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If I go to Wawa, Then I will buy a protein shake\u2026If I don\u2019t have food in the house, then I will buy a Cobb Salad from <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Giant\u2026\u00a0When I turn the shower on in the morning, then I will do 5 pushups while the water heats up\u2026\u00a0When I get to my office, I will Meditate using Headspace before I open my laptop\u2026\u00a0<\/em> …What you just read is the single most powerful tool to facilitate behavior change and they are called <\/p>\n\n\n\n Implementation Intentions, and they are a part of the 21 Day Rapid Weight Loss program we have for clients here at <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gage Strength Training (Want info on that? Scroll to the bottom of this post to click the button) Hundreds of studies have been done on this method, and the consensus is that using this strategy can lead to a <\/p>\n\n\n\n significant change in behavior- More significant than any other behavioral intervention studied.\u00a0 Implementation Intentions are simple, it\u2019s essentially taking the time to think about future events and planning your <\/p>\n\n\n\n response to them, and the reason your trainers haven\u2019t told you about these is because you don\u2019t have to spend any <\/p>\n\n\n\n money, or need a professional to do it! Weight loss comes down to habits.\u00a0 A Habit is a behavior that is repeated so many times that the brain automatically responds with it at the time it <\/p>\n\n\n\n typically appears.\u00a0 If you have a habit of eating ice cream at night, it\u2019s because you\u2019ve done it enough times that your brain responds to <\/p>\n\n\n\n a certain trigger with the craving for Ice Cream.\u00a0 If you have a habit of checking your phone first thing in the morning and getting sucked into a social media <\/p>\n\n\n\n rabbithole, it\u2019s because you\u2019ve done that enough times that your brain automatically does it each morning.\u00a0 To make a new habit means to start behaving differently during those moments\u2026 But the truth is that its HARD to <\/p>\n\n\n\n do that because our brains perform our bad habits without us knowing.\u00a0 The magic behind Implementation Intentions is in the fact that your brain has trouble differentiating between a <\/p>\n\n\n\n THOUGHT and an actual physical event\u2026 So just THINKING about a future event and writing down your response to <\/p>\n\n\n\n it, to the brain, is the same as actually doing it.\u00a0 It\u2019s like laying the groundwork between Stimulus and Response and deciding how you\u2019ll respond.\u00a0 I won\u2019t go any further into why this works, but it does and if you want to make a change to your body, lose weight, <\/p>\n\n\n\n follow a diet, or stick to a workout plan it\u2019s time to get Pen to paper, and write down how you\u2019ll respond to things <\/p>\n\n\n\n that will happen in the next few weeks\u2026 So here\u2019s your 3 step guide to weight loss.\u00a0 Awareness.<\/strong>\u00a0We\u2019re lying to ourselves if we think that the next 30 days will be perfect and we won\u2019t face any <\/p>\n\n\n\n obstacles when it comes to working out and eating clean.\u00a0Just because we want to lose weight doesn\u2019t mean we <\/p>\n\n\n\n won\u2019t crave sweets, our kids schedules won\u2019t have us spending every waking moment busy shuttling them around <\/p>\n\n\n\n and we won\u2019t have the urge to kick back with a glass of wine at the end of it all. Those things aren\u2019t going <\/p>\n\n\n\n anywhere.\u00a0 So, if they\u2019re not going anywhere, and your previous responses have gotten you to a state of health and weight that <\/p>\n\n\n\n you now want to change, then you need to change how you respond.\u00a0 Identify everything that might come up in the next 30 days. Awareness is the first step.\u00a0 Take out your pen, and write every scenario down. Do it now. Seriously.\u00a0 Here are a few of mine:\u00a0– When I come home from work and I don\u2019t have anything healthy to eat and I\u2019m tired.. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Previously I\u2019d order a pizza.\u00a0-When I don\u2019t have time to eat lunch at home during the workday, previously I would <\/p>\n\n\n\n either run to Wawa and buy junk or order Chipotle<\/p>\n\n\n\n Start by just acknowledging those things.\u00a0 2. Craft a Response.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take that scenario, and think about how you can respond in way that keeps you on plan. It seems small, but I can\u2019t <\/p>\n\n\n\n overstate how powerful this is.\u00a0 There are two ways to frame this statement:\u00a0 The \u201cIf\/Then\u201d and the \u201cWhen I\u2026\u201dIf I _______, then I will _______<\/strong> If I come home from work and there\u2019s nothing healthy to eat, and I\u2019m tired THEN I will buy a Cobb salad from Giant.\u00a0 If I don\u2019t have time to eat lunch at home during the workday, THEN I will make a meal replacement shake at the gym\u00a0 When I\u2026<\/strong> When I get to my office every morning, I open the Headspace App and do a 10 minute meditation before I open my <\/p>\n\n\n\n laptop.\u00a0 When I turn the shower on in the morning, I will do 5 pushups while the water heats up.\u00a0 Do this right now! Seriously\u2026 Do it!\u00a0 3. Be Specific!\u00a0 Remember, your brain can\u2019t tell the difference between a thought and a physical action so you need to make these <\/p>\n\n\n\n intentions very specific.\u00a0 You\u2019ll see in my statements I don\u2019t just say \u201cif I don\u2019t have healthy food then I\u2019ll go to wawa\u201d… There\u2019s plenty of junk <\/p>\n\n\n\n at Wawa, and they\u2019re really good at getting you to buy it.\u00a0 \u00a0I say exactly what i\u2019m going to buy when I go to Wawa.\u00a0 Now, if you haven\u2019t been specific- Go back and make them specific.\u00a0 …I don\u2019t make very many \u201cThis is the magic secret\u201d statements, but I\u2019ll make this one.\u00a0 If you take ten minutes to do this exercise, then you will make changes that you have never been able to make <\/p>\n\n\n\n before.\u00a0 Lastly- If you live in West Chester, PA and you\u2019re looking for a weight loss program or a personal trainer to help you <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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