By Mark Capelin,
Former Cronulla Sharks NRL Player and Founder of Tribe Social Fitness
Shedding a couple of kilos is easy to do if you’re looking for short term results. I’ve seen many people lose anywhere from 4-6 kgs on a 6 week weight loss program. But how many times have you seen the weight creep up shortly after? For many, keeping the weight off is much more of a challenge than losing it. If this is something you can relate to, you may be missing the one magic ingredient to long term results.
The Magic Ingredient – Your Environment
Success in every area of life starts with the right environment. You can have all the right tools, equipment and access to a premium gym to help you reach your fitness goals but without the right environment and mindset, it can be easy to stray away from your nutrition plan or fitness routine. But we’re not talking about the external environment. We’re talking about creating a state of mind for success. Here are 3 ways to do it:
1. Review Your Social Circle
Start with a simple exercise. On a piece of paper (or phone), write down 5 people you spend most of your time with. This list isn’t necessarily the 5 people you like most, it’s the 5 people who get most of your time. Consider the eating and fitness habits of the 5 people because you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. If these 5 people are eating take away or sitting at a desk all day with no exercise, it’s likely it will influence your lifestyle choices. Weight loss can be a lonely journey, if you’re already part of a gym, make an effort to find some gym buddies who share the same goals. It can be incredibly motivating and launch some friendly competition. Surround yourself with like minded individuals who are adamant about seeing results in their health.
2. Set Your Week
Creating the ‘perfect week’ is the key to success. It’s important to remove or stop doing things that aren’t of benefit to you and your goals. When you are trying to cram work, social activities, family commitments and workouts into a week, doing it on an ad hoc basis can be incredibly overwhelming. Diarise your week and schedule in exercise, sleep, work and time for cooking your food, – you can do so with a ‘Default Diary’ where you can place your non negotiable tasks into the week. Scheduling your week in advance can also help you identify the activities and people who are draining your energy – if you spot them in your calendar, it may be time to reassess their purpose in your life. Once you learn how to filter these triggers, you’ll see a difference in your energy levels.
3. Map Your Goals
People who succeed are specific with their goals. On your vision wall or dashboard (basically any place you visit often), write down exactly how many kilos you’d like to lose. Review the goal every morning and every night so it is always at top of mind. Set a reminder on your phone, write it on post it notes and place them around your home. Create an environment designed for success.
Most importantly, remember that success is a state of mind. We all have a conscious and subconscious mind. We become what we think about. Our subconscious is very powerful. What are you telling yourself about your health and fitness or even life in general? What we say to ourselves, about ourselves, when we are by ourselves is a major contributor to our success. If we are saying ‘I can’t do this’ or ‘I’m not good enough for this’, then this is likely to be the outcome. It’s important to be positive and have positive self-talk like ‘I can, I do, I am’. If your head talk is positive, positive things will happen.
Everything gets better in life when we are better – better relationships, better career, better health and much greater success. To achieve results, we need to work harder on ourselves than you do on your nutrition or your exercise.
If you want to learn more about yourself and get yourself into the best possible position to achieve results, sign up to my workshop on Saturday 4 June 12 midday to 5:30pm. The cost is only $199. Contact Mark on markc@tribesocialfitness.com to register your interest.
