Obbs Tackles!

Hello! I hope everyone is having an awesome holiday season! My apologies for missing my scheduled post last week, but life once again intervened.

I have decided to cover a different subject this week than originally planned. I would like to look at the things that make it difficult for us to achieve our health and fitness goals, or as referred to in one of my favorite movies "O Brother Where Art Thou?", "obbs tackles"! (That is how he pronounced it, anyway.) I am going to try to list some of the most common pitfalls, along with strategies to overcome them. It is hard to accurately rate the most common obstacles, and there tends to be some overlap as well, but I will do my best to provide useful information.

Not enough time

I think most everyone would agree that a lack of time is the most common obstacle in today's busy world. However, every single person in the world has the same 24 hours per day, and seven days per week, to work with. So first, we have to agree that it is not really a lack of time that is the problem, but time allocation.

Now, I can already hear some of you screaming that you have time commitments. Yeah, I get it. And it is true, some may have more commitments than others. But how many of those commitments are truly mandatory, and how many are things that you have merely prioritized over health and fitness?

So one question becomes: what is more important than health and fitness? Obviously, each person has to answer this for themselves, but give it some thought. Is career more important? Family? Spiritual life? Leisure time? While these things are all important, I would suggest that if you do not take care of your health now, you may find yourself unable to take care of any of these important realms later. So for myself, I definitely felt the need to give my health a very high priority. My good health is precious and I do not want to squander it!

And it is generally not an either/or proposition anyway. Owning my own business places more demands on my time than most jobs would. But I generally find time to honor those commitments, and take care of my health, and take care of the other realms of my life as well. It is necessary to develop some organization skills, but these are easy enough to learn. And it takes some decisions on what is really important. Most importantly, it takes thoughtfulness and mindfulness. Wandering through life without much of plan is generally going to cause you suffering, in my opinion. When you are not paying attention, it also becomes easy to ignore your problems. Until they blow up!

The first step is knowing where your time goes. Do you, really? How much time do you spend on trivial activities that do not add to the quality of your life? I am not suggesting that you do not need "down time", but how much do you need, and how much are you spending? Like many other realms, a lot of folks squander more of their time than they really realize. It is all about being aware.

The second step is scheduling activities. Without going into a whole organizational course here, the tools I have found to be most useful are a calendar (I use Google Calendar), some form of to-do list (I use Backpack), and some form of checklists (I use Google Tasks). The calendar is for tasks that have to be done at a specific time, the to-do list is for items that are not tied to a time, but can be worked on during calendar "free time", and checklists are tasks that need to be repeated on a certain time interval, such as daily, weekly, or monthly.

For more organizational strategies, I cannot recommend Getting Things Done highly enough. After I began implementing this system almost ten years ago, it literally changed my life.

Limiting attitudes

I could probably write a whole article, if not a book, on this topic. Really what we are talking about here is a positive, motivated, can-do attitude. I am no psychologist, but I do know that the right attitude is probably the single most important element of reaching goals, and has much to do with happiness.

I think the best single suggestion I can give here is to concentrate on truly living in the moment. The past cannot be changed, and it need not limit what you can do in the present (unless you choose in your mind to let it). The future holds no guarantees, neither good nor bad. The only moment we have control over right now is "right now". Just because we made mistakes in the past does not mean that we cannot make better choices "right now". Just because we are fearful of what the future may hold does not mean we cannot make better choices "right now". Focus on action, "right now". As the Chinese say, "talk don't cook rice". They might have added, "Neither does worry."

Lack of clear goals

Again, another topic that could fill a book. You have probably heard before of the importance of written goals, and it has been proven time and time again. So just do it!

You may have heard before about important components of a goal: it should be specific, attainable, measurable, and have a deadline. "I want to lose weight" is not specific. "I want to lose fifty pounds" does not have a deadline, so it will never get done. "I want to lose fifty pounds in two months" is not attainable (at least not by sustainable, healthy means!) "I want to get in shape" is not measurable. But the following goal--"I want to lose fifty pounds in six months"--meets all of the criteria.

In my opinion, another important part of goal setting is the "why". Why do you want to lose fifty pounds in six months? Write those reasons down too, because to me, that is what is going to keep you on track. I want to lose fifty pounds because I want to reduce my risk of diabetes, and other chronic diseases. I want to look and feel better. I want to have more energy to play with my kids. I want to feel better about the choices I make. I do not want to feel embarrassed at the beach. I want to fit into my "skinny jeans". I want to run a 5K, or 10K or half marathon, or marathon, or play tennis like I used to. Whatever. Choose your "whys", write them down, and review them any time you feel your resolve slipping. Or even better, before then, daily.

An "all or nothing" mindset

I guess this one overlaps with "attitude", but do not let this one derail you. "I blew my diet, so I might as well give up." "I missed a workout, so I might as well give up." "I smoked a cigarette or drank too much, so I might as well give up."

Sitting here reading these sentences on the computer, your rational mind probably recognizes them as ridiculous, but how often do we fall into this mode of thinking when we are "in the trenches"? Just remember, 100%, 75%, 50%, or even 1% are all better than zero percent when it comes to sticking with our plans. And we can always improve.

It is a moldy cliché I will admit, but if you fall off that horse, just climb right back on. It happens to all of us. It is possible to achieve most any goal...with the exception of the one you give up on. The power is yours. And another part of this equation is the danger of attempting too much too soon. Think marathon, not sprint.

Lack of money

Sorry, but I think I have to put this one more in the category of "excuses". It need not cost a lot of money to lead a healthy lifestyle. Losing weight is all about behaviors. Exercising can quite easily be done for free (walking, running, body-weight exercises, etc.) Eliminating deadly vices will obviously save you money. Then there is food. For folks in dire financial straits, even Dave Ramsey recommends "rice and beans, beans and rice". Well, as long as the rice is whole-grain, that is not a bad start! (Throw in some inexpensive fruits, vegetables and nuts.)

Peer pressure

I hate this one, but sadly, it is common. The way to deal with it is obvious: ignore it! But you may have folks who will discourage you in subtle (or not subtle!) ways, by encouraging the unhealthy status quo. Do not let them.

Lack of momentum

I have talked about this one before. Again, the solution is simple. Just be aware that the first step is the hardest...so just take it and be done with it!

In conclusion...

So, to sum up our main points:

• Carve out the time you need to live a healthy lifestyle.


• Believe that you can do it, just like others do!


• Write down goals that are specific, attainable, measurable, and have a deadline.


• Don't forget the "whys".


• Don't fall into the all-or-nothing mentality. Some is always better than none!


• Living a healthy lifestyle need not break the bank.


• Break out of your ruts. Stand up, take a step, repeat! (Credit to Scott Smith for this mantra.)

So what are your obstacles in living a healthy lifestyle? Tell us in the comments! Until next week, take good care, and make it happen!