Shocking Development in Behavior Change

September 16, 2014 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

According to a university study, approximately 40 percent of our daily actions are habits; unconscious routines we do by rote.

A sleepwalking-man t first, I had trouble believing that. Yet, consider a typical day. Unless it’s an unusual occasion, such as vacation or maybe weekends; you wake up at approximately the same time. You are either a “breakfast eater” or you’re not; habit number one. Should you be of the former category, your morning repast will consist of the same basic items it does every other morning, despite the fact that the average grocery store offers over 40,000 choices from which you can choose.

If you commute to your job, you depart at the same time, most likely down to the minute, traveling the same roads, arriving at the same location, even parking in the same space. Upon arriving, you greet co-workers with the same banter, perform the same tasks, take lunch at the same time (at the usual restaurants), order the same meals, and head home at your regular time.

Yet, that’s not all.

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Setting Realistic Goals During the Holidays

December 2, 2013 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

It’s okay to change your goals due to circumstances.

Simply because you have set a goal does not mean you are never allowed to change it.

As we move deeper into the holidays, it might be more difficult to stick to your goals (such as losing weight). That’s not a rationale for “giving up,” rather it’s an indication that you might want to adjust. After all, sticking to your program in January, when everyone else is doing it; is much easier than in December, when you feel like you’re all alone.

Adjust your goal to meet the conditions. Be realistic.

A goal “etched in stone” can be an excuse to give up when things get tough. Flexibility can be helpful.

You set the goals. They do not set you.

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No More Excuses: How to Motivate Yourself to Lose Weight

October 4, 2012 by Featured Author

“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”
– Benjamin Franklin

Ben Franklin was onto something.

Have you ever met a successful person who was good at making excuses? I haven’t, either. Instead of wasting his time sitting around conjuring up good excuses, a successful person takes responsibility and does what he needs to do to achieve his goal. Simple as that.

If you want to lose weight, do it. Yes, it’s much easier to plop on the couch and crack open a bag of chips while cooking up a reason to skip another day at the gym instead of, well, going to the gym, but would you feel so great about yourself by the end of the day?

It’s easy to let your excuses discourage you from improving your body. It doesn’t have to be like that! Sometimes you just need a little push in the right direction, and what better way to do that than to debunk your lame excuses?

Excuse #1: I’m too busy.

Your life may be going 500 miles an hour, but there’s always a way to incorporate healthy behavior into your daily schedule. For example, the time spent waiting in a McDonald’s drive-through could be better spent preparing a quick healthy meal, like a cup of oatmeal or a bowl of salad. Exercise doesn’t always mean spending an hour at the gym. You can break up your exercise throughout the day or replace one of your activities with exercise (such as riding your bike to work instead of driving).

How to motivate yourself: Create a reward system. Every time you exercise or eat something healthy, give yourself a point. For every 100 points, treat yourself to something nice! Or, instead of a point, you can add a quarter to a jar and use the money to buy something you’ve had your eye on for a while.

Excuse #2: Being healthy is too expensive.

Organic food and gym memberships can be hard on the wallet, but there are plenty of other ways to eat well and work out on a shoestring budget. Did you know that you can get your daily intake of fruits and vegetables for an average price of $2 per day? That’s cheaper than a liter of soda! Buy frozen fruits and vegetables, whole grains in bulk, or prepare meals yourself instead of overpaying for already-made meals. Rent exercise videos from the library, jog around the park, or do physical labor around the house.

How to motivate yourself: Add a monetary value to everything you do or buy. This will help you go for the healthier option most of the time. A few examples include:

“Why should I buy this pack of soda when I can get water for free?”

“I’m watching cable T.V. This is costing me $50 per month. Maybe I should cancel cable and go hiking instead.”

“I spend $60 a week on gasoline, which adds up to $3,120 per year. Yearly bike maintenance costs a fraction of that.”

Excuse #3: It takes too long to lose weight.

Dieting and working out is a long and hard battle. Just because you don’t see instant results doesn’t mean it won’t happen eventually. Be patient, and keep it up. You just need to keep your eyes on the goal. You’ll get there someday.

How to motivate yourself: There are tons of ways to motivate yourself to keep going. You just need to monitor your progress and keep reminding yourself why you’re doing this. Take a photo of yourself on a weekly or monthly basis, and, whenever you feel like giving up, lay out the photos in chronological order. Just seeing yourself get thinner and thinner may be enough to motivate you to keep going. Also, you can take out an old thin photograph of yourself and put it up in a place where you will see it every day. It would also help to take an article of clothing you want to wear when you reach your ideal weight and hang it in a visible place.

Are you a talker or a doer?

Do you know someone who talks the talk but never walks the walk? Do you want to be that person? Visualize the way you want to be, and do something to turn into the new you!

About the Author: Dora Novak, author of this article, writes frequently about topics related to food or health. As a start she used low calorie protein bars when she found herself having troubles with motivation.

Need help losing weight? Visit our sister site, www.21DayHabitChange.com and you’re guaranteed to change one bad habit in 3 weeks or your money back. (Enter code “ScottSentMe” and save 60%)

The Power of Accountability

September 4, 2012 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

by guest author John Lenning

The following is a letter that I received from a new friend. I asked him if I could share it because I thought it was awesome.

I just wanted to say “thanks” for helping to get me back on track.
For a little over a year before I contacted you, I had been having pain in my hip flexors. It started off as nagging pains, but got worse and worse with each month. About one month before I met you, I went to my sister’s house for a weekend get-together.

One of my college buddies who I had not seen in over 9 months was there. When he saw me, he said “Haven’t seen you in a while, what have you been up to?”

I paused for a second, then replied “Work, and uhh…that’s about it”

He replied, “Work, that’s it?”

I said, “Yeah….”

He then said, “Seriously, you haven’t done anything else?”

I just kind of stood there with a dumb look on my face, thinking, “Wow, I really have not been doing anything, have I?”

After what seemed like forever, I kind of laughed and acted like it was not a big deal. I then quickly changed the subject to something about his job.

For a week after that, I just kept asking myself what I had been doing. His question made me take a look at myself and realize that I had let my pain prevent me from doing things. I had been using it as an excuse. I had used my hip injury to justify skipping the gym, camping trips, and other things. I even used it to justify my poor eating habits.

I realized that I had been passively going through life, never stopping to see that things seemed to be going downhill.

Even after that experience, it took me over three weeks to convince myself that I needed to start doing something about the pain. I finally convinced myself that I needed to actually do something and was able to convince myself to talk to Mike. The rest is history.

I am thankful that I was able to finally break through the walls that I had built, and ask Mike if he knew what I should do. If I had not, I would still be living a mediocre lifestyle. Thanks to you guys I am back to my old self.

Thanks again,

Here is the lesson:

If you are having a difficult time motivating yourself, get someone you can trust and tell them what is going on. Then, tell them that you are not comfortable in your situation. Ask them to hold you accountable to do something about it. You do not need to ask for “help” or “assistance” just accountability

About the Author: John is a competitive athlete and trainer. When John is not working out, coaching, or eating, he is usually trying to learn something new. He currently writes about the causes, symptoms, and treatment of hip pain at his personal site.

No More Excuses: Do You Want to Lose Weight or Not?

September 1, 2010 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

A Weight Loss Myth Debunked

“I’m sorry this article is late; I was going to have it ready yesterday, but the computer crashed and I ran out of toner so I decided to email it, but wouldn’t you know; the internet was down. You know how it is…”

From the time we can first speak, we make excuses. Whether it’s because we’re afraid to appear wrong; don’t want to change; really didn’t plan on doing what we said; any of the above or all of the above; it’s just an annoying fact of the human condition.

There are unimaginative justifications, such as “I was stuck in traffic” or “My alarm didn’t go off.”

There are I-really-don’t-want-to-go-to-work excuses (referred to as “calling in sick”). By the way, should you be in need of an all-around pretext, there’s always, “I’ve got that thing that’s going around.” (Not that I’m advocating dishonesty mind you…) The cool thing is there is always “that thing that’s going around.” Call in any day, any time of year, make use of that ploy (cough and sneeze for emphasis), and the person on the other end will most assuredly reply, “Oh, yeah, my brother/uncle/husband had that thing. It’s awful; it hung on for weeks.” No one ever knows what IT is; yet we all know IT, and fear we will get it. [Read more…]