How to Lose/Reduce Weight
By Life Coach Jasmin Waldmann
Tight trousers, muffin top belly, and the arms that feel, encased in the shirt.
Looking at you in the trial room is not a pleasant experience anymore. In fact you even start resenting the mirror or rather the picture it presents.
The immediate outcome is depression, followed by a rising resolve that you will do something, this time.
But the feeling is temporary and slides off the mantle till yet another mirror or dress trial slaps reality back on to your face.
So how do you resolve this perennial problem of losing weight, a thought that always lingers at the back of your mind? And how often do you actually think about it, seriously?
Come to think of it, if you made a penny every time the thought arose, you would be exceedingly rich.
But lets get back to our topic in hand, losing weight.
Actually to talk about losing weight is to in effect talk about losing our stored excess energy.
There is a saying in Europe: Use it or lose it! Simple. Ha-ha, I know, but not so easy.
So how do you get rid of your excess pounds? Lets examine some popular options:
1. It can´t be done by force – We are all familiar with clichés like; from now onward I’ll go to the gym everyday, I’ll follow the XYZ diet, I’ll go for a run every day, I’ll stop drinking and so forth.
But how many of the above, take their resolve seriously. And how many of them have you seen failing after a few days or weeks? And how often have you failed?
Please reflect and be honest! Frankly speaking, I guess quite often or until now, always.
I know, it is not a comfortable feeling and even the memory makes you feel weak or powerless.
But you need not feel embarrassed at your apparent lack of will. Out of 1000 people, there is generally one who has tried something else (we´ll come to this point in a short while) and not because she or he knew it, but by pure chance. All others usually fail. This is because we can´t force any long-term changes in our body merely by conscious will. Before we know it, we slip back into our old patterns and the pounds come piling back.
So let us conclude, that this method of forcing ourselves is definitely not going to work.
2. Plastic surgery will not last forever - It is a fact. Lets say the first few months after a successful plastic surgery to remove your belly fat, everything seems fine. In fact you look good and feel good.
Talking about the risk you take with plastic surgery is altogether another topic of discussion. So let´s say you thought about going in for liposuction, did it and survived. Furthermore – the results are great. No more fat around your belly. No more muffin top whenever you don your favourite pair of skinny jeans. Life is once again beautiful. But after a few months, you start to notice a little fat on your stomach. And slowly and steadily, you slip back into your old weight. You have heard stories about this happening very often. Maybe you have even experienced it in real life. We’ll come back to the source of the fat-comeback in a while.
Let´s face it; Number two option is a damp squib as well.
3. Personal Trainers can’t lose it for you – After failing with your own gym performance (yes, of course there have been Trainers on the floor, but at the end of a long and tiring gym day, they haven´t been a great help either), and your endless diet experiments, you decide to look online for some serious professional support. Of course there is some money involved “but if she or he kicks my butt, why not! “
So you go online and find a Trainer. The trainer comes to your house 3 times a week. In the beginning you feel super good. You even brag about it to your friends. But after 4-5 weeks, your body starts getting used to the routine and becoming lazy again. Also your nutrition is still not all that great, regardless of what your Trainer suggests. Somehow you just can´t seem to follow it.
So after the initial euphoria of losing a few pounds, you come back to the same body, you started with.
So option 3 too does not seem like a long-term solution.
After many of these futile experiments, you feel tired, worn out and super frustrated. Then you probably run into an article telling you to celebrate your body and simply accept the way you are. And after an initial hesitation, you convince yourself for some time that your body is great as it is. But then you see your friend or colleague prancing about in a hot outfit and a hotter body, you are back in misery land again.
But don’t worry. There is good news. Thankfully, we have many paths to reach our destination or goal of getting a fitter and leaner you.
I am talking about real goals and not about some hazy dreams.
Once you have made up your mind about your goal, the next step is to manifest that goal.
But first let us understand why the above 3 paths did not work.
Way number 1 can´t work … since once you release your mind even a little, (meaning doing things by force) your subconscious mind takes over. To state a fact, we human beings function with our conscious mind only approx. 10 %; the rest of all our doings comes from our subconscious (50-60%) & unconscious (30-40%) mind.
(The latter numbers source: http://www.mindset-habits.com/conscious-subconscious-unconscious-mind/)
To put the unconscious and subconscious together – these are the actual power centre: a complex and automatic system.
This part of our brain therefore is the most important part to start with and it is most important part to end with as well.
Now coming back to our 2nd option; plastic surgery. Maintaining a great body after a plastic surgery doesn't work since your eating habits and lifestyle have not changed at all. End result; we simply fill up our empty fat cells all over again and resume our old weight.
Last but not least way number 3 can´t work either. Because at the end of the day, nobody can do the work for you. Even if you have a brilliant Personal Trainer- let´s assume the good results will only last so long as you strictly follow (again by force) a fitness and diet regime. The moment you leave, (for any reason) you come hurtling back to the point you started from or worse.
The reason is – I guess you have now a clue – that nothing really changes in your mind-set.
The solution; targeted approach
It will be simple but not easy. There are few steps to your desires.
* First you need to set an exact target.
* The next step is to split that target into monthly targets, and then into weekly targets. Once you have set your major target, then you can forget about the big picture and concentrate only on the set small targets.
* If you have a good plan, then the next step is to mobilize the right kind of people around you (I call it your support system: one professional plus your loved ones). The rest is up to your discipline then. Step by step, you´ll steadily make progress and reach your target. At least in theory. But what really separates theory from practice is one critical step. But for this step, everything else can function in the same way.
The real magic comes from a different corner, from your mind. The kinds of thoughts you carry in your mind are the crucial part of all your doings.
Once your mind set is clear, you know how you think, how to lead your thoughts and emotions, then you are almost there.
But understanding you, or rather knowing yourself is the trickiest part on earth.
That’s why you should get the right professional person to guide you. It doesn't mean you will be successful only then. But you´ll reach much faster than if you do it on your own watch and also much more comfortably.
Be aware: losing weight starts with something else…
Let’s assume you hired a very good Coach who is able to support you holistically.
The Coach will start by asking you questions about your body, your state of mind, and your lifestyle. He or she will not start by giving you directions and orders on what you have to do.
Questions like: Why do you have too many pounds on your ribs right now? How did you start to gain weight? What stresses you out? How do you usually motivate yourself? What knocks you down? What thoughts do you have when you feel great, or when you feel depressed? How did they start? And many more…
Questions like these may seem odd to you and probably not directly related to your weight gain.
But they carry an imprint of your state of mind, which is closely related to your body and can have long term implications. This is the process of how a good coach gently starts to work on your body and avoids making any abrupt, forceful changes. This is what I call: Going straight to the source. When we look at fitness activities and nutrition, we talk about a very practical and of course, necessary step. I call it ‘action’: working against symptoms which aren't liked anymore (being overweight}.
In general, I can summarize that the way is really easy if you have the right guidance with you. Choose carefully. Always check with your reasoning if it makes sense. If yes, then simply obey and let go. Ensure that you follow all the recommended exercises & diet. That means once you have a plan you need to follow it strictly. But take the first steps, very slowly and carefully. The slower you begin, the faster you will reach, for sure.
In that way, you take baby steps and enjoy each one thoroughly.
Ciao and much love, Ja.Wa.
Author: Life Coach Jasmin Waldmann www.jasminwaldmann.com
P.S. Jasmin Waldmann's site has been designed by Shakti Saran, creator of Health and Fitness India
