Written by: Ernest J. Geeting, BA, C.Ht, NHC
I love the movies, don’t you? All those great stories and stars on the big silver screen carrying us away to places we’ve never been and doing things we only dream of! I also enjoy reading entertainment magazines and reading about my favorite stars. I’ve always found it fascinating to learn how different actors and actresses prepare for their roles.
One of the things that is intriguing to me is how a performer will often gain or lose weight to better suit themselves for a convincing portrayal of their character. After reading articles about this practice time after time I began to wonder how they do it. I mean, for one role they may have to gain 30 pounds and then lose it all and then some for their next job. How do they pull that off?
At first I began to dismiss it all by telling myself how easy it is for them because they have all the time in the world and plenty of money to hire personal trainers, personal chefs, dietitians, doctors or whatever else they need to get the job done. But then I realized, not all the actors I read about did all that stuff. And even many of those who did only used professionals as needed and didn’t rely on them all the time.
Then it dawned on me. These actors were able to achieve such weight control by having a clear set of goals and a focused determination. They were applying the same principles to control their bodies that drove them to excel in their profession… goals and determination. This was nothing new to them, it was how they lived their lives. It was just part of the job.
I began to understand it wasn’t so much about how they lost the weight as it was that they lost the exact weight they needed to lose precisely when they needed to. They did what they needed to do to get the job done.
It was then I realized that losing weight is all about one’s mindset. I mean sure it involves a change in eating habits and food choices but without any specific goals or determination how can one ever hope to succeed? However when your goal is clear and you are determined, come what may to reach your goal you will find a way to make it happen. This is a complete shift in thinking.
This is the foundation for losing weight… or achieving so many other goals in life. I think people so often fail because they are not completely invested into the process of reaching their goal. They think of their goal as an optional thing they ‘hope’ to reach but if they don’t, no big deal. As long as your goal of losing weight is a distant, ‘maybe’ you will not be fully committed to it.
Without unwavering commitment you will give up when the going gets tough. But what if your job, your success, your very life depended upon it, could you reach your goal then? I’ll bet you could. Resolve today to follow the stars and chase down that goal of being fit and trim.
