Lifestyle Change Systems make life easier – they provide the answer when things get confused or stressed. I have always found that I need to know where I am before I can begin to organise my future. This is best done with a form of life audit.
Table of Contents
Simply speaking, I write down everything about where I am now and the changes I need to make sort of jump out at me.
What do you want to change and what do you want to change it to? Maintain a positive mindset which is critical to live a fulfilling lifestyle.
So, Grasshopper (those of my generation will remember David Carradine in the 1970’s television series Kung Fu), you want to get it all in order and make some changes. What do you want to change and what do you want to change it to?
How about you go away and think about it – OH and while you are away, it will help if you create a life audit. Not sure how? OK read on…
Lifestyle Change – Whole Lifestyle Audit
A life audit is a document – yep a real pen and paper job. It is a fairly private document so don’t leave it lying around.
Write down where you are under the headings of
- Numbers – Weight, height, chest measurement, waist measurement, upper thigh measurement, upper arm measurement and fat cover
- Diet – What do you eat
- Exercise – What exercise do you get
- Rest – What do you do
- Sleep – Where, when and how well
- Play – How do you play
Sometimes it will take a little while to get it all down. For example, diet – keep a diary of what you eat and drink for a week – it really will surprise you if you are accurate and record everything.
Do the same for the other topics – exercise – do I walk or drive to work? Keep a note with times.
This is a 24 x 7 look at your life.
A sort of timetable will appear which will be very useful to you when it comes time to make some decisions. How much waste time do you really have that you could use better? Do you really need to watch TV or play on the computer that much each day?
Review the diary daily for a few days.
Identify problem areas and then define goals. Create a formal life diary with a section on each day for Diet , Exercise, Rest, Sleep and Play. Measure and record height, weight and fat cover weekly on a weekly summary along with a comment area. Record any health issues experienced as well.
Now you have a better understanding of just what your life is, it is time to make some plans.
New Program
Diet
Diet is about what you take in – not just the food you eat.
Mind Food
The mental component is just as important. What music do you listen to, what do you read /watch? Is it positive and helpful?
Food
It is about when you eat as much as what you eat. Hunger is driven by the micro-nutrients. Macro-nutrients like carbs, protein and fat are important in the diet but nowhere as important as vitamins and minerals. Balance these and the macro-nutrients will take care of themselves.
Hydration is critical You will need to be properly hydrated to excrete waste properly and quickly. A large component of body waste is carried by sweat. This needs water. If the body cannot get rid of waste it will store it in fatty tissue. If you drink enough water then the body can pass waste effectively and does not need to retain fat to store wastes and toxins.
We are going to aim here for a diet that has more live food and a lot less processed food. By eating more at certain times of the day and less at others we can help the body to get back on track quicker.
Exercise
You are looking to fit your exercise into less than half an hour 4 times a week. Most of us are way too busy to be spending 2 to 3 hours at the gym 5 times a week. Not to mention the time spent travelling between home and the gym and back. To put it bluntly – bugger that.
According to the experts, High Intensity Interval Cardio Training followed by High Intensity Strength Training will burn more fat quicker without ruining your body. Sounds good – but what does it mean?
There is not enough room in this article to describe the full training regimen. There are others far better qualified to do that than me.
Rest
Rest is important. It gives your body and mind time to recover from your full on routine. Try and make it high quality. I know that it is nice to veg out whilst watching TV or playing on the computer – but – rest time properly used can increase your happiness.
Think of activities that you enjoy. More of that later.
Sleep
Sleep is best done to a regular schedule. Unless you are doing shift work, try to be in bed before 10PM and up about 8 hours later. Once you start your new program you will sleep much better and actually start to need your 8 hours.
Play
This is the pay-off. When your body is happy and healthy it enables you to play more. Play adds more joy to your day and this more than anything is where the quality of life comes from. Play is critical to our program.
Surround Yourself With Positive People
This helps to maintain a positive mindset which is critical to live a fulfilling lifestyle.
Normal people have lower levels of success and for some strange reason consider a high achiever as a threat. They will tell you that your goals are impossible – true – but only for them.
There are 3 types of people in this world:
- Those who make things happen
- Those who watch things happen
- and those who wonder what the hell just happened.
Both 2 and 3 are not doers they are talkers. They will never achieve anything in this life.
I wish to be an agent of change.
Leave a comment or two – who knows, it may create a chain of thought that assists a lot of people, including me!