Reading books will not change your life; however, applying what you read will! Losing weight requires action.

Learning from champions

I recently read yet another article on weight loss and how to most effectively lose weight and the options are still the same. Is it eating less? Is it cutting out processed foods and eating natural unprocessed foods? Is it eating at different times during the day? Is it strength training or aerobic training? The answer to these questions, for most people who need to lose weight is to not worry about the details and just pick any one of the above areas and get started. In the beginning any exercise is better than no exercise. Improving food quality is better than eating pre-packaged highly processed foods and eating less is always better than overeating. Getting caught up in all of the science and trends is distracting and overwhelming and only makes achieving success harder.

Consider what some of the greatest champions in the world of sport do in order to win. To start any elite level performance is the sum of many parts. For example, a triathlon consists of swimming, biking and running and for most triathletes, unless they swam in school, swimming is the most difficult. Then these three different realms can each be broken down into a series of unique techniques and skill sets that must be performed in a specific way to be efficient and fast. Next there is diet and how to eat for full triathlons or sprint triathlons or your unique body type and age. As you can see, sport quickly becomes complicated and while the best in the world make it look easy, it is assuredly not easy.

Trying to lose weight can be overwhelming, with success requiring many different parts to come together in order to reach the intended goal. So how do the greatest champions in sport approach their training so that on competition day winning is actually possible? In general there can be two approaches, focus on strengths or focus on weaknesses. This means that if you are a great swimmer, try to become faster. Or conversely, if you are a bad swimmer work to become better. The best in the world focus on weaknesses. For example, a triathlete who is a skilled runner, but weak in the pool should focus on maintaining the running advantage, while working on improving the swimming portion.

So to lose weight why not start with one small piece of the puzzle? Since diet is the main culprit for weight gain, find something in your diet to change. If you like desert a little too much your approach should be to focus on eating less desert. Like the triathlete who needs to improve in a specific area, choose your biggest weakness and start the process to change and improve. If you have desert 7 days per week then reduce your intake down to 5 days per week. Or if you have desert after lunch and dinner, eliminate one or the other. Small changes will start to make a difference.

In striving for first place, the greatest in the world of sport aren’t afraid to pick apart their own performances, to look for their weaknesses and to then figure out a way to improve. This step by step process, creates a focus and maps a path forward. There is no singular way to the top and their are many different pieces that must come together. The first step towards achieving bigger goal is to get started. Identify a weakness, a place where the need for change is obvious and come up with a straight forward plan that can be immediately implemented.

Once you start down the path of achieving a goal, small successes will start building on each other and creating forward momentum. All great champions get to the top through incremental progress. As things go with weight loss, incremental changes will help you to achieve your goal. Identify a weakness in your daily approach and get started!