I was thinking about this the other day as I was watching an infomercial. We are constantly bombarded with sales pitches for the latest and greatest weight loss plans, pills, equipment and food. Most of them are crap in my opinion.

All of us already own the greatest weight loss tool imaginable. It’s portable, weighs less than 4 pounds and best of all it costs absolutely zero dollars. It’s your BRAIN.

Too often we let other people, our emotions and our circumstances make the decisions in our lives. More often than not that leads to weight gain. I’m sure you have experienced this yourself many times. You’re bored so you turn to the fridge or cupboard and eat. Or you let someone talk you into buying an Ab Lounge. Or even worse you let your hunger get the better of you and you upsize your meal. I could go on and on.

If you would just get in the habit of stepping back and thinking before you act, you could save yourself so much trouble, guilt and stress.

How to use your Brain

So how do you use this powerful tool for weight loss? What I do is I ask myself 3-4 questions before I make a decision. Once the decision is made it is final and I move on.

These are the typical questions I ask when it comes to:

Food

Am I really hungry?
How will I feel after I eat this? (Guilty, upset, sick etc…)
Is there some way to make this healthier?

Exercising

How will I feel once I’m done? (Energized, good about myself, etc..)
How will I feel if I don’t do it? (More tired, lazy, guilty)
What is stopping me from doing it?

Buying equipment, plans or other weight loss/ health related items

Will I actually use this on a daily / weekly basis for more than 6 months?
Will this actually help me lose weight or hurt my weight loss efforts?
Is it worth the money or would I rather have new clothes when I reach my goal?
And finally what is the refund policy?

Overall the main idea is to stop and think before you make a decision that will hinder your weight loss efforts. Constantly acting on impulse, emotion and allowing yourself to be persuaded will in most cases leave you worse off. Leading to more stress, more guilt and ultimately making you more over weight.

Use your Brain, your Gut and Butt with thank you.

Recently I was in a car accident. A hit from behind that had left me with pain, stiffness and very restricted range of motion. Needless to say this has knocked me off weight loss and exercise plan.

I am now just at the point of getting back on track and being able to start a regular workout routine again. Over the passed 2 months I’ve gained 12 pounds. Not a huge deal but definitely a set back to my plan.

It’s not all bad though, it could have been worse. I could have been more seriously injured or gained 20 plus pounds. I did manage to get some exercise in, walking mostly.

This whole experience has really drilled home 2 important points.

1. Poor diet mixed with little or no exercise is a recipe for disaster. It’s not just the weight gain, but also the feelings of laziness and the negative thoughts that come with it.

2. Don’t plan too far ahead. Life has a way of changing those plans weather you like it or not. I had planned to run my first half marathon this spring and be at my goal weight by mid summer. So I’ve had to adjust my goals according to my current physical condition.

My posting frequency has dropped off during this time mainly because I really didn’t have anything interesting or motivational to say. That will change as I become more active and resume my weight loss plan. My next post will be on something that I’ve found to be very important that too many people don’t take advantage of when it’s offered.

Thank you for continuing to post your comments on my previous articles. They have been very encouraging.

When making the change to a healthy lifestyle it can all seem overwhelming. Many of us have been inactive for years and the thought of heavy sweating, muscle soreness and the time commitments associated with working out can be enough to turn anyone away from doing it.

On the diet side of the equation it doesn’t look any easier. You’ll need to stop eating the high fat, high sugar foods that have become a daily part of your life. Then replace them with fruit and veggies and lean cuts of meat. Blah.

The combination of the two will undoubtedly change your body and drastically improve your overall health. But that is not easy to do all at once. I think that it’s easier to concentrate on just one part in the beginning.

So which one is more effective?

Almost all the advice I’ve read or received on this say diet is the most important. Changing your diet can be amazingly effective but I’d have to say that focusing on exercise is the way to go.

Exercise is easier to start and stick with hands down. When you finish a workout you get a real sense of accomplishment and pride. Can you say that about finishing a salad?

The most amazing thing about setting up an exercise program first is that it will almost force you to want to eat healthier food. Your body will begin to crave water instead of sugary drinks and fruit instead of chips and chocolate. It sounds crazy but I’ve seen it happen to even the most hardened junk food addict.

On top of this you will notice changes in your energy levels good and bad which is a great motivator. If you’re not eating properly you’ll notice that your workouts will suffer and you’ll feel tired, all day. That will ultimately lead to you looking for ways to fuel yourself instead of just filling yourself.

I’ve found that healthy eating doesn’t necessarily encourage or motivate you to exercise.

Final Thought

To sum it up when you feel like a complete lifestyle change is too much to handle all at once, choose exercise first and add the diet after.

Let me know what you think. Which do you think is more effective?