Fitness blog offering information on staying fit and in shape
When it comes to weight loss you may secretly be your own worst enemy. Before we get started on that, let’s look at the fact that accomplishing any goal, large or small, requires a mind that is clearly focused on the desired end.
What does that mean? It means turning self-talk into a positive advantage and using your rational mind to help fuel and motivate your efforts. After all, the choice is yours: let your mind sabotage your efforts or let it help inspire better eating habits and encourage healthy weight-loss outcomes.
If you’ve tried losing weight or a weight loss program before, and have found it to be an uphill battle in which you lose a few pounds only to gain back several more, then it’s time to break the psychological cycle that may be holding you back from your goal.
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CYCLE OF WEIGHT GAIN
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Compounding the problem is the fact that individuals who are overweight have less energy, and therefore find it harder to be active, so the risk of gaining weight again increases. A cycle of inactivity and further weight gain can develop: the less active person gains weight and so becomes less active, thereby gaining more weight and so on. Also, life stresses, which are normally alleviated through exercise, start building up which triggers more stress-based eating.
Individuals who try to lose weight and fail may feel depressed, frustrated and even guilty or ashamed and may rely on comfort foods as a way to feel better. The same is true of those who succeed in losing weight, only to gain it back. Anxiety, depression and guilt can produce a feeling of hopelessness that hinders efforts to lose weight.
This is why getting on the right weight loss program is CRUCIAL for successful weight loss. Whether it’s a weight loss diet that you’ve imposed on yourself or a program designed for your body, follow the next seven steps to break the psychological cycle of weight loss.
SEVEN STEPS TO BREAKING THE CYCLE
1. Stop Diet Deprivation. Diets and weight loss programs that put severe restrictions on what you can eat oftentimes arouse binge eating. While you may hold out for a while, one day you’ll decide depriving yourself is not worth it, or you can’t take it anymore, and you dig into the refrigerator, freezer or snack cabinet with a vengeance. Allow yourself small indulgences that are satisfying and will help you avoid harmful binging.
2. Plan Ahead. What if you should slip? The best way to avoid slipping is through pre-planning. So, if you’re off to a backyard barbecue or family gathering decide ahead of time what your plan is. Eat something healthy and filling before you go out and then allow yourself a few special treats at the party, but exercise portion control. If you know that Aunt Mary is making your favorite dessert, plan on having a small slice and savor it. Managing your weight and enjoying life should go hand in hand.
3. Set Realistic Weight Loss Goals. To avoid the frustration of failing, don’t overstress yourself with unrealistic weight loss goals. You gained weight slowly over time and it will take some time to gradually lose that weight. Slow, but sure is the best approach.
4. Choose Healthy Outlets for Emotions. Instead of opening the refrigerator when you’re upset, how about phoning a friend, or take a walk. Discover something that makes you feel calmer or happier – something other than food or alcohol. Do yoga, dance around your living room, meditate or go out bowling with a friend.
5. Stop Harboring Hurts. Work through issues that are upsetting you. Talk to a therapist or even a friend. Don’t let hurts, even old wounds or patterns that reach back into your childhood, affect you and your relationship with food.
6. Remember Why You’re Dieting. It helps to stop and remember why you’re dieting in the first place. Is it to have more energy, look and feel better, alleviate health problems or increase your self esteem? Keeping the goal in mind is critical to your weight loss success.
7. Use Your Mind to Break the Cycle. The fact is you can do it. It’s all in your mind – the power to lose the weight rests with you. Believe you can succeed and you will succeed. If you want to put an end to the psychological cycle of weight gain, start by turning all of your negative self talk into positive affirmations. That’s the best way to break the cycle.
Instead of saying: “Look at that fat belly. It just won’t go away.” Think positive: “Yes, my belly is fat now, but it won’t always be. I plan to be fit, not fat. I’m heading to the gym after work today.”
Keep your goal in mind at all times. Write down your positive affirmations and put up visual reminders of what you want to attain – that dress you want to buy, that seaside resort you’re longing to visit this year, or even a picture the happy person you want to be again. It’s all within reach if you set your mind to it, keep active, exercise, and prepare healthy menus that you enjoy.
Use these seven steps to create a mental turnaround and break through the psychological barriers that are holding you back. If you do, you’ll have the power to achieve permanent weight loss – something that will truly change your future and your life.
Following are the Components of Physical fitness :
1. Speed: Speed is the ability of a person to execute motor movements with high speed in the shortest period of time. It is equal to the distance covered per unit of time. the element of speed is involved in most of the athletic skills such as in sprint running, some skills of soccer, basketball, etc.
2.Strength: Strength is the ability of a muscle to expert or release force by contraction enabling a person to overcome resistance or to act against resistance.
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4. Endurance :Endurance is the ability of the person to perform movement of moderate (Sub-maximum) contractions over prolonged period of time under conditions of fatigue or tiredness. It is the product of all psychic and physical energy of human body.
5. Flexibility : Flexibility is the ability of a muscle to perform movements with large range of motion.
6. Agility : Agility is the ability of a person to change positions in space or to change directions quickly and effectively e.g. football player quickly changes direction or giving dodge to opponent, hurdle crossing over the barrier or hurdles, zig-zag running, etc.
7. Balance : Balance is the ability of a person to control human body or to maintain equilibrium under static and dynamic conditions e.g. hand stand, skating, skiing, catching a fly in baseball, etc.
- By Body Health Blog .
It has become obvious now that the media advertises and promotes a very unhealthy trend of extreme dieting and other bad eating habits to women. Most of media sources put on their covers images of skinny emancipated females.
Doing this they influence the subconscious mind of the masses. And women continue to spend their money trying to achieve this unattainable look they constantly see in media advertising.
To try and solve this problem let’s answer the next questions.
What is body image?
What kind of trends in the media industry are we noticing now?
How do the media influence our perception of body image?
What could be the reasons behind this?
What are the consequences of this kind of trend?
What are some real suggestions on how to improve your body image?
Your body image is how you perceive, think and feel about your body. This may have no bearing at all on your actual appearance. For instance, it is common in Western nations for women to believe they are larger and fatter than they really are. Only one in five women is satisfied with their body weight.
Nearly half of all normal weight women overestimate their size and shape. A distorted body image can lead to self-destructive behavior, like dieting or eating disorders. Approximately nine out of 10 young Australian women have dieted at least once in their lives.
So, the basic trend in the media industry at the moment is to promote slim, even skinny unnatural looking women bodies as being beautiful.
Women of all ages but especially young women look at magazines, TV, movies and other media products full of images that show skinny women bodies. And these are perceived by the subconscious mind of young women as being a role model to follow and aspire to be like. Achieving this skinny look does not come naturally; it inevitably leads to practicing some kind of dieting, excessive exercising or abnormal eating behaviors.
Twenty years ago, the average model weighed 8 per cent less than the average woman but today’s models weigh 23 per cent less. Advertisers believe that thin models sell products.
When the Australian magazine New Woman recently included a picture of a heavy-set model on its cover, it received a truckload of letters from grateful readers praising the move. But its advertisers complained and the magazine returned to featuring bone-thin models.
What could be the reason behind all this? Why has this fashion trend occurred now? Why are standards of beauty being imposed on women, the majority of whom are naturally larger than any of the models?
The reasons for this according to some analysts, is an economic one. By presenting an ideal look which is difficult to achieve and maintain the cosmetic and diet product industries are assured of growth and profits. It is estimated that the diet industry alone is worth $100 billion (U.S.) a year. This is a lot of money and certainly worth their while to continue to foster emancipated women as being the norm.
And the consequences of this trend are huge. On the one hand, women who are insecure about their bodies are more likely to buy beauty products, new clothes, and diet pills or other diet supplies.
On the other hand, research indicates that exposure to images of thin, young, air-brushed female bodies is linked to depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of unhealthy eating habits in women and girls.
The level of eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia are increasing rapidly every year. It is estimated that around 5 per cent of women and 1 percent of men have an eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia or binge eating some time in their life.
And about 15 per cent of all young women have significantly distorted eating attitudes and behavior that can lead to developing anorexia or bulimia in the near future.
So, what would be some real suggestions on how to improve your body image without resorting to unhealthy eating habits?
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Get informed by reading up on body image issues and self-improvement books. And give yourself a break from women magazines and the mass media advertising for a while if you feel you maybe prone to this kind of false perceptions.
To sum up, the media does impact on women?s body image significantly and it can affect women’s physical and mental health in a negative way.
And the only way to stop these negative effects coming from the media is to teach women not to judge themselves by the beauty industry’s standards and learn not to compare themselves to the cover girls. And also it is important to promote a healthy life style with emphasis on internal beauty like improving self-esteem and self-confidence. Not on being a stick like model.
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