Where Fitness & Love Intersect
That’s the Way Love Goes – Good news here, so don’t give up on these numbers. If we are out of shape, we have a 42 percent greater chance of an early death before 60 and if we walk 30 minutes per day, we can pocket $2,500 in savings, including skipping the flu and sore throat. These stats have shown to move less than one percent of people to change, but…
“both fitness and nutrition are accomplished 78 percent of the time when the person has the prospect of love on the horizon.”
– Oxford Entrepreneurs, 1/4/2017
After publishing Matchmaker Says: Your Next New Year’s Resolution, we noticed that many of our friends, clients, and colleagues entered 2017 with similar New Year’s Resolutions — in essence, to achieve “well-ness” in the New Year. With that in mind, we thought this research from Oxford Entrepreneurs was compelling…as the prospect of love seems to have a positive influence on actually accomplishing these types of resolutions.
And because many of us here are engaged in the “pursuit of love,” (and the data tells us that particular pursuit and fitness are correlated) we thought it would be informative to get an expert’s view on how to attain success.
Naturally, we turned to Brigitte Weil (Chef and Founder of I Hate Celery Sticks and author of the delightful Heartalytics story, Finding Mr. Foodie) to provide tactical tips on fitness, dating, and how to realize the goals we set for ourselves.
Brigitte Weil on managing your fitness goals & why you shouldn’t let weight postpone your next date…
The biggest lie people tell themselves when it comes to fitness and dating is:
“I cannot start dating until I lose some weight. Nobody will want me.”
Poppycock! Nothing is as appealing or sexy as a person who feels good about themselves in their present state, and is working toward becoming even more fabulous.
We set the tone: If we put out a strong signal of confidence, sincere happiness and optimism with who we are (even if we are not yet the size we desire) others receive those strong messages; and here’s the big bonus — we internalize those messages as well.
If we express insecurity because we think of ourselves mainly as a product of some repelling cosmetic flaw, we become that flaw. That is what others will see.
But, here’s the caveat: We don’t need to pretend we think we’re perfect.
You can be confident, happy and feel beautiful (or handsome) while also sharing that you are on a weight loss journey — or on a path to self-improvement.
This is an appealing and impressive quality to expose – it exhibits flexibility, determination and the desire for unlimited happiness.
Food for thought: We all want happy partners, not necessarily “skinny” partners.
I spend my days coaching people off the crazy diet merry-go-round, so I’ve heard all the reasons why it’s not an ideal time to start working toward fitness goals. (I also know these types of excuses because I said them all to myself when I was 65 pounds heavier. And single.)
It’s a bad time. Tomorrow, next week, next month will be better, right?
Wrong.
We cannot achieve our wellness goals if we keep postponing the start date.
And if the prospect of love increases the likelihood of success (as the research maintains), then get out there and date!
Achieving success in this realm follows suit with every other type of goal: it doesn’t happen by accident. There are very specific things that need to happen every day, and I recommend starting out by answering these basic questions:
- What is your specific goal?
(e.g. lose 10 pounds, “feel” better in general, gain in strength) - What 3 things do you need to do to arrive at your goal?
This is your simple plan of action. It should include the 3 most important things you need to do in order to reach your goal — i.e. committing to a specific weight loss plan, getting to the gym each morning, increasing water intake, cutting out sugar, bringing lunch to work. - How will you track your progress?
This is mandatory. You need to write down your daily progress somewhere: in a food log, on a post-it note on your bathroom mirror, on the fridge — just get it down somewhere and stick to it! - To whom will you be accountable?
Also essential. You don’t have to do this alone! Enlist a work-out buddy, call on a friend, sibling, a food coach, trainer (or your mother) to check-in weekly to discuss your progress.
Now your goals are specific, manageable, trackable and you’re accountable. There is nothing stopping you from marching further into a wellness-filled 2017.
