Participation

If you’re from Canada you probably know about Particip-action, a government initiative that used really cheesy commercials and now a pretty cheesy website to ‘inspire’ people, and more specifically children, to exercise more.

It’s been around for at least a decade, which leads me to believe that it is largely ineffective but the one thing it is right about:

Participation

Participation is absolutely essential for weight-loss.

As the old saying goes, “you can’t win if you don’t play.”

Yet so many people are still on the sidelines right now, debating how they should get started dropping the fat they want to drop, what diet is best, what exercises are the best, what programs are the best.

We debate until we’re blue in the face, forgetting that there is no best, only most optimal. Most optimal, can be tweaked on the fly, and in most cases needs to be.

We’re too caught up in the facts and stats of weight loss or the obesity trend, we almost completely lose sight of what’s actually important, finding a way and taking the initiative.

Weight loss is far more about a feeling, or an art form than it is about stats and facts.

How you feel right now, is a reflection of the limitations you’ve placed upon yourself. If you haven’t had success with fat-loss just yet, you are your own worst enemy right now I guarantee it — if you haven’t had success, you will, I promise.

Keep reading…

Find something you love doing that requires being active.

When work is hard, how can you turn it into play?

I played, competitively, basketball for 16 years of my life, soccer for 17, volleyball for 7, was I ever thinking about my weight?

Nope!

I was so caught up in when my next game was, the school I might be missing and the people I got to hang out with — similar-minded people — that I never once thought about counting calories, how many calories I burned at practice or checked the scale.

More recently for me, it’s been snow sports, long walks on the beach (kidding) and of course the gym.

You might be saying, ‘well you’re not me, I’ve always been this way.’

To that I say, I didn’t start reading books for my own personal pleasure/use until I was in my 20’s, I didn’t eat the way I eat now, I didn’t exercise the way I do now, 10 years ago, heck I didn’t even snowboard until I was 24.

People change, whether you like it or not, life is perpetually changing around you always.

No matter how you view yourself right now, you have the power to manipulate a habit here, a habit there, change a small behavior or a big one and learn new skills at any age.

The point being, that you, just like me or anybody else for that matter can control a lot more of our situation than we are willing to admit. We have to find a way to participate though and enjoy it.

This weekend I took a knife skills class at a local cooking school. It was fantastic. In fact I’ve taken quite a few cooking classes, additional certifications, business seminars and other things of interest over the years

What could you do this weekend that could open some doors for you too?

Could you take a cooking class even if you don’t like cooking? I guarantee you’ll meet at least 2 or 3 other people there, who also don’t like cooking, something you can bond over.

Could you take a nutrition course?

Could you sign up for a bootcamp or personal group training?

Could you take a workshop on rock climbing?

Join a sport league? Go to the Running Room and sign up for a run clinic?

Enter a fitness contest? Sign up for a 5 or 10 k run?

Take kayaking lessons?

Get some riding lessons?

Join a walking club?

Take some skiing or snowboarding lessons?

Go on a snowshoe hiking excursion?

Find something you can participate in, preferably with other people, give it at least 3 tries before you move on.

I hated skiing and snowboarding the first time I did both, the second time got easier, and the 3rd time was a charm.

Now I love it, you can’t get me off the hill in the winter time and I didn’t learn either until I was in my 20’s.

Sometimes you have to explore before you can discover what truly interests you, so I encourage you to explore.