Brent Phillips - Get Fit Brain Hacks: Psychological Triggers for Amplifying Fitness Motivation

Whenever I go to the mall, I always find myself getting thirsty. I dont know exactly why it is so, but it always happens. I can even be there for about an hour and find myself feeling like I really need a drink. It could be that the mall is an excessively dry place, or it could be that from the time I was a small kid the mall was a place where we got soda with mom as a treat for behaving well while she shopped. The mall is one of my triggers to get a treat, so when I became aware of it, I no longer go by the food court there. Instead I carry a bottle of water in my backpack because I know Im going to get thirsty, and I dont have to crash my diet just because I made a visit to the mall. While this may seem like a small habit to break, all the little small habits that used to keep me from my best health used to take over my life!

I would get up too late for exercise, and think maybe Ill get into a work-out after work. I would forget to pack a lunch and eat crummy fast food, and then I would feel so low energy at the end of my workday that I, of course, would not exercise. My dinners were thought of last minute, so some form of high fat high sodium food always ended up on my plate. Guilt would overwhelm me, frustration with myself took over my consciousness, and yes I would mentally be beating myself up. Truth be told, I have always loved healthy foods, exercise and the feeling of accomplishment I get from it, but somehow my life habits were not allowing me to achieve that lifestyle. I missed my fit runners body that I once enjoyed only years before, and I longed to find that person who felt so good about one-self once more. Does any of this sound familiar? Its a vicious circle we allow ourselves to become swallowed up in. I knew I had to start somewhere. So without any real plan I asked for a gym membership for my Christmas present. I started going to the gym at random times everyday whenever it fit in. I would get on the elliptical machine, and my heart rate would go up really fast; I was so out of shape! My family seeing me in anguish over my body decided to come to the gym with me on some occasions. Suddenly, I wasnt so alone I kept seeing people at the gym with a trainer, and one day I decided I needed a personal trainer of my own. It was a mortifying reality- my weight, my body fat percentage, the amount of food I was supposed to be eating, but now I was in control. I was no longer hiding from my reality and my trainer helped me design and make some plans for my health and fitness journey, to change my old habits for new ones. My trainer was telling me things that I already knew, but I just wasnt applying them to my life. It wasnt easy at first, I had many failures bad days, good days, high energy days, reverting back to the old habits days and then back on track. As I became more consistent, I realized that its really all about making small changes: bringing lunch with me to work, having a plan when there was a birthday party, planning my workouts like they were priority appointments. It just started coming together. Soon the person I knew was inside was finally having a chance to thrive and be healthy and fit once more. I was so inspired and determined to help the world around .me, that I became a certified personal trainer. My life is a continual change for the better, but I am in control; I choose and if I can change my life, then so can you! When you read this book, I hope that you will be real with yourself. Take time to review your life, review your habits: your mental habits and your physical habits because your mind, body and soul are all connected and when one part of your life is out of whack, then it tends to affect the rest of your life. Make yourself aware of your unconscious habits: are they helping you, or are they hurting you? Everyone has some area that they can work on to become the very best -version of themselves: the healthy and fit person that has had successes in every aspect of their life. I hope this book inspires you to be the very best YOU that you can be!