Food week 2: They don’t just play games [Practice comes in a controlled environment] | RISE Macclesfield | Group Personal Training gym weight loss programmes

If you’ve ever learned to play any sport ever, you’ll be aware of drills.

Where you work on one specific component or skill from a game.

You strip back a lot of the variables that are in play in a real game.

And practice getting better at one particular part of it.

Then, when you do have to exhibit that skill in the much more uncontrolled environment of a game, you’re much more likely to do it well.

If someone only ever played whole games of their sport, they’d be less likely to improve at doing it than someone who played and did drills.

And all skills are the same.

If we aim to get better at them in an uncontrolled environment, we won’t improve as much as if we practiced the components of what we might have to do.

If you struggle to make better food choices in particular situations, then just waiting till you are in such a situation and hoping you’ll make that better choice, is optimistic at least.

In a real world environment of the situations we find ourselves in, the extra variables at play mean we revert to what we’re most practiced at.

Which is fine.

Until it isn’t.

If most of our experience is saying “Oh, no – I shouldn’t. I’m on a diet” the first four times someone asks………

Then thinking “oh sod it” and having it on the fifth………

Then we’ve trained ourselves to make that our most likely behaviour.

And we’ve trained those around us to ask us five times.

If, more often than not, we’ve finished the bottle / tub / tube / pack / whole thing……….

When it’s probably much more than we need……..

We’re making that the skill that we’re most likely to exhibit in that uncontrolled environment of real life.

So, what’s the answer?

Could we just choose to practice what we’re struggling with?

In a more controlled environment?

Less variables in play?

Daft as it sounds, could we get the bottle of wine out at a time we’re not going to drink it, and practice putting the cork back in and putting it away?

Could we practice portion size control at a time of day we find it easier?

Have a single spoon of ice cream at lunch time and put the rest in the freezer?

Have a single biscuit with breakfast, seal the pack and put it in the cupboard?

Tell our friends and family at a time when it’s not happening, that we’d really appreciate them not waving things under our nose and tempting us.

Spend a few minutes sat looking at the particular foods you struggle to “stop” on at a time of day when it’s less of an issue.

Examine how they make you feel and your thoughts about them?

Whatever the thing you’re struggling with, leaving it till a challenging real world situation to try and get better at it will most likely lead to us making the choice we’re most experienced at making.

Practicing that specific skill in a controlled environment should make it more likely we’ll preform differently in a “match”.

Much love,

Jon ‘Bit’ Hall

P.S. We help our guys make these kind of actual changes and learn new skills. Not just berate them for not doing the thing they’ve always struggled with. Apply now (and get the rest of the year for free and lock in 2021 prices for life) at www.myrise.co.uk/apply.

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RISE in Macclesfield was established in 2012 and specialise in Group Personal Training weight loss programmes for those that don’t like the gym and find diets boring and restrictive!