The penny has dropped. I am not 25 anymore and everything I eat and do affects the way I feel and that includes in business.

Makes me sound slightly retarded doesn’t it?

Well I have to tell you that over the past 10 years I have increased my girth by 30 kilos and have managed to gain an increase in headaches translated from poor back posture and about 29 other ailments all through neglecting myself so thoroughly.

In direct correlation to this I have increased my time at work and now spend an extra 30 hours per month working. Most of those 30 hours were spent at breakfast events, lunch meetings and evening board meetings all of which involved sitting on my ever increasing behind exercising my mouth and not my body.

I am very intelligent but failed miserably to even take notice of the effect of those extra hours of munching on my body.

Sound like you? Well lots of people – men and women in the business world have the same issue and it is usually through a health scare, relationship crisis or even when the wardrobe has increased so much there is nothing to wear that we have a wake-up call. Then of course you have to actually do something about it and that’s where the pain begins. The pain of trying and failing at diets – the pain of trying and failing at exercise and the pain of just thinking about how awful you (me) increasingly feel about your appearance. What a sad waste of energy.

It took me a while to realise what I was doing wrong. The key to any change comes before the doing. I had to be in a mindset where change was possible!

For me as with others there was a catalyst and then came a period of introspection. This is the make or break time when you make a choice and choose to change in a sustainable way. To be successful you have to search for a method that will best suit your lifestyle and personality. This thinking faze where we strategise and develop a plan is just like when you start a business. If you fail to plan it is pot luck if you succeed. Develop a plan and follow it and you are most likely will attain your goal.

So this is my recommended process:

• Analyse your eating habits and write down everything that goes in your mouth.
• Note down any exercise you will do and not what you optimistically might do for a week or two. For me that included foregoing the gym membership I bought yearly and never used because I didn’t have time to go. Buy a ‘Wii Fit’ if you don’t really like exercise – See my blog on Ruby Connection www.therubyconnection.com.au for more info.
• Develop an eating plan that you can adhere to with business commitments – see www.calorieking.com.au or go on ‘Lite n Easy’ like I did at the beginning.
• Make a commitment to yourself not to fall off the whole diet if you have a binge day.
• Have fun along the way and don’t cut out all things nice forever.

I have now lost 22 of those kilos and have had a complete change of image. The effect it has had on my life is enormous. I had actually forgotten what it was like to feel good! The headaches are at a minimum and my brain is at super-speed.

The way I feel has dramatically affected my energy levels and has changed the way I work and do business. I now spend less time at work but do the work in a more effective way. I also feel attractive again and that makes me more confident in my business dealings.

The effect it had on my co-workers and friends was also a revelation to me. I seem to have inspired a “get fit not fat” revolution. The gym at work is now in full use, workers are eating healthier meals and the atmosphere is one of hope.

Leadership wise if I wanted a great result for the team then leading by example really did the job.

Give it a go! You have nothing to lose except a few kilos...

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