Lindsey has literally been working her tail off in preparation for her wedding. And she is seeing great results. One of the fantastic things about training for special events is that it’s natural to use a ‘moving toward’ strategy. In thesescenarios it’s easy to work hard and give up tempting foods because the perceived reward is so great. But let’s take a closer look at how and why we can use a ‘moving toward’ strategy as opposed to a ‘moving away’ strategy.
A ‘moving away’ strategy is sadly commonplace. It involves thought and word choices like, “I HAVE to go to the gym”, and, “I CAN’T eat that.” What you are essentially telling yourself is, “I’m not allowed to do what I want to do.” And to fully understand what that means, it’s important to take a step back and look at how that affects our limbic system. Our limbic system is that deep “reptile brain” that supports emotion, fear and reward, motivation, and long-term memory. In short, it’s the part of the brain that emotively tells us what we desire.
The basal nature of the limbic system becomes vitally important when we continually tell ourselves we can’t, shouldn’t, or aren’t allowed to enjoy tasty food items or a comfy afternoon on the couch. In short, our emotions revolt. And they frequently win. Next thing you know, we end up on a ice cream bender that keeps us out of the gym for three weeks.
But what if we adopted a different strategy; a ‘moving toward’ strategy? In such a scenario we may find ourselves sitting on the couch staring at the specter of driving to the gym for a grueling workout. We may find ourselves pushing our grocery cart past the Bakery department as the smell of fresh donuts wafts past us.
With our new ‘moving toward’ skills we substitute negative thoughts with simple questions like, “What do I want more: to sit on the couch and work on my beer belly, or go to the gym and get stronger?”, or, “Do I want to eat that box of donuts and gain some body fat, or do I want to pick up a healthy snack to support my efforts at becoming lean?” What we’ve done is twofold. 1. We have not forbidden ourselves from having or doing enjoyable things. 2. We have also tapped into equally powerful desires of looking and feeling good to ourselves and to others! This is very powerful, and capable of making all the difference in achieving our fitness goals. And you don’t have to pay for a wedding just to get fit. Give it a try next time you face a fitness decision.
