Read 41 times since Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Perhaps the toughest obstacle I have to overcome as a Glasgow personal trainer is getting clients to open up to the idea of changing their diet. As soon as people manage to change their diet they start losing weight and seeing positive results provides momentum that keeps people going. The most important step is always the first one, so how do you take it? How many times have you watched a parent in a supermarket giving in to a child who just would not stop nagging for sweets? How many times have you thought that you would never give in to the kid, that your will would be stronger and that the parent is only making things worse for themselves in the long haul? If you are struggling with your weight the truth is that this happens to you everyday and you are no better in that situation than the brow-beaten parent you look down on.
You are right about one thing though, the parent is digging a hole for themselves. Giving in to such demands only reinforces the child's behaviour because they learn that if they ask for something enough they will get it. Eventually the kid is in charge of these situations and the parent does as they are told.
For most fat people, the biggest enemy is their ill disciplined inner child. That's the voice inside you that wants cakes, sweets, wine, and crisps and only sees immediate benefits. If you are fat this voice is almost certainly louder and more persuasive than your inner adult, who sees all the benefits and can objectively assess the full consequences of any action. Your inner adult knows that you want the big meat feast pizza followed by cheesecake for tea but crucially it knows that you want a tight flat stomach more, so it makes the decision to do without the things that stop you getting what you really want. It also realises that tight flat stomachs are like well behaved kids, once you have one you can occasionally indulge it without spoiling it but if you let them get out of control it is much harder work regain control again.
Disciplining your inner child is not easy but it is essential to fat loss success. When your inner adult is the dominant voice in your head success will become much less of a strain because you will view the world more logically and stop feeing so hard some by when you make the decisions you must to lose weight. So if you hear your inner child begging for treats just let it know that you are the adult and you make the decisions and that if it is good you might let it have sweets later. Iain Smith (MPhil/CSCS) owns Standout Gym, an independent warehouse gym in Glasgow, focusing on weight loss. He offers small group training as an affordable alternative to Glasgow personal training. Iain is a former international decathlete with 17 years coaching experience. www.standoutgym.com.
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