Perception Alteration vs Plain Old Will Power

Posted by Brandon Harshe on December 23, 2007

Let’s face it… dieting is just way too difficult. With so many diet books out today, it seems like there should be one that works, right? I’m sure there is, but the majority of them lack one key element.

To successfully lose weight, or get healthier, or more athletic, you have to address your mindset and how you think about your health. In other words, you have to educate yourself.

People have all sorts of self-limiting beliefs when it comes to their health. I know… I talk to these people all the time. They say things like "That’s too hard," or "I could never eat like you do." Everyone thinks you just have to be disciplined and strict with your diet and exercising, otherwise it’s not possible. People live in extremes. They either do nothing, or they do too much and burn themselves out.

What they don’t understand is that it has nothing to do with will power at all. It has to do with a change in perception.

My current perception is that if I eat anything unhealthy i.e. sugar, grease, excess fat, etc., I will feel like hell. Yesterday was a good example.

January and I have been eating mostly raw foods for the previous three weeks. I’ve also been in the midst of a goal where I’m running every single day for thirty days. Yesterday, we went down to Tucson so the kids could have Christmas at my father-in-law’s place. He got us stuff like salad and veggies to eat, but let’s face it, the cookies and chocolate-covered popcorn looked pretty darn good… and they were.

But when we got home, all that crummy food really hit me hard. When I got out of the minivan, I felt like I had been hit by a bus. My sinuses tickled like they do when I get sick, my right oblique muscle was extremely sore, my upper back muscles were extremely tight, and I felt really worn out. I didn’t feel like that when we left Tucson at all. It got to the point where I couldn’t even move. So my goal of running thirty straight days went out the window ( I had planned on running when we got home). At one point, I felt like I was getting the chills, so I took a really hot bath, which I fell asleep in. I eventually got out and went to bed, and when I woke up this morning, I felt much better. However, I can still tell I ate too much sugar yesterday. It gives you a little bit of a hangover feeling. Seeing as how sugar ferments and turns into alcohol, and too much alcohol gives you a hangover, you get the point about eating too much sugar.

When I was in high school, my perception was that I could eat 2 Burger King croissant-wiches for breakfast, $5 at Taco Bell for lunch (which back then bought you about two tacos, two bean burritos, a tostada, and a double-decker taco), and a whole pepperoni pizza or more Taco Bell for dinner, and I would be fine. Actually, I’ll go so far as saying I thought I was healthy back then. Never mind that I got sick all the time. I felt like I was getting a cold every month. That was my perception, as it is for many, many people in this country.

The best way to get healthier and lose weight is to educate yourself. That’s what I did. I learned a lot about exercise and how it affects the overall physiology of our bodies. I learned a lot about food, good and bad. I learned about all the preservatives used to preserve and enhance the taste of food. I learned about vitamins and minerals and why our bodies need them. After I learned all these things, my perception on food and health was/is totally different. What I learned was important enough for me to make the change my body needed to be healthier.

That’s it. No magic dust, no magic pill, no diet books.

It’s all about the education.