Think like an Olympian

When we watch great athletes, I sometimes feel that we don't really grasp the incredible effort and training they put in to get where they are. We admire their athleticism, their strength, their flexibility, but we weren't there when they were getting up at 4.30am to put in their first training session of the day. We didn't see the dreadful disappointment after a poor performance and the effort of trying to re-motivate themselves to get back into their training. They need to recommit to their goal daily. At the minimum it's 4 years away, for most their training goes on for at least 10 years. Even then there is no guarantee of even reaching the finals.

When we are trying to lose weight, somehow we expect success daily. It's not going to happen. Life will get in the way. Hopefully we are able to get back on track quickly and not allow ourselves to feel defeated.

We must be able to see ourselves 1 year, 2 years, 5 years from now. How do we want to look or feel? Will we have more energy? Be on fewer pills? Can we see ourselves being able to go on holidays and walk, without knee discomfort or becoming too tired?

Developing a good healthy lifestyle takes daily effort. I've said this many times, yet people are quickly discouraged. Like an athlete, effort must be put in daily. Decisions to watch portions, not give into snacks, to be willing to go for a walk or bike ride, even if you are tired, are necessary decisions which lead to incredible benefits. Unfortunately we too often give into our desires to snack or not put in a 15 minute walk, so that we can sit and watch TV or spend time on the computer.

The athlete knows he or she must not give into fatigue or the desire for a few more hours of sleep. Somewhere, another athlete who they must compete against, is willing to put in the effort, knowing in a few years they have to perform at a high level.

Some of the things we must avoid are actually pretty easy. It always starts with the unnecessary snacking we do. We are giving into desires and not paying attention to actual hunger. On occasion, this is fine, but done on a regular basis, we are trending down a path of excess weight, diabetes, arthritis, circulatory disorders and so on.

Food is highly addictive, and the food companies know this and market their substances brilliantly. Don't give into it. They could not care less about your health. Like cigarettes, you must decide what is important to have, for you and your family, and not what the fast food chains or food companies package for you.

See yourself 4 years from now, around the time of the next Olympics. How do you want to feel and look? Four years will fly by and you can be an entirely different person in that time. But it takes commitment. It takes daily thinking about the things that are good for you.

You can do it. Just keep on trying, and don't ever ever give up!

Dr. Doug