Healthy High Achiever Blog

Stick - with - the - program!

Since when was "living" relegated to this kind of programmatic thinking? Programs are for computers and even there they don’t run right!

Case in point:

Here you have Joe and Jane, they are living their lives in a certain way right now and the results, the consequences of their way of life, or their "lifestyles", are evident in how they look, feel and perform.

If Joe and Jane are overwhelmed, exhausted and overweight… logic would tell you that their lifestyle is not working for them and that this is likely not boding well for the achievement of their goals either. In other words, lack of energy, endurance, stamina, strength, emotional poise etc, make goal achievement hard.

So what do we do?

We put Joe and Jane on a diet or a fitness program to deal with the most obvious symptoms and engage them in the stick-to-the- program paradigm for better results enforced by well intended professionals, who themselves, simply have more successful lifestyles. They don’t need to stick with a program, they just do it because they are inspired to, educated and supported.

But this is not the mindset of most people, which is why most people fail. They are focused on relieving symptoms "overweight…" and that’s how the program was marketed. They don’t embody the whole lifestyle that the program represents and only make very small changes. Making small changes are normal and natural but this is not what the average weight loss program requires.

Lifestyle change is all about making small changes over time to adapt to changing circumstances so one can thrive. But because weight loss programs are more about getting great testimonials, you have to make big changes fast. This is not normal or natural.

Today, lifestyles are sold like widgets, like units sold from a business. So for best results one should embody the whole lifestyle and fast. Problem is, change doesn’t happen that fast, hence the focus on manipulative touch points like low carb, or creatine ingestion and the influence of big rewards, like cars and money, that give the appearance that things have changed, of success. 

Healthy High Achievers don’t think that way, and that’s why they are almost always successful.  

Here’s what you’ve got to know, a "program" is a lifestyle (albeit usually addressing fragments of a whole lifestyle) and changing a lifestyle overnight, depending on how big the change is, is not an easy thing to do.

Notice I didn’t say "lifestyle changes are hard", they are actually easy, but changing whole aspects of your lifestyle like the way you eat and your activity levels (which is what most "programs" focus on) is not easy given all the preceding influences of poor quality eating and inactivity.

"Sticking to the program" is an outdated vernacular the whole concept is like Swiss cheese. You can poke so many holes in it, it doesn’t hold up as a mindset for success. Programs are a businesses way of describing their offerings.

For consumers we have to look at our engagement as the development of a new lifestyle for a bigger purpose, and recognize that unless you are addressing and coordinating all aspects of your lifestyle as you make change, you will not experience the sustainable results you are looking for.

The average diet, weight loss or fitness program is only going to address parts fo the equation at best. This is important to know so you can set expectations accordingly.

Consider the fact that most (not all) diet and exercise programs ask you to exercising more a fatigued body, and eat less of foods that don’t really serve you to start. This is a formula for staying stuck to begin with addressing only two important, albeit only two, components of your lifestyle.

There is a crazy focus these days on getting others to stick to programs, when in reality people don’t stick to programs, they live their lives by default, all things considered. Changing a lifestyle has to be an inspired, educated and supported personal endeavor, and those changes need to be made within the capacity constraints of the individual and considerate of that persons circumstances.

Hey, I’m all for a person making big changes in a single bound if it works, but not when it doesn’t with expectations that it should. This is major flaw in our approach to improving fitness, health and well being today. Healthy High Achievers don’t think this way, it’s usually the desperate and obsessed that do and I’m not just referring to the client.

If Joe or Jane are attempting to stick to a way of life that is not their own, they will forever stay stuck. Stick with the program are the 4 dirtiest words in the fitness industry. They are part of a misguided, keep-you-stuck vernacular that is outdated and take the joy out of living. A program is simply meant to help you build some new routines in your life, but how those routines actually play out in your life will change.

Learn the language of lifestyle and things begin to change naturally, this is what Lifestyle Training is all about.

There is a time and place for a "program", but only when you are aware and set expectations accordingly. We’ll talk more about that.  

I’d like very much to read your comments.

I’ve been wanting to comment about this for sometime…

The question is… will you always feel good in a Performance Lifestyle? The answer is yes and no.

You will be emotionally uncomfortable at times, you will get tired, and sometimes things will feel like they are falling apart, it’s called life. Although the better you get at moving forward in a position of strength, the less that will happen.

I have come to the conclusion, that you will not always feel good, unless you realize that you can feel good in other ways, even when you are being challenged. THAT can only happen when you are masterful at Managing Your Energy Like a Pro in a Performance Lifestyle.

For example, when you are tired, that means you spent your energy and need to recuperate. Hopefully you spent your energy on a worthy cause. If so, you will feel good mentally and emotionally and take delight in your exhausted physical state, knowing you are readying yourself for strength yet again.

When you feel great physically; it’s usually after you’ve taken steps to feel that way.
Will you feel that way all the time? No.  That’s not really possible.  Exhaustion is imminent, daily. (notice I didn’t say fatigue)

If anyone ever tells you that you will look, feel, and perform your best all the time, they are lying. There are cycles to living. BUT, if you have a Performance Lifestyle you will be shocked and delighted at how much better you feel, perform and look, because your lifestyle is reinforcing both health and success.

Get out of the delusion that you will always "feel good", all the time. It doesn’t happen. If you remove this delusion it will set you up for success. And a good portion of the time, when you are in peak condition, you will feel your best, other times you will understand what’s going on and can still feel good in other ways. 

Can a diet guru or fitness trainer or anyone in your life for that matter, really hold you accountable?

NO.

Well maybe for a very short period of time, or a one-time reminder, otherwise, only you can do that.

Today it has become a marketing tactic to sell "accountability" to ensure you are doing something that you are not currently doing. It sounds like it would be valuable to have someone do that, but what’s really happening is the creation of codependency.

If you need someone else to hold you accountable to taking action, to acting in your own self interest or in the interest of others, then there are other issues going on.

For example, holding someone accountable to "workout"; this does not require accountability, as there are countless people who do this simple act out of pure desire every day.

Do you desire exercise when you are overwhelmed, exhausted and overweight? No. So is it accountability you need or a better lifestyle?

There is value to having a drill sergeant in your life, at times, but those times when you do, are few and far between. And, few people like the job. Even those who promise "accountability", they really don’t want to be your oxygen tank.

Be accountable to what’s going on in your life, to what enables you to show up, able to perform and act… and you will be able to do what you want or know you need to do.This was a big realization in my own life.

There are reasons why people don’t workout… and it’s not because of a lack of accountability.

It may seem like tough love, but it’s really not. Being personally accountable is actually easier than being co-dependent on others for basic functions in your life.

Howie Panes of HOW FIT in Livingston NJ and inventor of some great training gear, like the NRG Ball…said in an off-the-cuff response to my last email, which I got a great laugh from…

I don’t hit walls I run through them my friend!!!!

I am taking so much action my wife might get pregnant again without sex!

I don’t fall off wagons I am too busy leading the way! 

Howie’s a pro and he know’s what he’s doing.

In Performance Lifestyle Training (in a manner of speaking) you’re going to cultivate a similar attitude, and maintain your energy in the process. I can’t speak for Howard 100%, though I know, he knows how to live a hard charging life without compromising his health - energy and fitness, or his well being.

He has a skill set that he’s learned over a long period of time, to improve his lifestyle, his experience and his results.

Most people do not have these skills, mainly because they lack athletic experience, so they drive themselves right into the ground and overwhelm leads to fatigue and the overweight condition.

Howard Panes has a Performance Lifestyle, do you? If you don’t is probably about time you get one.

If you are an early registrant, it starts tonight!

Here are the details - Performance Lifestyle Training 

What do healthy high achieving people all have in common? They have Performance Lifestyle’s that give their bodies the health, energy, stamina and endurance to sustain and succeed… with quality of life.

It’s for business owners, parents, professionals, students, athletes and others who want to look, feel and perform better and live at or near their ideal weight, all year round.  

Click here for details 

Former NYU professor, New York Times best-selling author and world-famous economist Paul Zane Pilzer, author of The New Wellness Revolution, the second edition of the Wellness Revolution book series, came out with some very interesting statistics about what Generation Y, X and The Baby Boomers want most.

Here’s what he said…

Generation Y - Increased Performance

Generation X - Increased Performance, relief from aches and pains

Baby Boomers - Increased Performance, relief from aches and pains and increased memory.  

In the Age of Achievement, these statistics reinforce the point, that health needs to be a given, success is what you’re aiming at, but increase personal and professional performance is what you want.

When you focus on performance, you bridge the gap between your health and success, and can take steps forward and back as you see fit to accomplish and achieve your goals, with your health and wellbeing intact free of energy and weight issues.

Now what are those steps and what skills do you need to have if you’re going to do that successfully?  That’s what you’ll learn in the next Performance Lifestyle Training.

You’ll lose weight naturally.