Week 4 Results, and Goals/Accountability/Success/Motivation

Another week in the books my friends, and, once again, I've shed some weight. This week I lost 3 lbs, bringing my 4 week total to 24lbs! It's been hard work, and it feels great. Feels even better that I can see the finish line, only 2 short weeks away. My desire to win this competition is so great that I've been disappointed with my last couple results. And sometimes I have to look at it form a different angle than week to week. When I look at the grand scheme, I've lost 24 lbs in only 4 weeks, and that is incredible to me. Like I said tho, I just want to win so bad, but I can't lose sight of what I've done and will continue to do. That's why I decided to write the other part of this post, because I felt like I needed to take a little bit of my own advice :) I thought I'd write a little bit about a few topics that have really helped me in this whole process, even going back to when I started exercising. A lot of this stuff is a conglomeration of knowledge I've gathered from various sources, internet articles, books, self improvement tapes etc.

Goals:

Goals are an interesting thing. Everyone has them, and everyone has different views on what they should be and how to look at them. Personally, I was never particularly goal oriented. I was, and still am in someways, a go with the flow kind of guy. I always felt like things end up how they are meant to. When asked about goals I always struggled with a real answer as to what mine were. Really the only goal I had was to be happy wherever I was and with whatever I was doing. And I honestly think that's a fine thing to think. Who else is going to tell me I'm wrong if that's what I think? But I've come to realize the importance of setting goals to getting you to that happiness. And not only setting goals, but setting specific goals. when I started this competition I set a goal, a very specific goal for a very specific reason. I wanted to lose 44 lbs, which would bring me to under 200 lbs for the first time in I don't know when. And as I the final weigh-in date approaches it is becoming a little less possible. Sometimes you have to readjust your goals, because sometimes you just impossible standards for yourself. It happens, you won't always reach goals, or at least in a time table that was specified. I know I'm working as hard as I can, so even tho I feel a little disappointed with my results some weeks, I know I will reach my goal sooner or later. An interesting point I've heard about goals is the importance of sharing them with people. If you share your goals with others in your life it helps you push to achieve them. That's one reason I wrote this blog! People ask me how it's going, how I'm doing. Knowing that people are going to ask me about it, and are rooting for me, it makes it easier to keep pushing hard, and to work harder. I don't want to have to tell anyone, oh I gave up, or I haven't been following my diet as closely as I should. In this specific instance, about my specific goal, it's something that people like to talk about, and ask me about. But, this can really be applied to pretty much any goal you might have, the support is just easier to give for my goal. Another point it that it's important to write down your goals. If you write them down, it makes them something concrete, not some discrete idea in your head. You bring them to life this way. Again, another reason I wrote this. I have this blog to write about my goal, and it's there for all to see. But even just writing them on a piece of paper or in a notebook helps cement them in reality, and by doing so makes you more likely to work at them if you can look at them everyday. I have a few goals written down in small notebook, and I am always thinking of new things to add to it. I'm new to this actually setting goals thing, but it can be fun to really think about it. One of those goals is my goal weight, and is this blog is about my weight loss I thought I'd share at least that one. The number. I've spent a lot of time thinking about this specific number and whether it's important or relevant or realistic. But I've set it as my goal, I want to weigh 180 lbs one day. And I don't see any reason why I won't get there. I will get there one day, and it will be a day in the not to distant future.

Accountability: I spoke a little implicitly about accountability in my shpeal about goals. Sharing your goals makes you accountable to others. And in this instance of talking about weight loss accountability can be very important. Working out isn't easy (If you want real results) no matter how many infomercials you see for easy no work workouts. Eating healthy isn't easy. Sure you can take pills of some kind, but nothing can come close to comparing to a life-style change in eating. One thing that makes both of these easier is being held accountable to someone or something. When Brandon and I started working out I realized the importance of having a workout buddy. Having someone that you're accountable for. I know there were many days where neither of us wanted to work out, but I know, at least on my end, I didn't want call off a workout because I didn't want to bale on Brandon. I think Brandon might tell you how I held him accountable as well. Especially because we worked out int he basement of his house. And I texted him almost everyday asking if he was still down for a workout, or I would just show up after work. But I wouldn't have been able to do what I did if I didn't have him to be accountable to as well. I've found ways to hold myself accountable to others for this process. For one, (again) this blog! Hopefully you're starting to realize how important this blog is to me, even if not one single person read it. I used to be a little embarrassed about telling people I was trying to lose weight, now I relish the opportunity. I'll tell anyone who asks what I've been doing, and what I've found that works. The more people you tell the more people you become accountable to. And accountability can help you reach many goals, or help you get to a place you've never been.

Success: Success is, in many ways, like goals. So many people have different views on what success means, or what it means to be successful. I had never really put a ton of thought into what exactly success is. And I really think it's important to define success for yourself. Whether it's a definition you decide on yourself, or something you read, or got from someone else, it doesn't matter, but have something defined as success for yourself. I've read a number of different definitions, and I knew I found the one I found to be the best (for me) as soon as I read it. John Wooden, the legendary UCLA basketball coach, defines success thusly:

“Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable.”

To me it simply means as long as you are truly giving your best effort you will always be successful. And really what else can you do but give your best effort? Nothing!! But you have to ask yourself sometimes, is this really my best effort? And I've found sometimes when I ask myself that I have to be honest with myself and say no. But you can always change things, you can always start giving it your best and start succeeding. I know I've mentioned that view briefly in another post, and I truly believe it. I really had to think about this the last couple weeks when I wasn't all that happy with my results, but I know I have been giving my best effort and there is literally nothing else to do about it. And to take in the whole picture and realize that my success so far is nothing to scoff at. In addition to this definition of success I think it's important to take on a different perspective of success itself. I've mentioned it before, and it might be expressed implicitly in Coach Wooden's definition, but to judge success you must look at the process, not the product. It all goes back to giving your best effort. If it was truly your best effort how could you consider anything a failure? It's not a perfect model, and it's not for everyone, but it works for me. I think it doesn't work for every single situation, but just about everything. It just depends how how you set your goals and how you think about success and goals. Like with this contest, if I don't take 1st place, on some level I will consider it a failure. It's something personal to me and this process. I know no matter what happens I will have accomplished something many people express a desire to do and never do, but I just want to win. I can't really explain it better than that. I think a lot of people consider things a personal failure even if you gave it your best, but you still have to remember that what you've done is important, and still my most measures successful.

Motivation: When people ask me about how I've accomplished what I have so far with my weight loss there are a lot of things I talk about. People want to know how I did it, so they can do the same. I love that, I love that I can give people advice to better themselves. And I think one of the hardest things to do getting started losing weight is finding motivation, and it's hard to express to people what my motivation is. Motivation isn't that difficult of a thing tho! Everyone has motivation to lose weight and live a healthier life: Living longer! It's a simple fact, that if you get your body in better shape, and eating healthy will help you live longer. Living longer gives you more time to enjoy your life, to be with your family and loved ones, and if that isn't motivation enough what is? But losing weight, looking better, feeling better, feeling more confident aren't such bad things to use as motivation either :) There are a few one liners I heard a number (ok like a million) of times while doing P90x, that when I put some thought into it, really help me stay motivated during workouts. Here are a couple of sayings Tony Horton, the guy who created and stars in the P90x dvds, uses.

Just keep pressing play: It's a simple phrase I've heard countless times. But once it really sank in it helped me find motivation. When you're tired, and you don't think, or want to continue you can press pause and stop the workout. But you HAVE to keep pressing play. It's easy enough to translate that to real life, not a DVD setting. Take a pause, a break from your work, but always get back to it, keep going and don't quit! Just keep pressing play!

Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was your body: Another simple saying, but it has depth. People say Rome wasn't built in a day, and it has become almost over used to the point that it's lost its' meaning. Really it just means be patient, great things take time, but I think that has almost become lost over time. It has really helped me during my process of losing weight. Sometimes you want to lose more weight, or lose weight quicker. But you have to think about this phrase, it simply takes time, and you have to work hard to build your body. In my case, and probably many others, I spent almost 24 years building my body to what it was, it would be ridiculous to expect to change it quickly. It is just going to take time. I've accomplished a lot since November, but it has taken patience and hard work, and I have to tell my self some days, "Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was your body"

Sometime in the last couple weeks I was thinking about this post and the last couple phrases specifically. And another little phrase came to mind, and I thought about how it can be such a powerful phrase, but it has become such an icon, and an overused idiom that it has truly lost that power for most. It's something every single person, probably on the planet, would recognize. I was working out when I thought about this, I was wearing a Nike shirt, and I bet you can guess what that little phrase is: Just do it. Like I said it's soooooo over-used, but I've used as one of the most important tools to my success. When I think back on starting to exercise I was just committed to the idea. But what I was really doing was, Just Doing It. It doesn't have to be any more complicated than that at all, just do it. Go out and do it. Get started exercising, or anything really, just do it! People find reasons to avoid doing hard work, working out, anything, but there is nothing stopping anyone form just doing it. I simple little phrase that has the power to help change you. A lot of people asked me what or how or why I was doing what I was doing. And really the simple answer I just did it, and you can just do it to. Don't ever complicate it, just do it.

Well if you got through that good job! I know it was a lot of information, but hopefully you can pull out the best points and apply them to yourself, and help you be a little better. I also wanted to to reiterate, these weren't really my personal ideas, I've gotten all of this information form various sources and various conversations with people. A good portion of my developed view points has come from talking about these things with Brandon, and discussing this stuff. I know these aren't everyday topics for most, but it really does help to really think about these things and have a discussion with someone about them to help form your own spin on them. Anyways, hope you enjoyed!

Peace for now friends!