Train Your Brain

Our brains are crazy things. It's amazing what they're capable of! Just think of all the functions it performs every single second of your life! But did you know that you can train your brain to increase your will power?


According this this article from the Boston Globe, it is possible to train the decision-making portion of your brain in an area called the prefrontal cortex:

"Those striving to complete a marathon, a diet or a doctoral dissertation can gain the willpower to help reach their goals by doing little self-control tasks throughout the day, like fixing their posture, avoiding curse words, or controlling their temper at home.... Neuroscientists believe these acts reinforce neural pathways in the brain’s prefrontal cortex that help us say “yes’’ to our goals and “no’’ to procrastination and temptation."

What?!? So you're saying that I can train myself and my brain to say "yes" when I need to say "yes" and "no" when I need to say "no?" Get me on that training program pronto! In my case, I need to be saying "no" to a lot of the bad food choices I make and "yes" to getting my butt to the gym first thing in the morning!

The article also goes on to say that your brain is more or less has a holding tank for will power. Exerting yourself with a morning workout and a long, decision-filled day at work could leave you depleted, exhausted and ornery by the time you get home at night. However, an extra dose of sweets can help you power through the rest of the day. 

I find this fascinating and encourage all of you to check out that article. It also obviously makes me wonder what I can do to increase my will power. Since the article says that those who exert self-control in dieting and weight loss usually excel in other areas of life, I wonder if those who excel in other areas of life succeed in weight loss as a result...

But just like training your legs and lungs to run longer and be stronger, it's going to take one decision at a time to train your brain to aid you in making the decisions it needs to help get you where you want to be. So I'm going to try to focus on the self-control it takes to do the little things every day. Of course I'm going to continue striving to accomplish my health and fitness goals, but I'm going to pay more attention to the little, minute decisions that will train my prefrontal cortex.

What do you think about this article? 

I Need a Plan!

I like having a plan. I like schedules. I enjoy check lists and spreadsheets. Call me weird. I don't even care. It's how I stay sane and on the straight and narrow. If I ever finished all my lists and plans I don't know what I'd do with myself.... Probably think up a NEW plan!

Anyway, as I try to get my running legs back and slim down, I need a plan. While I was training for my half marathons, training plans were a no-brainer. If I didn't have a plan, I'd be sure to fail. Or at least be forced to clutch my aching side and limp to the finish line. But I don't have any races scheduled so far this year...so what plan should I follow?!?

So I've decided to try one of those "Couch to 5k" programs. It may not be the 'official' program, but I'm guessing they're all pretty similar. The one I'm doing is "5k 101" and can be found online here or as a podcast on iTunes. I just started yesterday and am looking forward to doing it each Monday, Wednesday & Friday. (They also have a 10k program!)

Now I think that it took some sort of pride-swallowing before I was able to start a 5k program. I look at the running schedule and think, "I've run four half marathons...I don't have to start from square one with a 5k plan! Run for 2 minutes at a time then walk? That's for baby beginners!" Well...unfortunately that's where I've regressed back to at the moment. And it's something I have to accept.

So I'm going to own the program and do it perfectly. I really want to get back up and running by the time spring rolls around so I can just strap on my shoes and hit the road for hours at a time.

I've also started putting together the foundation and frame of some sort of weight lifting program as well that I can do on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays when I'm not doing the 5k program. I'm hoping to focus on two muscle groups a day with 2-3 exercises per group. That's about where I'm at now...lots of work to do! Any advice/tips you have on lifting programs would be much appreciated!

I also just finished a YouTube video letting my subscribers know that I've been doing all this fun blogging as of late. Also want to give a big "thank you" to everyone who's been reading these past few weeks and giving me feedback - I'm having so much fun!

Knowledge vs. Action

I'm a sucker for knowledge. I enjoy learning new things about topics I love or at least have an elevated interested in.

I have endless sports statistics, players and games in my head. I know music lyrics that I don't even WANT to know - just turn on any Will Smith song and it will automatically start coming out of my mouth. I went to two men's conferences on back-to-back Saturdays this last month and enjoy reading books on how to be a good leader and husband. And I also read endless websites, articles and blogs on running, losing weight, training schedules and whatever else I think I can use to further my journey to 199 pounds.

But my problem comes whenever I try to APPLY all of this information.

Why does this happen? Why can't I follow the simple process of learning and then doing? Does the hard work and dedication scare me off? Do I feel like I need to finish other things before focusing on this? Do I just love fast food and soda that much?

It's tough having all these questions and not knowing what the answers are.

All I know today is that I have two, great days under my belt and I'm feeling confident. And I think that's the important thing for me - confidence. If I don't believe that I can actually lose all this weight, then I never will. If I get down on myself for having a bad food day and therefore skip the gym and get all down on myself, I'll just keep yo-yoing like I have been for the last three years.

Even though my actions don't always communicate it, losing this weight is very important to me - probably too much, to be honest. I get very hard on myself when I slip up which, instead of motivating me and getting me to the gym, actually sends me to the fridge or to the grocery store. I need to learn how to take small failures and turn them into positive actions.

And I promise not just to KNOW that, but to DO it as well!

Are my mindless wanderings getting annoying yet? :)