Building Foundations by a process of Removal

It has always been a dream of mine to find the missing piece in the puzzle that connects actions to the desired outcomes. So in my field of influence it would be how to encourage people to act on their wishes to lead healthier and more rewarding lifestyles. Take you for example, you know that you would like to be better in some aspects of your life. What stops you from simply going out and doing it? I'm going to look at obstacles today and two different types that stop us all from tackling certain tasks.

Psychological and logistical obstacles are the two types on the radar. To me if you don't eradicate your psychological obstacles then the logistical obstacles will definitely never be tackled. As an example a recent member has committed to an exercise regime to lose weight in a bid to increase motivation to stay active. But this member's activity levels had been nil for two years. Knowing the history behind the case I know that certain psychological obstacles were being worked through and when light was visible at the end of the tunnel the lifestyle then became an issue to be addressed. I was then called in to help with finishing off the psychological obstacles and then taking care of the logistical obstacles. The member in question then had to take care of the logistics at his end to allow him to fit in with the program. Now we have a totally committed individual that is totally embracing the principles and guidelines of the program and the results are far better than was expected I'm sure.

Breaking this down simply I am going to give you something concrete to work with so you can actually start the process of removing obstacles from your life and experience the growth and development you desire. There are 4 steps and they are as follows:
1. Identify Limiting Thoughts: And write them down so you are clear as to what they are.
2. Dispute Limiting Thoughts: Think of motivating thoughts that will highlight how your initial thoughts are floored or wrong and write them next to your limiting thoughts.
3. Identify Logistical Problems: Again write them down so you are under no illusion what is stopping you.
4. Remove Logistical Problems: Now create a strategy that will help you overcome any logistical barriers and write them next to your identified problems.
Now you have something visual that you can work through to remove any obstacles that will restrict you from achieving personal goals.

My point is once the time has been taken to remove obstacles you are free to develop and grow rapidly as an individual. Rushing in and not taking time on this process will bring you unstuck time and time again. You only have to look at how many diets there are out there and how many actually work long term. How many times people just go out and buy a gym membership and stop using it after a short period of time. The obstacles haven't been removed they were just overlooked temporarily.

3 Reasons Why Skipping Meals is Dangerous

All of the experts agree, fat loss basically boils down to the negative balance between energy in versus energy out. So to cut out meals especially dinner in theory seems like it has merit. After all the energy in has been cut by a fair amount so the scales should balance up more in favour of energy expenditure. I don't like the concept of missing meals and I don't think it's beneficial to long term health let alone losing body fat which is why most people skip meals.

Firstly we struggle to get enough nutrients in our diets as it is, so skipping meals is a sure way to ensure we become more nutrient deficient. In turn this will cause hunger pangs and sugar cravings leading to eventual food and sugar binges. Secondly by not constantly feeding your metabolism it will start to slow down. The slower your metabolism the less excess body fat your body will eat as a fuel source. In fact the slower your metabolism the more body fat will get stored as an emergency fuel source. And thirdly if you are skipping meals and especially dinners your body is going to be without fuel for anything up to 12 to 14 hours. The body will start to feed on itself as it is storing body fat for emergencies. What is getting eaten is your lean muscle stores which is your greatest weapon in the fat loss fight and for maintaining a healthy metabolism, vital for homeostasis (the internal systems maintain internal health by itself).

So as you can see by supposedly doing what is in theory correct you may be doing some pretty serious damage to your system. To summarise the damage you could be doing in my sought of language - simple. You will be restricting your intake of minerals and vitamins, storing body fat and destroying your most valuable asset in your quest for longevity; your muscle. You are virtually telling your body to start shutting down the system. We don't need to make so much energy any more. Please don't follow the pack and if you need advice ask, it could add years to your life and greatly increase the quality of it.

I'll be Back, But I Can Only Take so Much.

Becoming more aware of your general posture while sitting, standing and even driving must occur first. Once you have developed an awareness you can then start the process of addressing poor posture. Bending is an every day occurrence however it is rarely done properly. To think you can hurt your back when simply bending over to pick up a piece of paper to most is not possible. Yet it's common to hear of this happening. The reason has nothing to do with weight but more to do with the spine having enough of the abuse you are handing out to it; unconsciously of course.

Changing the way you think about bending will go along way to helping you change the actual way you bend. In all the positions we put ourselves into, the spine should always stay neutral or in it's natural position. By rounding your back to get down and pick up a piece of paper is putting a lot of load on your spine. Due to the fact the spine is out of it's natural position which is it's strongest. If you think of your hip region as a hinge and not just a part of your body that differentiates upper from lower this will help.

Not Ideal, yet common practice

Ideal Hip Hinge / Neutral Spine

By maintaining neutral spine as highlighted above you save your spine from excessive loading which you may get away with for years. But as we get older and if we increase our body fat content and allow our muscle strength to decrease those supposed incidental activities such as picking up a weightless object from the floor exert huge loads on your spine. Keeping your spine in neutral alignment takes practice and effort but the effort invested now will save you a life marred by back pain and restriction later on in life. All of our programs ensure you are aware of the correct back positioning and assisted to correct deficiencies if desired.

Under Arms Out of Mind

Have you ever been in a social situation and someone was a bit on the nose. They had a body odour issue and not many people wanted to get too close. We all have our own unique odour and anti-perspirants is the normal way to mask our BO. But is it the only way to stop BO? Most anti-perspirants contain aluminium and with conditions such as Alzheimer's on the rise we need to reduce the amount we put in or on our bodies. Aluminium is also unhealthy for our bones.

Not to mention that by using anti-perspirants you stop the natural process of toxin removal from the armpit via sweat. I know sweating from the armpit feels wet and uncomfortable but just remember it's a natural process and it's healthy. For your healths sake you would be better off wiping your armpit with a damp cloth or rag and then drying the area. Not ideal but that is your choice. Changing shirts is another option also if you are worried about people seeing your wet spots!! There is also evidence that support anti-perspirants are influencing breast cancers supposedly through the lack of toxin removal from the armpit.

The best advice I can give for keeping the BO at bay, reducing you aluminium exposure and allowing your sweat glands to work naturally. Use organic deodorants, natural crystals (similar to roll on anti-perspirant minus the aluminium and perfume) and I have even heard of bicarb soda being used(not for me). This is another example of how changing small parts of your lifestyle incrementally will increase your long term health and well being, this is another example of how Lifestyle coaching can increase the quality of your life.