“It’s not partly your fault, it’s completely your fault” (S. Siebold)

Words that hit hard from author and lecturer Steve Siebold concerning weight problems. “Unless there is a medical problem or a psychological disorder, getting fat is our fault” he says. I came across Siebold’s extremely strong point of view on the problem of obesity when browsing through The Gazette daily newspaper a few days ago. I must admit that his words quite shocked me, but also got me thinking on the subject! Siebold is the author of three books on mental toughness with the common theme that to succeed in achieving a goal once and for all, you have to give your 100%.

If your New Year’s resolutions are starting to slip now, in the early days of February, read the following to renew the enthusiasm that drove you at the start of the year!

Steve Siebold’s weight loss theory is based on a crucial two-step process:

1. After having consulted your physician, you have to choose an exercise program and a nutrition plan (he actually wrote “diet”, a term I have banned, as I prefer to speak in terms of “better eating habits”).

2. Develop mental toughness to stay motivated and persevere. The main gist of his words is that you should “stop deluding yourself”. You have to be honest with yourself and take control of your health. To succeed, you must stay strong mentally and keep focused on your goal, otherwise you’re sure to fail.

When penning one of his books, he interviewed 500 overweight people and 500 fit people. He noticed that the mindset of these two groups differed greatly. Among the differences he came across, he noted:

– Obese people feel powerless to change. Fit people believe they can do anything.

– Fat people eat their emotions. Fit people eat strategically.

I also found interesting his concrete suggestions for helping people take action. Among others, to be 100% compliant, 99% compliance invariably leading to failure, particularly in caring for one’s health. You also have to expect the going to get tough, since success has a price in the form of many obstacles. You also have to stop worrying about what others think of your goal, and just get on with it. As you can see, he doesn’t beat about the bush and expresses clearly what many think to them!

When the time comes to take charge of your health, you obviously have to do the right exercises and make the right food choices, but the thoughts that fuel our internal dialogue have a huge influence on motivation, hence results. When you start a process to live more healthily, you mustn’t under-estimate what goes on in your head. You must be able to count on concrete mental tools, like the ones he suggests, that will enable you to reach your goals. Note that he won his own battle with obesity and has a strong desire to share his experience with others!

I invite you to share your comments on the subject.

By Karine Larose

"It's not partly your fault, it's completely your fault" (S. Siebold) is a post from Nautilus Plus. The Nautilus Plus blog aims to help people in their journey to fitness through articles on training, nutrition, motivation, exercise and healthy recipes.
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