Using Technology to lose weight – A healthy body can help a stressful mind.


After a few months of lockdown, like most people, I had put on a ton of weight, reaching a whopping 21.54 stone. I am just over 6 feet, 4 inches tall, so I can carry a lot of weight, but that was my all-time heaviest. Eating, drinking and not going anywhere: does that sound familiar?

Considering I had cancer three years ago, I became even busier in all areas of my life, except for my wellness, thinking, ‘I am just going to live life’, which I pretty much do.

I spent more time with family and more time working on the business. I also used personal time taking up woodworking, travelling the world making, new friends and continually learning, but I lacked the wellness pillar.

Like a lot of you, I am sure, I love food and a drink 🍺, and a lettuce 🥬 leaf diet doesn’t work for me. So I needed to make a change, especially as I am a big advocate of practising what I preach. Anyone who knows me will agree that I never do things by halves. I am either all in or not; there is no grey area.

THE CIRCLES OF SUCCESS

When I refer to my circles of success, I needed to work on wellness. Here is how I used technology to lose over three and a half stone, to get down to 18 stone.

From a young age, and as a species, we all seek approval, adventure and a sense of achievement. Still, as business owners and adults, we rarely take a step back to acknowledge achievements or take appropriate action in all circles, but that is what a healthy balance requires.

So how have I used technology to help me? Well, technology has helped motivate me each day.

How?

I have been using my Apple Watch, Kino Map and Strava. Strava is what prompted this post: I received an animation of what I had achieved over the last few months, and I was surprised.

So, since I started training in June 2020, I have run 563 miles as of today, 18 December 2020. That’s 98 hours of exercise and 144 days of activity. I achieved this by doing 40 minutes of training almost every day since deciding to get fit and well.

COVID-19 has influenced this as I want to be in great shape to tackle the virus head-on, should I get it.

So, what do you need, and how does technology help?

First, you need to make the decision and reset your mind with the word “choose”. This word “choose” will harmonize your conscious and subconscious mind. People usually say, “I would like to, but…” or “I can’t because…”, always putting a blocker on the subconscious mind by making excuses. This causes an internal battle and leads to a stalemate. So, you never get started or even come close to achieving your goals.

By deciding to start training, you begin reiterating all the positives and blocking the negatives.

Why do you choose to get fit?
What else?
What else?
What does that mean?
What does that mean?

Keep asking yourself these questions. The answers will be positive reinforcements to your WHY. This is called chunking down and is an excellent exercise for many areas of life, including business.

With technology, you can easily set small goals for yourself. When added up, many little successes become a huge achievement. So, start exercising 20 minutes a day, and log the activity on your Apple Watch, Strava, Kinomap, Fitbit, or similar device. With the Apple Watch, you get three activity circles: movement, exercise and standing.

The challenge is to close these circles every day. The technology assists in motivation. Once you close a ring, you get a small sense of achievement. It does not matter how big or small the achievement is; the more you do it, the further you can go.

I always say to myself and to those I mentor, “Do what you don’t want to do.” I say this to my kids, too. To achieve what most won’t, you have to do what most people will not do.

If you went to the gym and did 100 press-ups, you would not suddenly have muscles; if you run 50 miles, you would not suddenly be fit. In both cases, you would be in pain, so much so that you would not want to do that activity again.

Consistent small wins you can gradually increase over time become one big win or achievement.

The only person you have to prove yourself to is you. The little rewards you get from Strava, Apple Watch or Kinomap are fantastic, as you can set yourself small personal challenges. For example, you will run a 5k this month or maybe even a 10k. Whatever you choose, do a little bit each day.

For me, I wanted to close the circles on my watch and then set a few small personal challenges. Sure enough, once I had achieved that personal goal, I increased my goal. Before I knew it, I was getting digital awards for completing a perfect week of exercises, then an ideal month, then better times, all while achieving these small, minor awards.

These made me feel great, especially at the end of the day. My watch or app would say, “Well done,” for completing my fitness goal.

Never underestimate the power of saying, “Well done.” We always seek approval from others, but this doesn’t seem right. Again, the only person you should seek approval from is yourself; you will also be your most demanding critic. When was the last time you said “well done” to yourself? The answer is probably never, yet this is such a powerful thing to do. You will probably feel uncomfortable doing it.

So if you are planning to shed some weight, get fit or start taking action, do it. Get your mind right, choose to make a change and let the success be your noise. Nothing in life worth having is free; you need to work for it.

Show up every day, make the change you want and let technology help you. You receive a little “well done” from your watch or device, and it is a motivator, especially if you didn’t want to do it.

Do it anyway.

I found success in my journey, but everyone’s journey is different. Everyone’s success is unique, no matter what it is. I wish you all the success in the world. Let success be your noise.

Sometimes we have to go through challenging roads to be the light for our future selves or to be the light for others.

After all, success leaves clues.

02/01/21
JUST A QUICK UPDATE ON THIS POST

I closed 2020 103 hours of training and 589 miles run, I felt it only right to close 2020 with one more push but I write today 2nd Jan 2021 and I have already run 12.7 miles.

I will share some new mindset training soon and keep you updated on my progress.

If you are interested in the Circles of Success be sure to join us in The LIONS Den

Keep safe, keep well and thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings.

Ricky