Weight Loss Tip #1: Why Most Fail and Only a Few Succeed at Being Fit

In the age of information, many of the principles of
health and fitness have become all but common knowledge.

Nevertheless, there still is a very clear divide between
those people who become successful and losing weight and/or
staying fit and those who do not.

Why is that? And what can you do to improve your chances
of being in the successful minority as opposed to the
unsuccessful majority?

When it comes to the world of weight loss and being fit,
there are generally two areas that help to determine
what you can expect for your efforts.

1. Genetic Factors
2. Psychological Factors

Most of the information out there is geared around
the Genetic factors and how to compensate for
any natural shortcomings with a certain amount of
physical activity and dieting.

One of the most popular topics along the lines of
genetics is that of Body Type.

Anatomical body type is generally broken down into 3 basic
groups: Ectomorphic, Mesomorphic, and Endomorphic.

Ectomorphic types are characterized as people with
thin, up and down body frames who have the easiest
time keeping their weight under control. Basketball
players and runway models will often fit into this
category.

Mesomorphic body types are characterized as people
with athletic frames and generally muscular,
well-proportioned bodies. Bodybuilders and dancers
will often fit in here.

Endomorphic body types tend to be generally round
figures and will often have the most trouble
in keeping unwanted weight off of their bodies.

Most of us are combinations of two or more of these
types with one being more dominant than the others.

One important note about these anatomical types
is that while they may give some insight to how
you look on the outside, they can deceive us as
to how healthy you are internally. Many people
who may be “thin” are literally decaying inside
due to bad habits (poor diet, smoking, lack of
exercise).

By contrast, there are many people
who are not stereotypically thin, but are pictures
of healthy due to healthy lifestyles (proper
nutrition, physical activity).

The general role of knowing your body type
is to get an explanation of how your body will
tend to respond to your diet and lifestyle in
terms of how easy or challenging it may be for
you to “hold it together” in certain areas.
Another way of classifying your body is by which
of your hormone-producing glands dominates
the way you process nutrients in the food you
eat.

These Glandular (“metabolic”) types will fall into
one of 4 categories: Adrenal, Thyroidal, Pituitary,
or Gonadal. The explanation of each is very similar
to that of the anatomical body types above. The
adrenal type tends to correspond with the mesomorphic
anatomical type. The thyroidal is similar to the ectomorphic,
and the pituitary to the endomorphic.

The gonadal type
is a women-only classification that is a hybrid of
being slender on the top but somewhat larger below the
waist with a greater amount of body fat. The gonadal
body type among women is more commonly referred to
as being “pear shaped”.

There is a third type of body classification that
you may come across that originated in Ancient India.
It has to do with “Doshas” – how the energy fields
of the earth and your physical mass interact to
influence how you feel.

This is not directly related to the physical aspect
of weight loss but tends to give you an idea on how
what psychological advantages or challenges you
may have when it comes to getting and staying fit.

This brings me to a major point of clarity in this
article:

As valuable as all of the body type information may
be to learning your body, it is not the “end all”
that it is often marketed to be.

You are neither “guaranteed” to look and feel great
nor “doomed” to be overweight and unhealthy simply
based on your genetics and body classification.
Body types should only be used to give you insight
on what advantages or challenges that you may have
in your quest for life-long fitness—not a life
or death sentence that limits what you can achieve.

In reality, the Psychological factors related to how you
look and feel are really where the rubber meets the
road in weight loss and staying healthy and fit.

It is here that you will find the tools to overcome
whatever physical challenges that you are faced with.
Therefore, it is here where you absolutely focus
the MAJORITY of your energy if you are become and
stay successful with your health and fitness goals.

One thing that many people do not consider is how
the knowledge of their “body type” and what that means
affects their psychological outlook in the first place.

Many “fit” people who look great because they eat
right and exercise do so because they already believe
that they’ve “got something” that is valuable and
maintained. Therefore, their healthy lifestyle is just
a matter of course.

The importance of the effect that your outlook on
your results cannot be ignored. To put it plainly, your
outLOOK directly affects your outPUT.

If you don’t happen to be one of those people who seem
to “naturally” have it together when it comes to your
body (or you have been before but have since lost the “magic”),
then what you will need to do is simply tap into the
strength of your own psyche to push you toward success.

There are 5 Key Steps that you need to follow in order
to take advantage of your own reservoirs of power, drive,
and confidence.

1. Self Acceptance

   In order for ANY of this to work, you will want to either
   have or develop of certain level of self acceptance for your
   body and all of its great points as well as its weaknesses.

   This doesn’t mean that you have to be satisfied with yourself
   when you may be out of shape. What is DOES mean, however, is
   that you have to be “ok” with having YOUR “best body”—not
   someone else’s.

2. Find the Keys to Your Own Motivation

   Different things work for different people. While there may
   be 4 or 5 body types, there are even more different personality
   types. You may want to try several different types of motivational
   tools to see which one you respond to best for the results
   you want. Here are a few ideas of things to try:

   • Having a workout/diet buddy (or buddies)
   • Motivational books and tapes
   • Imagining how you will look and feel when you reach YOUR personal best
   • Thinking of the quality of life benefits of being healthy and fit

   And there are tons more.

3. Setting Attainable Goals after You’ve Gotten #1 and #2
   Firmly Under Your Belt

   Most people try to simply pull random goals out of the sky.
   This can often lead to first failure then disappointment when
   issues with self acceptance are combined with a lack of
   understanding what motivates you.

4. Drown Yourself in Those Things that Motivate You

   Once you’ve figured out what works for you, DROWN yourself in it!
   If it works, then work IT. Take full advantage of the
   #1 factor in successfully achieving weight loss and maintaining
   physical fitness.

5. Maintain Your Progress by Making Fitness a Lifestyle

   As many of you know by now, I am NOT a fan of traditional diets.
   They simply do not work. More than anything else, it is your
   day-to-day lifestyle that will determine what results you get,
   and your psychological outlook is what either drives you to
   or pulls you away from the activities that form that lifestyle.

There is simply no reason on earth that you cannot be one of
the “Successful” people when it comes to weight loss and
fitness.

Educate yourself on your body’s strengths and weaknesses, then
develop a winning attitude by provided your psyche with effective
motivation that it will respond to. That’s the hardest part. And
its very doable with the right information and coaching, which
is why I came up with the YourBestBodyNOW web site and weight loss
program for people just like you. The rest, as they say, is
will be a cinch.

To YourBestBody,

Lawrence Cole

Your Lifestyle and Fitness Coach
YourBestBodyNOW.com

See this Weight Loss article on YourBestBodyNOW.com

Lawrence Cole is a Lifestyle and Fitness Consultant based out of Los Angeles, CA. He has over 10 years of health and fitness experience and designing simple, effective nutritional strategies to help individuals achieve their personal best internal health and physical conditioning.

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