Fitness Pitfall 4: Choosing an impossible plan.
Usual Outcome: Feeling the task is too much and impossible to even begin.
The Road to Success: Choosing the right fitness plan for you.
Now that we have done some research into what you really want to achieve with your fitness and how to get motivated to take action, we need to examine how you are going to fit achieving these goals into your life, starting now.
Overcoming The Fear of Failure
Something that can discourage people from making changes to their lives is the fear that things might not work out just as they want them to. I once heard someone say, 'I do not like to fail at what I do so I would rather not put myself under too much pressure by going on a diet, just in case I cannot keep it up'. This is a great example of how creative we can be with our excuses to avoid what we know needs to be done. It shows how we can twist things in our own minds to suit what we want to believe at the time. Although this person was unhappy with their body shape and weight, they perceived that it was better to maintain the status quo than to take responsibility for making some changes. To set about making changes and not get the result they were looking for would lead to them being dissatisfied on two counts - in their mind they would be overweight and unable to take action to fix the situation. So they settle for just being overweight.
A significant reason that people anticipate 'failure' is that they expect to hit on the right solutions, the ideal fitness plan, immediately. What can we do to create a more positive vision of fitness where the notion of failure no longer exists?
From Ideal To Real
Most people love the idea of being a physically active, vibrant, sporty individual, taking exercise, eating well and living life to the full. So why is it that so many do not manage to live up to their ideals of what it means to be physically active? And, worse than that, having failed to live up to their ideals, why are people so hard on themselves for not doing 'enough'?
As you go about your daily routine in your office, on the train, in coffee shops or any social environment around the country, it won't be long before you hear someone bemoaning the fact that they should have gone to the gym last night and they feel really guilty because they now cannot go for another three days. Or that they broke their diet yesterday and they feel terrible because they just cannot seem to stick to eating the right things.
A common limitation for people embarking on a new fitness regime is that they do not stop to consider fitness, exercise and healthy eating within the parameters of their own lives. They read the latest books or magazine article, or see something on the television that discusses the 'perfect' answer or solution to healthy living, and all of a sudden they find themselves aiming for this perfection without considering whether or not it is appropriate for them. It looks quick and looks easy, so that is what they choose to aim for.
More from Robert Baird
Earlier Study Lends Support
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Earlier research supports this positive outlook. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that 40 percent of people studied (who had been taking drugs for years to keep their numbers down) were able to control their blood pressure with dietary changes and moderate exercise alone.
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Mirror, mirror on the wall, What risks heart disease most of all-high blood pressure or high cholesterol, lack of exercise or too much stress, Type A behavior or a fatty diet, family history or cigarettes? If scientists had the answer, heart disease might not still be our number one killer. In fact, heart disease comes at us from many directions
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By: Robert Baird | 06/05/2008 | Health
If you thought that drugs with their unwanted side effects were the only way to control high blood pressure, think again. Studies show that a sizable number of people with mild hypertension can get their pressure dropped with out drugs.
Margarine Takes the Lead
By: Robert Baird | 02/05/2008 | Diseases and Conditions
Now that's been reversed. U. S. Department of Agriculture statistics cited by Ehrhart show that in 1987, Americans averaged 10.5 pounds of margarine and 4.6 pounds of butter.
Halibut With Roasted Garlic and Wild Mushrooms
By: Robert Baird | 02/05/2008 | Medicine
Roast the garlic bulb at 400°F for 10 to 15 minutes. Break the bulb into cloves. Peel three of the cloves, chop, and place in a medium bowl. (Reserve the remainder for another use.) Add the vinegar, water, and shallots.
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Asthma is a chronic condition marked by periodic attacks of wheezing and difficulty in breathing.
Marinated Cheese Buttons
By: Robert Baird | 10/04/2008 | Diseases and Conditions
In a 9 inch glass pie plate, whisk together the vinegar, stock, oil, oregano, basil or thyme, mustard, and pepper.
Amazing Yogurt Cheese
By: Robert Baird | 09/04/2008 | Diseases and Conditions
What's lusciously smooth and creamy, with only a fraction of cream cheese's calories and none of its fat? Yogurt cheese.