Circuit Breaker Extension: It's Game On For Fat Loss

Uncertain times

We are all living in uncertain times at the moment - everyone's feeling the negative effect of the Corona virus pandemic. Here in Singapore, the original circuit breaker was set to finish on 4th May and has now been extended to 1st June.

The original 4 week stay-at-home order didn't seem like such an insurmountable task. I think everyone was prepared to cope with that month indoors and, if you're anything like me, try treat it as a bit of 'holiday'. and break from the norm.  What I mean by this is, many of us felt like taking 'the foot off the gas' with work, daily routines, grooming standards, personal hygiene (I know there's been a day or two where you've not showered!) and our health & fitness.  

To be honest I have had the 'ahh fuck-it' mentality.  I know my body fat fluctuates throughout the year, where I'll train hard for a vacation or an event and let loose on said vacation or after I've finished the event.   But I always know I can hit the gym after, get back into my eating routine and drop the fat again within a couple of weeks - gym closures including condo gym facilities have been extended until 1st June.  Shit!

A tipping point 

For me there's always a 'tipping point' in such situations where I think 'right, that's it, fun's over, get back on it you lazy git'.  I'll admit I've been drinking through the week, heavier on the weekends, eating what/whenever I want and getting up at 9:30am feeling damn lazy.   This was not a problem for a couple of weeks, but now the news of an extended circuit breaker has been announced, that was the reality check I needed and for me to hit my 'tipping point' again.  

What words are you using on the 'commitment scales'

S-L-A-P

In life, whenever we're unhappy with ourselves we all hit this same 'tipping point', but it occurs at different times for different people.  Sometimes it can be a cutting remark from a friend or loved one, a decline in performance at work, a health issue or even seeing a photo of yourself and thinking hol-yyy shit!

You think it's come out of nowhere, but actually you've probably been getting little signs for a while that you're on a decline, but it's easy to ignore.  Ohhh how ignorance is bliss.

These are just little slaps, knock you a little bit, but nothing you can't handle.  Then you get a few more signs, such as trousers getting tighter or you're now get breathless walking the stairs - the remarks cut a bit a deeper until finally you hit with a massive metaphorical SLAP!

Before you actually make a change, you'll go through Self-Loathing, Actualisation and Procrastination.  This is your S-L-A-P.  

You'll potentially hate on yourself a bit, constantly judging yourself and your flaws.  You'll realise you need to make a change-it's gone too far and then finally, you'll over think what to do and put off starting that initial change with a suitable excuse, such as: I'll wait till Monday' or 'I'll get Sally's birthday out of the way first' or even 'I wait until after circuit breaker', blah-blah-blah...

Psssh c'mon, we know we're just delaying, just get the fuck on with it!  All that time you wasted thinking about doing something, getting 'ready', or 'preparing' is just swerving what you need to do.

People do courses for the same reason.  'I'm not ready', 'I need to know more', 'other people have done (X) first'.  Fucking get on with it and stop wasting money on stupid courses that aren't going to give you a return and I mean an actual return.*

Time to get serious 

Now the circuit breaker has been extended, use this extra time as your new tipping point, before you get to the S-L-A-P. With this extended time, it's a great opportunity to plan to surprise all your friends, family and co-workers with an awesome transformation when you see them next, post circuit breaker.  Imagine people saying 'WOW you look amazing!' Or 'Jeeeez, how much weight have you lost?'. 'You look fantastic, you must've really worked hard during CB'.

That'll feel awesome right?  Now imagine the opposite reaction if you continue to do nothing and eat and drink as you are...which future scenario feels better?



via GIPHY

You have control

• No commute (saves an hour at least)
• No networking breakfasts (saves early mornings and excessive food intake)
• No business lunches (4 courses meals with wine)
• No one asking questions at your desk (wasting time)
• No one tempting you with office birthday cake (excess food intake)
• No after work socials (alcohol, late nights, pizza on the way home)
• No coffee shop runs (lattes and a last second 'oh and a croissant please')

You have all the control now. You can pick the food being delivered to your door step.  You can train when you want.  You can get up and go for a walk around.  You can lose weight, if you want.  You can back to work looking great, or you can go back to work looking the same, or worse.  It's totally up to you now.

  

via GIPHY

How do I start losing weight?

honest with yourself, since you've been at home have you: 

• Got up and picked at foods in the fridge/cupboards that you wouldn't normally eat at work
• Been rolling out of bed and logging on
• Watched every box set on Netflix?
• Been drinking more during the weekend, because you don't have to 'get up for work'?
• Been going to bed past midnight?
• Doing 20 mins of exercise, (if any) thinking thats enough for the day?

If you've said yes to any of the above, then focus on that one thing first.  How could you stop/improve that?  If it's a 'yes' more than one, then don't worry, again just focus on one thing you can improve, square that away and move on to the next habit you adjust.

If you need some exercises to get you going, you can download my free Corona Indoor Survival Guide here.  

A lot of the work I'm doing at the moment is Virtual PT via webchat channels and is great for the extra push, accountability and someone else to keep you company for an hour.

If you'd like more information on how VPT can work for you, send me a WhatsApp text to +65 8821 8039 and I'll personally get back to you.

Stay safe and keep it real folks

Phil

*I'm not poo-pooing developing yourself and doing courses, it's absolutely necessary, but not always essential. Guilty: I can say that from experience, as I've spent sooo much money on courses I thought I needed to do to make more money, when actually I just needed crack on making money with the qualification I had at the time. Basically it was fear of putting myself out there and excuses I was telling myself (and others) that I wasn't qualified enough YET.