How to Get in Shape Using Fear
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I’ve always been overweight.
Not by much, but enough to constantly beat myself up about how fat I am. Always comparing myself to others.
I thought:
Some people are meant to be fat, and some to be fit.
How ridiculous…
But over the last year, I’ve changed. I’ve lost over 20 pounds and I feel in the best shape of my life.
I didn’t succeed because I forced myself to do things I did not want to do, but because I tweaked my mental.
In retrospect, it actually felt easy.
I’m going to show you what I did to change my mindset and how you can use some of my techniques to get in the best shape of your life.
But first, let’s go on a trip to Bali…
Bali
Last summer, I traveled to Bali with my girlfriend. I was the fattest I had ever been.
One night, we went for burgers after a noodle overdose. When my burger arrived, I noticed fries had to be ordered separately. I ordered some.
Obviously by the time the fries came, I had finished my burger and I was full.
My Girlfriend asked me if I was going to eat them anyway?
“Of course” I said, justifying to myself that I had paid for them.
But something inside of me had decided otherwise.
That night, with a full stomach, I knew something was over.
I was done being fat.
One year later, I’m excited to look back and say that I’m 20 pounds lighter. I’m also the strongest I’ve ever been.
Identity Crisis
That day, I had been thinking about the person I wanted to be and trying to find answers to why I wasn’t quite that person.
My whole life I had been conditioned to be successful in life.
I grew up with my parents telling me that I could become anything I wanted. I was told many times I was the first in the family to ever go to college, let alone graduate. I needed to be proud.
By any means, I was going to be a success.
That is my identity. I like it.
But that evening, I could not control myself eating those fries.
I thought:
“How could anyone with no self-control ever pretend to be successful in life”
I had an identity crisis.
I pictured myself as an addict. Only the drug was food.
I was terrified of becoming “that guy with so much potential but who never achieved anything”.
That night, I came to a conclusion: If I can’t get fit, I’m a failure.
I finally had a strong reason why I wanted to be fit and healthy:
Fear.
Triggering your Identity Crisis.
Having your identity challenged will always lead you to change.
Why do you think people call themselves lazy, procrastinator and unmotivated, …? Because they can justify to themselves that watching netflix all day is what they are supposed to do. If they would called themselves ambitious, motivated and hard worker, they would get depressed watching a movie for more than 2 hours.
My proposal to you is this: trigger an identity crisis, so that you have no other choice but to change for the better.
Here is how:
Step 1: Discover your identity
What do you love about yourself? What do people admire about you?
- Are you a loyal and devoted friend?
- Are you a loving father or mother?
- Are you a supportive brother or sister?
- Are you an ambitious & successful entrepreneur?
- Are you a selfless volunteer, helping those in need?
You don’t have to be that exact person yet. All you need is to pick a personality that gives you the most joy.
Now, picture yourself being that person.
Step 2: Challenge that identity
Think of your health. Find inconsistencies between your health habits and the person you want to be?
- How can you possibly be a loyal friend if you’re dragging your friends down by eating disgusting, greasy and processed food? Are you contributing to killing them slowly or are you empowering them? Are you helping them to get the energy they need to achieve their dreams?
- How can you possibly be a loving father/mother if you can’t even go outside and play with your kids for more than 5 minutes without being exhausted to death. What if you could play with your kids for hours? Don’t you think that would leave them with great memories and a higher sense of love?
- How can you possibly be a supportive brother/sister if you’re not showing the example of how much potential your relatives have. Ask yourself: could it be that by getting in the best shape of your life, you would inspire them to tap into their potential? Would they be proud of you?
- How can you possibly call yourself an ambitious entrepreneur if you can’t even reach a goal that is 100% under your control? Don’t you think that the battles you will need to fight in your ventures or the determination you will need to have to face adversity will be greater than what you will need to drop a few pounds?
- How can you possibly be a selfless volunteer if you’re not inspiring those you’re trying to help. Don’t you think you would have more impact on lives of others if you led by example?
Don’t be lazy. Do this exercise for yourself.
Step 3: Write it down
Take a journal, open evernote or just get a blank sheet of paper.
Write down your thoughts.
Don’t show it to anyone. That’s not the point. The only person who needs convincing here is you.
Step 4: Have a plan & do the work.
How does a business generate more profit?
By reducing costs and/or selling more. That’s it. Everything else you can think of will fall under this statement.
The same logic applies to your weight: eat less (and better food) and move more.
Let’s look at both nutrition and exercise in details:
Research
First, research what is good food and bad food. Personally, I like the paleo diet.
Whatever type of diet you decide to follow, avoid food that has been prepared and processed for you. If you’re buying food that looks like it grows on a tree, emerges from the ground, runs on land or swims in water, you should be fine.
Plan your meals.
When hungry, you will eat whatever is convenient. The last thing you want is to think about the millions things you could eat.
Reduce that annoying uncertainty around your meals.
On a full stomach, write down what you plan to eat and go do the groceries. Fill your fridge and your shelves with good food.
Eat your meals.
Believe it or not, this is the most important step
You could plan better meals than Jamie Oliver, if you’re not going to put good food in your mouth, the rest is useless.
Keep a food journal.
Keep track of what you eat. Write it down on your phone or journal.
A study of nearly 1700 participants found that the best predictor of weight loss was how frequent food diaries were kept.
Try logging your meals and see how powerful it is.
Exercise
First, always remember this:
Nutrition is more important than exercise.
You can’t outrun your fork.
Now, research what is good exercise,
I recommend working out with weights (strength training)
Plan your workouts, lift weights and log your workouts to stay motivated and on track.
Build a habit.
Step 5. reinforce it
No matter how motivated you are, your brain will play tricks with you. You will soon forget what you now know.
Read your notes often. Rewrite them.
Do anything you can to prevent your mind from erasing information that will help change.
Knowing why
Hopefully, you now have a strong reason why you want to get in shape. And it’s not because you want to look sexy at the beach.
You want to change because you would lose all sense of self if you didn’t.
You are more powerful that you think. Starting is always the hardest.
When you lose motivation, trust the process.
You have what it takes to change.
No doubts.