it’s brown doesn’t mean it’s whole-wheat. Check the label to make sure it reads “whole-wheat.”
• Add tomatoes, lettuce or other vegetables to sandwiches.
• For a snack, munch on popcorn, which is also a whole grain. Go easy on the salt and butter.
• Make side dishes with short-grain brown rice. It’s loaded with fiber and flavor.
• Put vegetables in soups and pasta dishes. If you’re having pizza, load up on the vegetable toppings.

You’ll quickly find adding fibre to your diet is easy and a great way to keep healthy.   

Tip 10 – Lose Weight Slowly with Small Changes

Try to remember that "losing 10kg in two weeks" is nothing to celebrate. It is important to realize that the more quickly weight is lost, the more likely the loss is coming from water and muscle, not fat. Since muscle tissue is critical in keeping our metabolism elevated, losing it actually leads to a decrease in the amount of calories we can eat each day without gaining weight.  

Fat loss is best achieved when weight is lost slowly. Strive for a healthy weight loss of no more than  .5 - 1kg per week. Half a kilogram of weight is equivalent to 3850 calories. By making small changes like eliminating 300 calories a day from food (2100 calories per week) and expending 300 calories a day from exercise  (2100 calories), you can lose at least a half a kilogram a week (of mostly fat). 

At a typical Step into Life cardio session you will burn approximately 600 calories of mostly fat (fat can only be burned in the presence of oxygen. So you must exercise to lose fat). If you couple this by eliminating 300 calories from your diet each day you are well on your way to losing approximately 3kg a month. A simple suggested way to do this is by having smaller serving sizes and making dinner your smallest meal of the day. 


Jason Kimber

Goal Setting

What is the difference between a goal and a dream?

A Goal has a Plan!

If you have read the previous blog on motivation you will recall that the first and most important step to making and then achieving your goals is to find what motivates you to do so. 

The following article will now help you to set and achieve your own personal goals. It is a 6 step process. 

Step 1

Establish your reasons for change

Ask yourself the following questions:

• How do I feel about myself?
• How will my life be better after I have achieved my goals?
• Why is it so important to me?

For example:

• I am sick of being tired and low in energy all the time.
• I want more energy to be able to keep up with my kids/perform better at work/lead a more active life.
• I don’t like the way I feel about my body.
• I want to be able to go to the beach in bathers and not feel self conscious.

Step 2

Establish up to 5 goals to achieve within the next 12 weeks

Ask yourself….. What changes in your body and life would you like to create in the next 12 weeks for you to be pleased with your progress?

When creating your goals use the following guidelines: 

• Goals should use directive affirmation – define a goal and state it as if it has already been achieved.
• Goals should be specific and measurable – eg. Instead of saying, ‘I want to lose weight’ say, ‘I want to lose a dress size’. In this way you can measure your success when you can fit into that smaller dress size!
• Goals should have a time frame applied.

Goal Examples:	Time Frame
1. I have completed the 12km city to bay Adelaide fun run in under 60/70/80 minutes.	12wks
2. I can do 20 full pushups without rest.	8wks
3. I am a dress size 10 and feel great about the way I look when I go out with friends.	12wks
4. I love going to the beach and feel very confident wearing bathers.	12wks
5. I have loads of energy every day and play sport with my children regularly.	12wks
6. I have lost 5cm off my waist, 3cm off my hips and 2cm off my arms.	12wks

Step 3

Write down 3 current habits that may hold you back from achieving your goals

Ask yourself….. What 3 influencing habits might prevent me from reaching my goals?

Examples:

• Skipping Step into Life sessions.
• Too much fat and sugar in my diet.
• Go to bed too late, so I am always tired in the morning and don’t want to get up to exercise.
• I keep too many unhealthy snack foods in the house, so it is easy to not eat right.

Step 4

Write down 3 new habits that will help you achieve your goals – this can be considered your PLAN.

Ask yourself….. What 3 NEW habits do I need to establish in order reach my goals?

Examples:

• When I go shopping I will buy fresh, healthy food choices that will help me eat right.
• I will take lunch to work at least 3 times a week to make sure I am not tempted to eat the wrong foods.
• I will not eat sweets and high calorie foods during the day but will treat myself only once a week
• I will go to bed earlier so that I can wake up to exercise in the morning.
• I will drink 3ltrs of water every day.

Step 5

Enlist the support of others

Let friends, family or work colleagues know what you are doing. Ask then to help you and lend their support however they can.  You may even want to share your 5 goals and 3 new habits with them so that they can help you stick to them. This also helps to make you accountable.

Step 6

Review your goals and plans

Goals need to be reviewed every day.  The more you read, write and think about a goal the more your subconscious moves you in that direction.  Your performance is based on your subconscious skills.  Your subconscious can’t remember that you are telling it a “lie”.  That is why when we set the goals we use directive affirmation – you “lie” to your subconscious telling it that you have already achieved the goals you have set.  

This technique is used by many Olympic athletes and can be encapsulated in the saying:

“If your mind can conceive it, you can achieve it”


Put your goals and new patterns by your bed, on your fridge, at your desk at work or anywhere that will help you to read them every day – even twice a day is better, first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

You may wish to revise your goals each month.  Goals may need to be revised depending on lifestyle changes. If this happens, keep it realistic, stay focused and make the necessary changes to your habits or create new ones.

Now, let’s go and achieve those goals!


Jason Kimber
Personal Trainer / Director
Step into Life Hallett Cove

At Step into Life Hallett Cove our theme for the month of July is 'Goal Setting'. Setting realistic, measurable goals becomes even more important over the colder months when it can be harder to stay motivated. 

To simplify the process of goal setting we have a worksheet that is used to systematically establish patterns of change using the 6 step process above. If you would like a copy of this or personal help and support to achieve your goals please send me an email to hallettcove@stepintolife.com We would be more than happy to correspond with you. 

What Motivates You?

Recently I had the privilege of listening to an interview with a very successful man Paul Taylor. Paul Taylor is a behavioral change expert and the director of the Human Performance Institute where he conducts Biological Age testing. He developed a product called BioAge which was used on the Biggest Loser Competition.

The question was raised, ‘Why is it that some people find it so easy to commit to exercise for the long term? While others, even with the best of intentions will always find an excuse not to exercise or give up quickly?

The key difference is in how you are motivated.

Most people when they start an exercise program are influenced by external sources. The person may have been influenced by a friend, relative, or by their doctor. They maybe dangling a carrot, or giving grief if they are not losing weight or getting results. An advert for a special offer to ‘Get Fit’ may have provided the initial motivation. 

This sort of motivation works in the short term but rarely keeps people motivated for the long term.

The key is to cross the threshold and find your own reasons that will benefit.  When you can do this you will find the reason and you will achieve your goals faster than you ever thought imaginable. 

The Power of Motivation


When Paul Taylor was asked to visit the contestants of the Biggest Loser competition his job was to find out what motivated them to lose the weight. He did this through Clinical Biological Age testing. This proved to be an excellent wake up call for each of them. Let’s face it, as we get older we want to be younger. For the contestants of the Biggest Loser they found their motivation from understanding that their biological age was much older than there birth age. This meant perhaps not living long enough to see their kids grow up or dying at a young age like their parents (you may remember the crying sessions with their trainers well!). Then there was the visual motivation that the show did so well. The size 12 wedding dress behind the glass, the tux, or the football Guernsey they would love to be able to fit into again.  

The contestants of the biggest loser were able to stay on track with their goals because they all had their own strong motivators behind achieving them.

One of my clients recently taught me the power of motivation. Like many other women with children, she has always struggled to lose weight and keep it off. For the past year she’s tried several diets and exercise programs but none seemed to work. Her goal was simply to lose 15kg. How hard can it be? Eat less calories than you burn, eat a balanced diet, cut down on high fat food, eat more fibre and drink plenty of water. Sounds simple. The problem was she knew her goal was to lose weight but what was the motivation behind it? Why lose the weight? It wasn’t until her husband mentioned that he wanted to take the family away on an oversees holiday in 3mths time that something clicked in her mind. ‘Oh no!’, she said, ‘everyone at the resort will be skinny and gorgeous and they will look at me and say, who is that fat cow in bathers?’. Within the same week she started to track everything she ate in a food diary (weight watches points counting diary to keep her accountable) and since has lost 5kg in 5wks. All it took was that one strong motivating thought. Within a few weeks the habit of recording what she ate was formed because she relied on motivation. Now she is also back exercising more regularly. I am very much looking forward to seeing how happy she will be when she has achieved her goal.

Forming a Habit


In Paul Taylor’s interview he explained what happens in our brains when we form a habit. He said that each time we rely on motivation and do things frequently our brains form new connections until it moves into the part of the brain where we form a habit.  Habits play out in our subconscious mind but have to involve emotion as the powerful motivator. This was certainly true in the case above. So, the key to forming the habit of regular exercise is to first find what motivates you. Then rely on that motivation to exercise, even if the first time is shorter (think of the nike ad, 'Just do it!'). Be dedicated and repeat this regularly for 3wks. At the end of the 3wks you will be in the habit, you will feel fantastic and wont want to stop! 


How to find your motivator

How does one find out what their motivation is to lose weight? Spend some time firstly to ponder the following questions then write down your answers:

1. Take your mind 1yr from now and you lose the weight you want, how do you feel? How are your relationships effected?
2. Now take yourself one year from now and you go backwards and do not lose the weigh you want, how do you feel?
3. Next take yourself again 1yr from now and you over achieve, how do you feel? 

Next ask yourself these questions and write down your answers:

1. How will your life be different after you have lost the weight?
2. How is you life going to be better?
3. Why is it so important?
4. Give me a number on scale of 1-10 how important it is?
5. If you answered in the high numbers, why is it high and not a 3? (Here you will find the why, the reason, the motivation)
6. How confident are you that you can do this on your own (1-10)?
7. What help would you need to get it up to 9 or 10?

Each of us needs to find the motivating factor behind exercising and losing weight otherwise we will not stick at it. This becomes even more challenging to do during the winter months. It is cold outside, and the nights are getting darker. It is the last thing you feel like doing but we know we will feel much better when we have made the effort. What you need to find is YOUR 'Motivator' over winter. Not someone else telling you that you need to train, otherwise it will be to easy not to do it. Each of us needs to find the motivating factor behind exercising and staying fit. If you can do this you will develop a long-term habit. 

Think about the warmer months to come: the bikinis, the pool parties, etc.  Wouldn't it be wonderful to not have to shed your winter weight to be in great shape for this? Focusing on the longer term, whether the summer season coming around the corner or your overall long-term health, is a great way to stay motivated to continue with your exercise program.

When you find the reason or what motivates you to achieve your goals then you will find the way. 


Jason Kimber

At Step into Life Hallett Cove our theme for the month of June is 'Motivation'. The challenge has been set for our members to not miss any training sessions over Winter. Prizes will be awarded at our Step into Life Members dinner. To also keep our group motivated and on track we have 2 competition challenges running over winter. 'The Biggest Loser' Challenge' and 'The 10wk Step Challenge'. 


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