Notes from Devin’s lesson on 6/22/21. Watch the video here:
We should expect turbulence on our health and fitness journeys and brace ourselves for it/make a plan!
Let’s start with a study that was done about people predicting their futures:
- Researchers asked people how many days in next 30 days are they going to workout. Everyone gave a number that was pretty outrageous (20-30 days). Researchers later followed up and the results were that those people only worked out 5 or maybe 10 days but they said next month will be better. Cycle continued – they predicted they’d work out most of the month and ended up not doing so.
- Researchers used a functional MRI machine to track brain activity in this experiment. When people were thinking about their PAST or CURRENT behavior, they were using the part of the brain that thinks about THEMSELVES. When they talked about their FUTURE behavior, they were using area of the brain associated with a FICTIONAL person…a future self or future, idealized persona.
The conclusion? When we think of ourselves in the future, we don’t think about all the stress and obstacles that we currently have. We see ourselves as getting better and our lives getting easier. So we make a plan with that in mind and don’t account for the obstacles and turbulence.
ACTION STEP: You have to make a plan NOW in the present because the future will not be easier or better! Creating a vision plan (see below) will help with this!
Member question: How do I stay on track during the weekends?
Answer: Create a vision script.
- Start with the end goal in mind
- Walk yourself through the day. Create a vision plan into the future that goes through each of your plans/events and your food decisions. Decide now and plan what you will do in the future!
- If, then statements. “If I go out to eat for dinner, then I will _____”.
- Vacation Optimizer — See photos attached as tools for vacations/weekends. Create rules that don’t feel restrictive but help optimize your vacation.
EXAMPLE – Devin’s most recent vacation
- Food rules – no carbs at breakfast, 2 beers a day and a gallon of water a day. These were guidelines that didn’t feel restrictive but allowed him to stay on track and feel refreshed, energized and better!
- Rest rule – Unplugging from work and deleting social media apps all day and checking it at night. Checking it at night was a treat from abstaining from it all day.
See photos below to create your own vacation plan!
