The Flat Tyre Theory

How to ‘Get back on the Wagon’- The Flat Tyre Theory by Paul Mort

I had this article sent to me by a superb, straight talking personal trainer who lives in Newcastle; he used to be 3 stone overweight until he decided enough was enough, lost the weight and became a personal trainer specialising in fat loss along the way! I think the article is great and so true!

“At the end of the day, you either have a RESULT or an EXCUSE”

This is a statement I make a lot. I don’t accept excuses. Excuses p*ss me off. Slackers annoy me. However, it may be time for me to get in the real world. Sometimes we all ‘fall off the wagon’. We slip up on our diets or miss a work out. Whether this is laziness, poor planning, lack of willpower or a genuine mistake is irrelevant here. It’s how you react that determines whether you reach your goal.

Don’t give me that ‘I’m going to start on Monday’ crap that I hear EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Do it now, make a start now, clear out your cupboards, turn off the TV and get to the gym NOW!

The great Albert Einstein once said

‘The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’

Keep hitting the buffet table at parties? Eat a healthy meal before you go and fill up on water.
‘Friends’ pressurise you into drinking on a night out? Be the designated driver or tell them you’re on antibiotics!
Too tired after work to hit the gym? Get up an hour earlier and train before work.
Aren’t losing weight on the regime you’re on? Do a different one!!

Some of the things above do seem simple when you read them but how many of the questions are true of you?

Usually when I’m in a leaning out phase like I am now I use the 95% rule: I eat clean 95% of the week and ‘cheat’ one MEAL a week. Normally this may be a Saturday with a few light beers or a meal out. This weekend I had my cheat meal on Saturday lunchtime: a few roast potatoes and some gravy – WILD I know!! Saturday night I was heading out to see The Dark Knight at the movies – great film by the way. I made a small salad with lots of spinach, pine nuts and left over beef to stop me from getting the munchies and hitting the popcorn and nacho stand! GUESS WHO FORGOT TO PACK THE GOD DAMN SALAD BEFORE ENTERING A 2 & ½ HOUR MOVIE & GUESS WHO ENDED UP EATING A HALF A BAG OF MINSTRELS WITH MY NO DIETING GIRLFRIEND??!! You guessed it, me!

I fell off the wagon…I felt terrible. Guilty as sin

Did I just ruin a whole weeks eating and training in one fell swoop? Sound familiar??

What to do about it

The Flat Tyre Theory

Overeating at a meal, missing a workout or eating junk food whilst trying to improve your body is like getting a flat tyre on a journey (in this case, the destination is a better body) What would most people do if they get a flat tyre? They take the wheel off, replace it with the spare, get back in the car and head back on the road. Would you get out of the car, take a sledgehammer to it and proceed to smash it to pieces then turn round and say ‘Oh I’ll start again on Monday?’

NO YOU WOULDN’T!

So…

1. REALLY try your hardest NOT to fall off the wagon. If you do make better bad choices. Boiled Rice not fried rice, Tomato based sauce rather than creamy ones, red wine rather than white wine.

2. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Forget about it and re-focus your efforts.

3. Get back on the wagon the VERY NEXT OPPORTUNITY/MEAL.NOT the next day, not the next week!

4. DO NOT starve yourself the next meal to make up for the screw up – do this and you just screwed up another meal!

5. Don’t make excuses for yourself; accept the mistake and VOW to rectify it.

6. Take a picture; When I need to get back on track I visit my most powerful tool: A photo of myself fat and a photo of the body that I’m working towards. THIS IS INCREDIBLY POWERFUL.

So what are you waiting for?