Thursday, October 30, 2014

#31: Right Use Of Energy: Part 1




Reasons or
Results! 
Fitness Nutrition Training


Sovereign Michael Valentine
SPN, CFT, Eft, Yft, Cft, SSc, GFI, CMCht, CERT, Reiki Master


206.225.9647
email: sovereignmv@gmail.com
web: bnbbs.myshaklee.com


Special Report #31

Part of the
“I see you to succeeding"
series


Right Use of Energy


Part I





Want to get more of what you want from YOUR life with less effort? 


This particular blurb has taken me over 40 years to put into words. I think it will be quite enlightening for those who have had the experience that what they want and wish for seems to be "just out of reach"...and always has


Now, have patience here, because some of the words to describe this come from different belief systems (Buddhism, Christianity, and other esoteric talk and even healing models). Not because I'm trying to recruit you into my local church, but because I don't have any other words yet to describe subtle but powerful phenomena we all experience.


In other words, from my earliest memories, (for a number of reasons you'll learn later) I could and would see phenomena and behaviorism and traits in myself and those around me, but when I would try to explain to those around me what I was seeing and hearing I'd get a, "Huh?"


Yet the people who said, "Huh?" would be experiencing those very phenomena and at a loss of how to circumvent their seeming sentence of poverty and unhappiness. 


But here's the thing, especially over the last couple decades of working directly with people who want to improve themselves...their health...their situation, etc. 


This is it in a "nutshell". (And again, I don't know everything.) I think as humble teachers we're often only one step ahead of our best students...and if we get out of the way, our students surpass us! But through teaching we learn more than we did in the beginning of teaching the topic, right? Teachers teach in order to learn. And the process continues. So if this helps, great. 


For lack of better terms, we have a certain amount of energy to use to get what we want from life, -a certain amount of energy for each day's goals and aspirations. 

  Ultimately there's no limit to what we can have, but we tend to unconsciously limit ourselves (for and because many reasons beyond Part I here). 


In my experience of observing so far, I have noticed a pattern that much of the habits we utilize to get what we want we're learned before we knew we were learning! (Ages approximately birth-7).


Now, to get to the punch-line quick, that means people who were raised and nurtured in a can-do, positive, success oriented, "you-can-do-it" culture find getting what they want easier since they experienced first-hand a model for it from the beginning of life...a culture of being at peace with "having & being". They were given love and energy without strings attached. They learn to receive energy from nature..not from attempting to derive it from others around them nor tricking others into giving it to them. 


We've all experienced the seemingly harmless people who seem to engage us in random chatter or topic yet leave us feeling tired and depleted... you know the ones. 

On the other hand, some people were raised in a familiar, conditional-love environment...a lineage if you will...where the components and skills of "having and getting" were missing. Maybe even mixed messages...(you can have whatever you want...but not too much). Or, "You can have whatever you want but not more than us."

Ultimately, confusion about our "role" or lack of clarity within our own life enables us to always be reaching yet the achievement seems to always be "in the future" (deficiency of personal energy).


SO, (one of) the common intrapersonal faux pas is when we learned to use our "energy" one way, but in order to get what we want another way...as if the two are separate. 


In other words, there may have been an imbalance or mixed message or even a misunderstanding within the self somewhere along the way  which led to the person feeling as though their energy was to be used for things other than the health and wellness of their own body, mind, spirit,...fulfillment. 


An example of this would be if we weren't given unconditional acceptance or nurturing by our immediate peers or care providers, but were then utilized to take responsibility for how our peers felt ...("their" state of emotional and mental awareness) (co-dependency). In other words, the natural laws are that parents provide care, love and nurturing and by receiving that, we have a model of the healthiness of nurturing offspring. The opposite or unnatural model would be the care providers not taking care of themselves...feeling depleted, defeated and depressed and then relying on their children for emotional energy (as an unnatural emotional "boost").


In other words, the child is using their energy attempting to make the parent feel better. BUT, in reality, it's not natural or healthy nor sustainable for a child to be nurturing their parent that way. The next step in the sequence is that whenever the parent "acts out" by demonstrating a less than optimal emotional state, or behaving disapproving of the child's inherent happiness, the child "gives" some of their energy to their parent in hopes of being loved in return (soothe the giant). A classic under-functioning / over-functioning pattern. In essence, the more the parent withholds love and attention from the child, the more energy the child gives to the parent ...ultimately creating a dynamic where the child gives more and more and the parent takes more and more, but the child ends up more and more depleted unable to manifest what they want and need in life...classic depletion.  The underlying (meta-message) is that it's the child's job to fix the parent... it's their role in the family (codependency)..their "job" if you will to soothe the parent, attending to their emotional needs. 


As time goes on, the child has less and less energy reserve and ends up depleted ...(one of the main underlying strategies in fatigue-based illness including obesity and food-based addiction.) [trying to feel full on the inside without consciousness of the unfair energy dynamic from the beginning of life]. 


This pattern is compounded by parents who withhold love and approval, suppress the child's expression and then substitute emotional presence with junk food rewards or simply too much food. 


Children who are raised in this dynamic unconsciously learn (way before they are conscious of what they have learned), that they should give all their energy away...but this unconscious habit precedes mistakenly thinking that they are supposed to find "other" people to give them energy.

We probably all have experienced being around people who we feel tired from (energy is being pulled without an agreement or healthy, mutual exchange). These scenarios inherently are referred to as energy vampires, energy suckers or time gremlins. 


Part of the reason being that some people never learned that 1) natural energy reserve comes from letting go the past, 2) being present, 3) letting go of stress and emotions rather than holding onto them, 4) receiving energy from nature itself and 5) ultimately that we can't fix people's feelings by pouring our energy into them...they have to do it themselves...

They have to take care of themselves from the inside out...it's a form of emotional and energetic hygiene. 


The body, mind and emotions works best when we:


1) Experience emotions to enhance each experience but we neither own emotions nor hold them to recycle them, nor suppress them (avoid playing victim or martyr role),


2) We receive energy through interaction with nature (being outside in nature some of the time),


3) We exchange positive energy and emotions with those who it's appropriate vs "pulling" energy from them without giving positive energy in return (presupposition that others are here to serve us, or that we are entitled to others' energy from having been used to serve our own loved ones and role models...misuse),


4) Regardless of whether an experience is positive or not, a) get through the experience and release it, b) take the lesson, c) forgive those who hurt us, (resentment and anger prisons deplete the life force of the person remembering the hurt, not the doer of the hurt), d) forgive ourselves for our unwitting participation, (beating up on self depletes energy and blocks new energy from coming in),  e) ask for forgiveness (disengage from energy sapping control habits),


5) Re-attach our goal onto what we consider goals in a bright future (look forward to a bright future) and


6) Demonstrate gratitude for the little blessings we have (attracts more of what we want and need to have healthy energy exchange). 


For those who were raised this way, they naturally avoid energy vampires and participate in relations that are energetically cooperative and mutual.  For those who learn it later in life, they notice feeling better with age as they gain energy naturally, get in relationships with natural energy boundaries and invest their energy in activities and work and hobbies and relations which build their own energy field rather than depleting it and injuring it, leaving it full of holes and vulnerabilities.

In other words, through self knowledge and paying attention, they interrupt the cycle of "taking energy" and expecting to feel good and healthy. 


You see "nature abhors a vacuum". If you let go of pains, forgive those who hurt you, forgive yourself for your participation (even if you were the victim), ask for forgiveness (no one is perfect) and demonstrate gratitude, you'll naturally dispose of negativity and attract healthy energy naturally for which will naturally be delegated to manifest what you want in your life.

Nature tends to fill the deficit left by letting go the past pain with healthy, vibrant health both physical, mental and emotional and even spiritual refreshment.


What this does is get our energy detached from feeding past hurts, (which are dead horses), negativity and negative people and reattaches it to natural, proper, appropriate energetic boundaries where there is a healthy exchange of energy versus the scenario of thinking that in order for others to love us, they have to give us / sacrifice their life force (there's plenty for everyone without taking it from others). 

Dysfunctional energy use creates a lineage of exhausted people who give their energy away faster than they can rejuvenate but they feel depleted, chronically unhappy and depressed and uninspired...always feeling like  they are outside the loop of their own life (often referred to as trolls or hobbits behind their back), yet self-declared as gods or goddesses: since they feel powerless, awkward in their own body, unnatural in social settings, they mistakenly conclude they are "above it all" and end up co-miserating with others who are mistakenly mis-using their energy field, denying it, avoiding the truth of the matter and simultaneously concluding they are a select group of higher learnings, when in reality they have created a social circle of like minded people who also suck energy in unnatural ways...black holes...yet engage unwitting participants in conversation designed to steal...yes, energy


Chronic health problems and being fat (body composition greater than 20%) are direct manifestation of giving more than you have (lack of self care) in attempt to get others to give energy to you for no reason. As long as energy is being given out without natural rejuvenation, excess calories will be consumed in attempt to fill the feeling of emptiness, yet lack of motivation and drive to exercise properly will prevail...body composition of 20% or more. 


Nutrition is one way to increase the natural energy reserve without the decades long learning curve. 



For free, no obligation and 100% guaranteed satisfaction of information of what supplements I take, check out one of my websites:




Do it now, do it consistently! 



"I see you succeeding"



#30: Dis or Dat?




Reasons or
Results! 
Fitness Nutrition Training


Sovereign Michael Valentine
SPN, CFT, Eft, Yft, Cft, SSc, GFI, CMCht, CERT, Reiki Master


206.225.9647
email: sovereignmv@gmail.com
web: bnbbs.myshaklee.com


Special Report #30

Part of the
“I see you to succeeding"
series


Dis or Dat?

Conflicted?


Not sure why you aren't getting the results you want as fast as you wanted?

Why it seems like you're putting out energy but not getting results? 


One of the greatest perceived barriers to success is the space in between [where you are beginning] from and [where you say you want to go]. 


What this looks like in real time is someone who insists they want results, puts out the big bucks for training and supplies but doesn't stop doing the things that got them where they [don't] want to be.


In the psychotherapy world this can be referred to as [inner-conflict]... meaning the person hasn't made up their mind to let go of what they WERE getting in exchange for what they say they want to get [now]. This ties into the idea of "lifestyle". e.g. If I want to stop doing a habit, how likely is my success if I surround myself with people who are also doing the habit I want to stop?... the people who supported me in getting where I didn't want to be.

If I want to burn fat, how likely am I to get lean if all my friends eat and live in fat ways?...if my family eats unhealthily and avoids structured exercise.


It's the classic scenario where children who hang out with delinquent children may begin to notice the way they think and behave acclimated to the lower level of expectations within the group (peer influence).


Now, that doesn't mean you suddenly "throw away" your friends and family who don't participate or have the same new insights or interests as you...

Neither does it mean it's others' fault you didn't succeed...it means you have to act maturely and [step up on your own behalf]. It simply means begin expanding your circle to include people who are already successful at what you want for your self...or at the very least new people who have the same goals as you (support system). 


What trainers, coaches, teachers, etc., see with people who struggle to adopt the lifestyle they are driving for is if the [student perceives they are going to lose something] by improving themselves or reaching their goal, they will struggle to take in and integrate the very information they say they want, since the new information is being filtered through the previously agreed upon (even if unspoken agreement) group-mindset...

(If something potentially is perceived to threaten the rapport of the group, the new information is rejected before it's even considered).


And again, even if the new information is good and healthy for you; if it conflicts with the spoken and unspoken values of your social group, you'll have to make the decision to risk disapproval in order to get the  results of the new information.


I have seen both intentional and unintentional interference for people who want to get lean and healthy. An example of intentional-sabotage is when someone (often a spouse or other family member) fears losing the person who has decided to improve themselves so they go about emotionally disrupting their partner's efforts to improve them-self.


(Goals and aspirations require a portion of our daily allowance of emotional saving account).
 

This can happen by emotional outbursts, seeming neediness, or through unspoken punishment as a means of distracting the person from being able to put enough emotional energy into their current goals. 


Indirect forms of sabotage include but are not limited to demanding the "mom" of the family continue to cook the SADCRAP diet while mom is trying her best to stick to her healthy program. 


Or, it could come in the form of subtle comments that love and acceptance are [conditional on staying] like the "old you" will get withheld if the person striving for improvement reaches their goals. Sometimes the sabotage is indirect and unintentional (rooted in misunderstanding or lack if sensitivity or perceived fear if loss), where mom cooks for all the kids but once one child decides to strive for new levels of health, mom continues to cook and offer the unhealthy choices and refuses to cook the healthy choices...it's easier.  


(Not that it is mom's job to cook, nor that the matriarch is the only negative influence) for the child, but that if the cooking is in the name of love, then find out what love and support means in the new, healthier context; if it really is about love, the healthier version of love is healthier!


Sometimes we make friends and have social circles that involve co-miserating, but once we mature out of complaining and move onto pro-actively improving ourselves, the rest of the group or relationship might not be ready to adopt a healthy lifestyle. In this case, we have to have a certain amount of time where we take care of ourselves (exercise and nutrition), in which time is just for us, in order to make up for the other hours which don't support our new self.


The best way I know to proactively cushion the blow of change to your social circle is to verbally assure your group, family, etc., that you love them, are still there but that you are going to live differently...This assures them that you (a component of THEIR support circle) is still there...just differently.


In healthy, aware friends and family, everyone gets excited and many even acknowledge to participate. In unhealthy (co-dependent) [attending to what is good for others more than yourself] circles of influence, the strength of the group is based on everyone staying weakened and under-functioning in order to keep the group united... the unhealthier each person is the stronger the group is...each person enables the others to NOT take care of themselves... so no individual can get healthier without the rest if the group disapproving.


You can see how UN-empowering this can be for the person who has decided to live healthier (peer pressure). 


If you find yourself blaming others, that means you haven't taken control of your own power nor retained your power...the blame game.


If you find that others really are interfering with your progress, it points to the idea you had previously relied on those people for comfort and support but you have matured beyond being unhappy or unsatisfied with your current status quo. Not everyone wants to get healthy in the same timing.


(If there are addiction type factors involved, this can complicate your ability to free yourself from the unhealthy cycle because addiction requires participation by the 1) addict 2) the people who enable the addiction and 3) and the non-willing participants of the fallout of the addiction (children or spouse).


Since getting free of addiction and co-dependency (taking care of others' feelings before taking care of your own) requires acknowledging what is actually going on, the odds of the addict getting clean and emotionally healthy / present in order to help you is unlikely or rare to say the least...either way, it's up to you to create a circle of influence (friends, workout partners, support groups, church, counselor, etc.) which supports your new healthier version...without a positive circle of influence, long-term, sustainable success is unlikely.


PART of the reason a fit lifestyle seems easier for some than others relates to how we're raised. No matter the arena (finance, business, education, relationships), if we are raised in a family that is supportive of an interest (or even better sets good models) we have the advantage before we even begin. If we aren't, we have to get the information from the people who do have the information (it takes a village to raise a child).


Today, with 80% of the population having too much fat, I think it's safe to say we have more models for being unhealthy than healthy...so seek out the information you need...it's not a secret!


For more information on solid nutrition programs, go here:





Do it now, do it consistently!



"I see you succeeding"








#29: Break-Through! Big-boned!




Reasons or
Results! 
Fitness Nutrition Training


Sovereign Michael Valentine
SPN, CFT, Eft, Yft, Cft, SSc, GFI, CMCht, CERT, Reiki Master


206.225.9647
email: sovereignmv@gmail.com
web: bnbbs.myshaklee.com


Special Report #29

Part of the
“I see you to succeeding"
series


Break-through!
You're Not Big-Boned


One of the most classic cliche' misunderstandings among people who say they want to lose weight is that they just have "big bones". Trainers hear this as a cry for help..."Help me escape my current reality!"


The cop-out being unintentional since you just didn't know you needed some good guidance and training to readjust your life course. There are those exceptional people who grow to eight feet tall, but overall "size" of the body is related to the percentage of body fat, not size of the bones.


"Bone size" theory is left over from the 1950's -1970's or before x-rays were invented! Some times the idea has gone to the self-delusion level.


The term is not considered relevant or accurate nor honest anymore. Underneath all that fat is a small, lean, healthy person. The density of the bones vary, meaning how strong they are, but outward size varies little, unless there's an undiagnosed tumor of some kind.


Part of the dilemma for many is when people are repeatedly told that they are just "big girls" or "big boys"...they believe a non-truth because people who care about them told them repeatedly.


When they hear this message over and over they begin to believe it in the back of their mind, and then they justify the behaviors that led to being big as an anecdote rather than the cause.

If you want to know how big your skeletal bones are, burn off a lot of fat (get your body composition  to 20% or less and you'll begin to see the reality of your skeleton).



Well-intentioned family members are not personal trainers...so they might not know how best to help you help yourself.  IF you have 10% body fat and you still appear big, (basketball players for example), then your structure is still above average, but in the 20+ years I've been in the fitness industry, I've seen one, maybe two. but their height was the greater indicator of being a "bigger" person than appearance prior to burning off all the excess fat through diligent exercise and nutrition.


Most often, the greatest indicator of overall size is a misunderstanding message is to take a good long look at how your family eats and their relation to exercise and "fitness". In other words, families which simply eat every meal like it's thanksgiving, hit Starbucks twice a day and simply consume excessive calories routinely, more than likely you're not really a big girl or big guy...you're just:


1) Over-fed,
2) Under-nourished and
3) Unfit.


People who think if themselves as "big boys" or "big girls" generally come from unhealth- conscious families. 


Often, one person in the family responds differently than everyone else's habits and gains fat easier and retains it more. In order for the person who gains easily to get on track, they have to "mature" beyond following everyone else in the family and social circle and design a lifestyle for themselves to get their own body fat down, regardless of how everyone else is behaving toward fitness and nutrition.

That doesn't mean you isolate yourself from your family, or isolate yourself from gatherings...it simply means you derive greater pleasure from taking care of yourself than following everyone else...you step up and become a health leader rather than the good kid who follows along with what doesn't work for you.


Ultimately, once you get your lean mass up and your fat mass down, your friends and family will he asking you for help and guidance. Most people just don't know what to do. NOW, the clincher here is that most people with a body fat percentage above 20% are generally under-nourished...meaning the brain is low on the key nutrients (BNBBs / Vitalizer for example) [link below], so they feel like they are being deprived of the social aspects of eating junk food and excessive calories with their family pack.


In truth, people who eat the SADCRAP don't feel good about it, they simply don't know to do life any differently. As always, I suggest taking the Vitalizer everyday for 30 days before beginning to eliminate junk food... Otherwise the emotional part of the brain feels like it's missing out on the things that are causing fat to grow.


Ultimately, you have to decide to get your body fat level to 20% or less, no matter what!

Otherwise you'll constantly be tempted by participating in the familiar "trough effect"... mindlessly consuming massive calories OR restricting calories and nutrition so that the body holds onto every single calorie turning it to fat. ((1,600-1,800 is the minimum calories it requires for the body to let go of excessive fat). People who tend to restrict calories for years attempting to starve the fat usually end up gaining more and more fat as the goes on.

Even the big boned person should have low, healthy body fat level.


Unfortunately, what happens for many is they think because they haven't been successful in the past, they're just a big girl or big boy...[not so]... It simply means they haven't been properly trained... Or haven't committed to follow through on what they were taught. In the 20+ years I've been a trainer, I have had clients who previously hired personal trainers who were clueless and blamed the clients for lack of success when in reality it was the trainer's lack of professionalism and education that prevented the client from getting lean and healthy REGARDLESS of BONE SIZE. 

What I'm talking about is going outside the comfort zone of being fat and happy... get comfortable training your body to utilize fat for energy instead of storing more and more fat and then labeling yourself as a big girl or big boy. You'll still have all the fun times (probably more so since you'll look and feel better in your body and get a lot more positive attention). Many times people are constantly told to "watch their weight" or "cut calories" by well intentioned loved ones...but unfortunately it has the opposite effects...it causes the body to gain fat...the people who say that aren't professional trainers. Then, in a mind set of not accepting the self, (low self esteem) the body holds onto body fat as an emotional holding pattern I refer to as, "Weighting to Wait" (described in later blog posts).

So! There's nothing wrong with your body... it's been doing what it has been trained to do, even unintentionally. You're not likely a big girl or big boy under the fat. If you haven't achieved your ideal body yet, it simply means you:

1) Haven't had good training,
2) Made the healthiest, well-informed decisions and 
3) Haven't changed your lifestyle to support your healthiest self.

Even with the very best trainer, you have to get the correct information and then do YOUR part. Most trainers in gyms like Gold's, Powerhouse, Anytime Fitness, 24 hour fitness, etc., have three days or less professional training. I was fortunate to have a good trainer from the get-go in my early 20s. And I didn't have much correct fitness training prior to meeting my trainer Tracy Mix. I simply did exactly what she showed me without changing anything and got remarkable results. The body that is optimally nourished with whole food, functional- foods and Vitalizer burn about 45 pounds in 8 weeks.


(Picky eating and "not liking a lot of food variations" is a sign of malnutrition, although your medical team and dietician might not recognize the truth of this). 

There's such a difference in these three things I simply don't train people anymore who don't do the nutrition part the way I suggest. Why would I invest more than they do? 

So, rethink the possibility you haven't had good training! I have had clients who were really fat but refused to stop partying and mindlessly consuming alcohol and SADCRAP on the weekends...they don't succeed until they get real with themselves.

(But these are the same people who complain about how they are paying for training but not getting fast enough results.)

With these people I simply refer them to a less experienced trainer...one who doesn't know any better and won't pressure them to do what they haven't committed to. 


Fat loss requires a lifestyle change and a change in priorities. Once you're intent on getting lean once and for all, the answers of how to get lean and HEALTHY will seem to appear when they've been right in front if you all along. 


If you or a friend needs help, simply ask! Below is the link to my website. By using this website I can show you how to save 25% off the retail price of Vitalizer. Shaklee products are only available through independent distributors and I've personally used them for since 1993. The first time I tried them was 1973, but it took me 20 years to find a distributor again (long before the Internet). All products on my website carry an unconditional money back guarantee. The average Shaklee customer has been using Shaklee for 18 years. 


Do it now, do it consistently!

"I see you succeeding"
 








#28: Fast Results? Focus On The Fundamentals!




Reasons or
Results! 
Fitness Nutrition Training


Sovereign Michael Valentine
SPN, CFT, Eft, Yft, Cft, SSc, GFI, CMCht, CERT, Reiki Master


206.225.9647
email: sovereignmv@gmail.com
web: bnbbs.myshaklee.com


Special Report #28

Part of the
“I see you to succeeding"
series


Fast Results?


Focus On The Fundamentals!


Want to get amazing results?


Often I'm asked why I got such amazing results when I first started working out in my 20s. I often refer back to those first 3 or 4 months when I first had a personal trainer and good instruction. 


My personality tends to be that if I seek any kind of professional guidance (MD, DC, ND, AC, RD, trainer, massage therapist, etc.), I simply do exactly what they instruct me to do...TO MEASURE HOW WELL THEIR SUGGESTIONS & GUIDANCE WORKS in real time.


I think that was one of the greatest surprises to me when I began doing clinical massage professionally in 1992 (that people spend time, energy and money seeking professional help and then not follow through) [wanting help, but not actively participating in their own health].


When I started working out, my personal trainer at that time was earning about $8 / hour and no commission. She was making significantly more money doing landscape maintenance, on the side, but she was passionate about working out.  It never occurred to me to do anything other than what she suggested! (Days per week, amount of time for each workout as well as a brief warm up and followed by a cardio workout).


I wanted to improve how I looked and felt! It never occurred to not pay attention...to not follow through! (coachable and the learning mindset). During the first six weeks my strength improved dramatically...during the subsequent eight weeks my lean mass improved so much that guys who had previously bullied me in high school seemed small. Once I ran into a guy who have stood over me, bullying me in high school in great satisfaction, yet now he had a scared look on his face...my how the tables turn! The muscular definition improved so much that people couldn't believe it. The point being I simply stuck to being consistent with a very basic resistance and cardio program (3 workouts each week with a day of rest in between each workout).


Even to this day it's surprising to me when people seek professional guidance but then make up reasons why they can't follow through and yet complain that they aren't getting results! Wait, huh?


In the early years helping people get their own program started I thought it was because I wasn't educated enough or didn't hold a certification, you know, "not real". Then I became a licensed massage practitioner and thought it was because I was "only" a massage therapist. Then I went on to get nine more certifications and learned that people behave that way even with their doctors and specialists. People wait months to get an appointment with a professional, then argue why they can't do the healthy thing (most often complaining of how the professional suggestions interfere with their lifestyle, yet complaining how the effects of their lifestyle get them more of what they don't want?). Wait, huh?

People considered extreme or fitness evangelists simply being the people who consistently follow through with the basics! 


SO! To this day, it's surprising to me when people don't follow through with what they say with apparent conviction they want. The people who do follow through get seemingly amazing results and become one of the weirdos who set their social crutches aside long enough to get the results they invested time, energy and money into. 


As my career progressed and my circle of influence increased I learned that regardless of how much education a professional has, the numbers aren't much better. Physicians have as much as 11-15 years of training yet patients seek them out, spend the majority of their appt talking instead of listening and then give reasons why they can't eat better and exercise...why they are the exception.


If you attend any medical lecture or continuing education seminar, you'll likely hear some stats on "patient compliance" (whether or not the patient followed through). As noted in previous blurbs, endocrinologists [hormone specialist] (about 13 years of training) routinely counsel patients who go "doctor shopping" simply to find the doctor who will tell them they don't have to exercise or eat healthy because their thyroid is so dysfunctional it won't help to live healthy.


Once the physician tells them they will likely be quite responsive to diet and exercise, they "fire" the doctor and go to the next one.


(The education simply gives you the OPPORTUNITY to help people...who truly want your help!) 😄


In my experience, I simply followed through, got remarkable results and continued to refine my healthy lifestyle as I went on. That's not to say everything ever suggested helped, but without giving it a fully committed attempt, I wouldn't have found a standard for what does work! Is that strange? I did receive suggestions which were, um...less mature than where I was at the time... meaning I had already put a concept to use and it didn't work. 

As time went on, I learned about the 4 stages of behavioral change: 


1) Precontemplation,

2) Contemplation,

3) Preparation and

4) Action

In some models there is consideration for a 5th stage being the Maintenance mode.


In other words, the phases people go through before actually doing behaviors to get then what they complain they want. Ultimately, even when one works through these stages they then have to make the new thing a habit! [motivation seems to be a biggie].


SO! People can go from precontemplation (Stage 1) to action (Stage 4) in one day or the process can never reach the action stage. Awareness of self seems to be one of the greatest influences on how quickly the five stages progress for each person. One of the tricks of awareness though is that we might not be aware of that which we aren't aware. So, even if a person  says they "want" to lose "weight", they might not be ready to walk away from a negative environment and circle of influence which offers the "feeling" of support, to a new environment which offers support of the new, healthy self (co-dependency).


Awareness that there IS "choice" involved and the choice is yours can be freeing yet scary at the same time. 


Exercise and nutrition is a clear example of cause and effect. In other words, every exercise and every nutrition habit elicits a certain physiological response in the body...either it improves the situation, makes it worse or does nothing. (An example of "does nothing" would be supplements which don't get absorbed or an exercise which is too advanced for a beginner to benefit from). 


Take running for example; it's free and relatively easy to begin and we see people doing it...so it must be for me, right? Unfortunately, running requires a healthy core muscle group, so if you haven't developed a healthy core, you're likely to strengthen your stronger muscles and injure your core muscles. (Just because we can, doesn't mean we should). 


Ultimately, with or without a trainer, I suggest learning a basic resistance training routine and a basic cardio routine which is likely to improve your fitness and unlikely to injure you. Stick to the basics for 6-8 weeks. Do the same program for 6-8 weeks.


Monitor your body fat level before beginning and every 30 days as you go (so you know if it's working). If you don't check it every 30 days you won't really know if the program you're doing is working or not (discernment). 


80% of the results that you achieve (or miss out on) are related to how good your nutrition status is (how much nutrition density you have inside your body each day). 


To gain access to the supplements I use, go to this link on my website. I've used them since September 1993.




And most of all, nobody is going to do your workouts for you! It's up to you.
 

People are often surprised that paying for personal training is different than actually working out...yes, people thinking working out means hiring a trainer! (Knowing vs doing).


Do it now, do it consistently!



"I see you succeeding"