The All or None Method

Welcome to another...

Energy Bulletin


Isn't it strange how many of us adhere to the all or none principle.
You know the one, we hear about it all the time whether it's to do
with diets, drinking, exercise or whatever. We see this mind set a
lot around any holiday time period. "I'll start my diet/exercise
program in the New Year." or "I know the drinking is a bit out of
control but it's the holidays, I'll do a detox when its all over."

So what makes this method of adhering to personal goals or
objectives so attractive? What's so difficult about maintaining that
middle ground of being good or staying dedicated most of the time?

I believe it has a lot to do with discipline or a lack there of.
I'm sure most of you would agree. So does this lack stem from not
having an action plan or a properly laid out set of goals? You know
the ones, written not spoken, time lined and achievable.

Maybe it's an inability to satiate our inner child. That naughty
little munchkin inside us that just doesn't want to do the right thing,
even though we know better. "It's the holidays, I'm sick of being an
adult, just let me be 10 again!"

Could it be that we are sabotaging our efforts as an easy out for
not being in the physical condition that we know is well within our
ability to achieve? "Yes I used to be fit but I keep having to do
these damn work dinners." (Like you can't find chicken/fish and veg
on the menu, "Hold the rich creamy sauce thanks." -Way too hard!!)

I'm sure all of us can relate to one or more of these examples and
can probably come up with a dozen more each. No doubt we do every-
day. So what to do about it. Should we keep putting off today what
could be done today with no better reason than "I'm an all or none
kinda guy/gal"?

Perhaps it's a lack of understanding that this all or none lifestyle
can have very damaging effects on our health. We have all heard
about the damage binge drinking can have on our health, yet most
will still justify our actions with "Yeah, but I don't drink all week."
HELLO !!!! That's what binge drinking is!

I see the effects of Yo-Yo dieting on a daily basis and I can tell
you that it is much, much harder to shift the fat off somebody who
has taught their bodies to conserve energy through years of dieting.

Imagine you have been exeercising and watching your nutrition through spring and you've managed to shed an amazing 8 kilos from Oct to Jan but you let yourself slide for 3 weeks and managed to put 4 kg back on. Most people would say "Yes, but I lost that 8 so quickly, i'll be able to shed this Christmas pudding in a few weeks. "WRONG!" You have turned your body from a fat burning furnace into a fat storage facility and it can take weeks, even months, for your body to reverse that need to conserve and store.

3 months to lose 8 kilos, put back on 4 kg in 3 weeks whilst enjoying
another 'None' phase and you'll likely need to add another 3 months
to this crazy merry-go-round just get back to where your inner child
kicked a tanty.

What a waste of our most precious commodity... Time.

Studies have confirmed this to be the case time and time again. Here
is an excerpt from a website newsletter I subscribe to, realage.com,
Published on 10/08/2008.

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Ever been tempted to take a little hiatus from your exercise routine?
Well, here's an unsettling fact that may help you stick with it, even
if you go with an abridged or lighter version.

Light exercisers who quit cold turkey for a bit, rather than just
scaling back, have a much harder time dropping the weight they gain
during the break.

Something is Better Than Nothing - Lighten up on exercise and
you may gain a bit. But do nothing, or close to it, and things get
much worse. When exercisers in a recent study slacked off, they
gained exponentially more weight the closer they got to zero
exercise. And here's the kicker: The research also suggested that
a prolonged hiatus produces weight gain that can't be reversed by
simply going back to your old routine. You have to do more.
Yikes. So even if it feels strange to do less, like training once a
week instead of 3 or 4x, remind yourself that it's infinitely better
than doing nothing.

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Well that's it from me folks. Just do me a favour. Ask yourself
if your "Hard earned break" from your exercise routine, your good
nutritional habits or any good habit for that matter is really the
way you want to go about rewarding yourself. We all need a break
from time to time but it rarely behooves us to drift from all to
none. After all, we're not 10 anymore.

duncan