This is mainly addressed to John since it's about a mindset that has clearly been one of the keys to your success in fitness, but I'd love to hear other people's perspectives.

In today's update, you say:


Notice I said when I reach 6% body fat, not if. You see, one of the biggest mistakes I see people make when they are trying to reach a fat loss goal is that they don't really believe what they are trying to do is possible. I mean, on a certain level they know it is possible because they have seen others do it, but that's not even close to good enough. Unless you honestly believe in yourself 100% you are doomed to fail. For me, it's never a question of if I'll reach my goal, because I know I will reach my goal; it's as certain as the sun rising in the morning. That's the sort of mindset you have to adopt if you want to succeed.


That struck a chord with me, because I've had that mindset before. When I originally got slim 6 years ago, I constantly had this tingling excitement in my gut because I KNEW it was only a few months until I'd be slim. I got up every morning fully motivated to go to the gym, cook my healthy meals etc. and being sub-10% body fat was a foregone conclusion.

Do you think you could describe the kind of thought processes and beliefs that LEAD to being in that state of mind for you coming from where you was before you flipped your life around? In the beginning, did you ever doubt whether you'd be able to go through with your plan all the way?

For some people, myself included, authentically adopting a new mindset can be pretty difficult. It's easy enough to "brute force" think in that way, but for it to actually be a genuine belief takes a little bit more practice. Anyway, any tips you have would be really appreciated. =D

I cannot speak for John or anyone else but I can tell you my personal view on the subject.

When I first stumbled onto JSF and saw Johns incredible transformation progress, this was all the motivation I needed. "If he could do it I can too" was my mindset. There were no "if's" or "maybes", presistance on his part got him to where he is today and I knew that it would be all or nothing for me as well. The very next day I started to do what I felt was necessary to get it done. Keep in mind that I didnt know squat about nutrition or exercise, but I did something each and every day in order to get the ball rolling to get my health and body back on track. I set reasonable goals (which I have achieved long time ago) and made new ones in order to stay motivated. To this day I keep the same mentality and focus while working ver hard to achieve my fitness goal.

Doc

What you ask is a complicated question, and there are no pat answers.

When I started my fitness program in 2003 I had very low self-esteem, I was in poor health, I was in terrible shape, I was fat, I was a heavy alcohol drinker and a daily drug user. That doesn't sound like fertile ground for believing in one's self, does it? Well, I'd had enough of living my life like that, and at that point that was motivation I needed. I knew in my heart I would be successful because I realized that the alternative would lead to my early demise.

I think the answer to your question is different for everyone--and even different for the same person at different points in his or her life. I believe that we all have the ability within us to do pretty much anything we set our minds to. It's a question of how bad you want it and then honestly believing you can get it.

I think motivation and believing in yourself are two different things, but they are intertwined.

Let's say someone is 50 pounds overweight. She says to herself, "I need to lose weight." She start a diet, cruises along--determined at first--then halfheartedly continues the effort before starting to falter and eventually gives up completely. She says to herself, "I just can't do it!"

I don't believe that. We all have the power. An example I've used in the past illustrates this point:

Take the same woman and tell her, "If you stick to this diet 100% and lose 50 pounds over the next six months I'll pay you 5 million dollars."

Do you think she'll lose the weight? You're damned right she will. I'm guessing 99.9% of the people faced with that scenario would make it happen. So what's the difference? It's the same woman who just said "I can't do it!" The difference is now she's got the level of motivation she needed to start tapping in to the strength that (I believe) is within each and every one of us.

I know I'm rambling a bit here, but those are some random musings on the subject. :o

Take the same woman and tell her, "If you stick to this diet 100% and lose 50 pounds over the next six months I'll pay you 5 million dollars."Sure, but she's statistically much more likely to gain it back again over the next six months. :(

I know you know this, but the motivation has to come from within.

There's also a bit of a placebo effect where if you think your diet and exercise plan are effective, they'll work for you, but if you start having doubts about it, it won't work as well (eg.fasted cardio vs. nonfasted cardio; low fat diet vs. low carb diet) Specifically, I think about how your really low calorie diet gave you amazing results in the beginning, but for other people it might not work so well.

I think as long as you stick to a path that seems reasonable and better than the one you've been on, then you will be successful. And as long as you keep doing more research to build on your knowledge base to keep making that path more efficient, you'll keep adding to the success. :)

i think there's a good discussion about motivation and mindset at the link (overall a very useful website if you've never looked at it before) http://www.hussmanfitness.org/theMindset.html

Sure, but she's statistically much more likely to gain it back again over the next six months. :(
Of course, but the point of my example was not that someone should go on a crash diet to win 5 million dollars; it's that we all have the power within us to do anything we set our mind to, so long as the motivation is there. That example was just used to illustrates my point. :)

I'm sure that this is way oversimplifying but I really think you've got to get mad and stay mad. You have to be mad enough not to take it anymore, not to put up with what you've been doing to yourself anymore.

You cannot will yourself to be taller, but you sure can will yourself to be in better shape.

Being out of shape is a decision people make each morning, whether or not they realize it. Unlike their height, the amount of fat people choose to carry with them is entirely within their control.

I honestly don't think you can look to other people to find your motivation ... for two reasons: 1) As guava said, it has to come from within, and 2) we are all wired up differently in terms of our personalities etc., and what works for one person won't necessarily work for another. For example, John's hardcore all-or-nothing approach would never work for me in a trillion years. I'd choke down one plate of cod and broccoli and that would be the end of that. For me, I can stick to a dietary plan as long as I'm allowed to eat the bad stuff when I feel like it .... As long as I maintain a relatively healthy diet overall and don't overindulge, I'll drop the fat.

In terms of hitting the gym, this one is easy....I don't have to adopt any kind of mindset at all. I know for some people, it is a real test of their willpower to trek off the the gym, but I guess I'm lucky because I normally can't wait to get to the gym. Part of it is the way I structure my workouts. I do different set/rep ranges every week, and I recycle them every 3 weeks. So, each week I do something different (which keeps it fresh), and, every 3rd week, I get to test myself against my performance from 3 weeks ago. That creates alot of anticipation for me, because I can't wait to get in there and see if I can get more reps/or do more weight than I did 3 weeks ago. So, for me, the key is to make it fun/exciting/challenging so that I don't have to even worry about making it a test of willpower -- but rather, it is just intrinsically enjoyable. I think if I did the same old thing every time though, I might find it a bit more mentally taxing.

I honestly don't think you can look to other people to find your motivation ...

I think others can give you inspiration, much as John has done for a lot of people because he's shown very publicaly that big changes can be made to happen. But I agree that motivation seems a mostly personal thing.

Lots want to change. Few have the internal fortitude or attitute to make the hard things really change.

I think I read a Chris Shugart post over about t-nation talking about a Phoenix moment that is critical for many in big transformations. People that go through this often have something that wakes them up to how bad they've let themselves get and get mad and go through a mental attitude rebirth. Something makes them mad enough, embarrassed enough, ashamed enough at what they have become they just decide enough is enough.

I think if you hang around here, you see a lot of people go through that type of thing to become successful. It may not be neccessary for all, but it sure makes those that experience it stronger in the end IMO.

Let's say someone is 50 pounds overweight. She says to herself, "I need to lose weight." She start a diet, cruises along--determined at first--then halfheartedly continues the effort before starting to falter and eventually gives up completely. She says to herself, "I just can't do it!"


John is so on the money here...ive been overweight for about 14 years, and believe me, i had 'tried' to get in shape more times than i have fingers and toes. Each ended in failure for failing to sit down, educate myself properly, plan my nutrition, plan my workouts. I just stuck to idiot mantra's like oh just cut this out or eat more of that.

I didnt start to lose weight until i realized just what a huge mountain there was to climb and yet the only power i had was to do my daily activities intelligently.

So my advice is, just throw the word 'dieting' out of your vocabulary. I hate that word. If you want to get in shape, change your life. Because for guys like me with a lot of weight still to lose, a few turns of the screwdriver wont get the bird to fly.

Lots want to change. Few have the internal fortitude or attitute to make the hard things really change.

I think I read a Chris Shugart post over about t-nation talking about a Phoenix moment that is critical for many in big transformations. People that go through this often have something that wakes them up to how bad they've let themselves get and get mad and go through a mental attitude rebirth. Something makes them mad enough, embarrassed enough, ashamed enough at what they have become they just decide enough is enough.

I think if you hang around here, you see a lot of people go through that type of thing to become successful. It may not be neccessary for all, but it sure makes those that experience it stronger in the end IMO.

What a great post. Just reading that sort of thing makes you more motivated. But yes i definatly agree with most of whats being said on this thread. Motivation needs to come from within, yes there is external motivation as well, but ultimatly that doesn't last. It's the mindset and attitude that you are creating that will get you through in the long term.


So my advice is, just throw the word 'dieting' out of your vocabulary. I hate that word. If you want to get in shape, change your life. Because for guys like me with a lot of weight still to lose, a few turns of the screwdriver wont get the bird to fly.

This was an awesome post, too. I guess in the end thats what this whole thing is about. Changing your life, not just changing your body.

So my advice is, just throw the word 'dieting' out of your vocabulary. I hate that word. If you want to get in shape, change your life. Because for guys like me with a lot of weight still to lose, a few turns of the screwdriver wont get the bird to fly.

This is really the key. Anyone can diet and lose a few pounds. But you've got to get over your bad habits and replace them with good ones. I think that we all know this, but it's something that I have to focus on every single day.

There is no "taking it easy" for me. Taking it easy means going back to flirting with 300.

There seems to be a lot of anger based transformation going on. I guess that's good for some, but that's only going to get me through just a couple weeks tops. For me, it's about trying to be the best that I can be. I know that I can be better tomorrow than I am today.

I'm a pretty strong believer in inertia with fitness. All the talk of "it takes 30 days to make/break a habit" is complete BS. It's all about getting moving and STAYING moving. When you stop, it's easy to stay stopped. Focus on keeping that fitness ball rolling, cuz once it stops, it's a whole nother set of motivation to get it started again.

Something along those lines is Jerry Seinfelds "productivity secret".

http://lifehacker.com/software/motivation/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-secret-281626.php

I think that applies to fitness goals.

Thank you everyone for all of the suggestions and insight, there's some great stuff here.

I agree that using anger as a motivator isn't necessarily the most positive thing to do, but if it gives you emotional leverage that you can't get from anywhere else, I'd say it's definitely worth it... anger was definitely the emotional leverage for me when I dropped ~50lbs six years ago.

Here is the "Phoenix Theory" article that was mentioned:
http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1846703

I'll be reading it immediately after posting this reply.

Thanks again everybody. =)

Interesting article. I liked the phoenix symbolism.

Anger is only good for two things:

CHANGE! It's the whole point of this emotion, when you get right down to it.

Critical thinking. You get angry about something and it spawns an intellectuality about how to change it.

Anger for any other reason will probably do more harm than good.

Everything has it's place.