Our emotions, thoughts, and behaviours towards health and fitness are all linked. When any one of these components goes askew, it affects all the others in the system. When people are depressed or anxious in respect to health and fitness; usually thoughts, behavior, and emotion are in a negative feedback loop, feeding off one another, and maintaining the negative state of mind you might be in.
CBT MEETS FITNESS is a set of skills designed to help health and fitness buffs such as yourself, recognize and significantly alter thought patterns. In a way it wakes up your emotional system and reverses the course of losing hope and willpower which usually leads to heightened states of “throwing in the towel mentality.” Cognitive Re-Frame is a useful tool for understanding and reacting differently to the unhelpful thoughts that negatively influence our mood and behaviour.
There are numerous methods used to identify and alter unhelpful thoughts. Most often, they all begin with identifying automatic thoughts. (Which we go into in greater detail in our: 4 Week Food & Fitness Connection Course). These are thoughts that provide a running commentary in our daily experiences. Instead of accepting all of these thoughts as accurate reflections of reality, CBT will help you learn to think of these thoughts as guesses about what is really going on, and consider different, more helpful points of view. In this way, you are able to develop a more balanced way of thinking about whatever health and fitness thoughts are causing you pain or discomfort.
For example:
In many transformations, we see a negative feedback loop between thoughts, emotions and behaviour. These people tend to be pessimistic, filtered through: “foggy finger printed gym mirrors.” (Oh you know those mirrors!). This results in negative emotions such as sadness and despair. These thoughts and emotions make it more difficult for someone to reach out to their coach, refrain from eating unhealthy foods, or engage in daily workouts that normally improve that person’s state of mind.
By looking at the unhelpful thoughts and seeing them as guesses, that person is better able to consider other points of view about their situation, leading to less feelings of hopelessness and sadness towards their body and transformation journey. In turn this will cultivate more behaviours that promote happiness and satisfaction, and overall adherence to their fitness plan!
So, how can you start to re-frame unhelpful thoughts? Grab ahold of our FREE STOP NEGATIVE THOUGHTS e-book, by clicking link now! You will also be put on our email list for weekly tips and CBT updates relating to health/fitness & weight loss.
