FITNESS The role of feelings in staying motivated

The feel factor


Feelings can scupper new exercise and diet regimes

Personal trainer
Paul O'Brien

Another year has begun. You’re determined to make positive changes in your lifestyle. Goals have been set, promises made, action has been taken. The ball is rolling, and you’re ready to go for it with gusto this time around.
However, somewhere in the back of your mind, that little voice is muttering away, telling you you’ve been here before. ‘Here we go again’ it says.
Jumping into and out of exercise programmes and diets has a bit of a round-a-bout feel to it. That’s why skipping from diet to diet is known as ‘yo-yo’ dieting. You start off with the best of intentions, last a few weeks or maybe a month or two if you’re really disciplined. For over 80 per cent of people though, the wheels come off sooner or later, only to be replaced months later when the next diet or programme begins again. And so, the process repeats itself.
It’s a vicious cycle that can lead to exasperation and a care-less mindset. You want to throw in the towel.

Ruled by emotions
But why do we fall in and out of exercise programmes, diets and the like? What’s the common factor that’s missing? What’s going to make your latest determination to succeed, where you’ve only known failure, any different?
The root of the issue is your feelings. That’s right. Think about it. Why do you stop exercising? It’s because you feel bored; you feel it’s just too difficult to sustain; you feel overwhelmed. Our behaviour around food is the same. We eat because we are driven to by some underlying emotion – happiness, boredom, sadness.
We are emotional animals. The truth is that our emotions are running the show. We think we are in control, but the evidence of our lives tells us that this is simply not so. The link between emotions and behaviour is well established in psychology, but alas little understood on a practical, everyday level. Were we to truly understand this link and act only after assessing and understanding the underlying emotions, I believe we would achieve far more.

Take charge
Before starting a diet or exercise programme, appraise your previous attempts. Establish the underlying emotional drivers behind both the decision to start the regime and the decision to stop. This information will equip you with the tools and mindset needed to overcome the challenges you meet as you attempt to instil positive lifestyle change.
My advice for those of you looking to effect positive change in your lives this year is to embark upon a journey of self-knowledge. As the ancient Greek aphorism, written above the gate of the temple of Apollo in Delphi pronounced – ‘Know Thyself’. Before another step is taken, or lettuce leaf consumed, take a step on the journey that will invigorate every aspect of your life.

Paul O’Brien is a personal trainer and life coach based in Westport.