How to shrink your belly with the power of your mind | Cricket coaching, fitness and tips

How to shrink your belly with the power of your mind

Filed in:

This is part two of a series on how to lose weight for cricket.

In part one of the series we found out weight loss was nothing but a simple bit of maths. Less in and more out equals weight loss.

But if the physiology is simple, the psychology certainly isn't. Ask all those who have tried to lose weight and keep it off in the past. This article will show you a better way; without needing to rely on your willpower.

Why willpower doesn’t work

Most people who turn to willpower to lose weight (or make any long term change) fail. I know. I tried the willpower tactic many times over.

It fails because willpower is about restricting yourself without being accountable to anyone. Human nature dictates that as soon as you tell yourself you can't have something, it's all you want.

Weight loss can't be about punishing yourself. Not if it's going to work.

How to fool yourself into losing weight

Fortunately, the alternatives to willpower are many.

By far the best way to do it is to tell others you are trying. That's why weight loss clubs like Weight Watchers are so successful.

Now I'm not telling you to head to your nearest Fat Fighters with a handful of dust. But getting the support of friends, family or people on the internet has been shown to be the single biggest influence on success or failure.

It's all about being accountable to someone.

After that, you can take your pick of methods for getting your calories consumed down and your calories burned up. Here are some tricks that work well:

  • Cut out cutting out. If you want to lose weight the natural inclination is to start cutting out the crisps, beer and cake. As we know, this is a recipe for failure. Don't be scared of eating 'unhealthy' foods now and again. Just keep it to the odd occasion.
  • Eat more. I know we talked about reducing calories, but eating more of certain foods can mean you cut down your overall intake. Foods high in protein/fat/water content from natural sources fill you up more quickly and get burned off more effectively. Get some protein, healthy fat and non-starchy vegetable in at every meal to feel full but have an overall reduction in calories.
  • Reconsider the carb. Generally, we eat too many starchy carbs (rice, pasta, potatoes, bread) too often. A good way to cut back without feeling restricted is to save these until after you have exercised and treat them as a reward. More on carb timing here.
  • Do resistance training. Of all exercising, strength training is the best for weight loss. That's because it burns calories faster and longer than traditional aerobic work like jogging. It also increases your resting metabolism meaning you burn more calories at rest. If you are fit you can add some cardio work to the mix too, but always start with strength.

There are many more methods out there. Most of them work as long as you are burning more than you eat. The tough part is sticking to your plans in the long term, and that's where the above tricks excel.

For more on the psychology and physiology of weight loss, check out Dr. John Berardi's Precision Nutrition system. I have used the system for years and can recommend it without peer. It will last you a lifetime.

 

Broadcast Your Cricket Matches!

Ever wanted your skills to be shown to the world? PV/MATCH is the revolutionary product for cricket clubs and schools to stream matches, upload HD highlights instantly to Twitter and Facebook and make you a hero!

PV/MATCH let's you score the game, record video of each ball, share it and use the outcomes to take to training and improve you further.

Click here for details.

Comments

Hi love the site do you think could you do article like this but to help bulk up with a few exercise examples to strengthen the most important muscles for increasing batting power.

I imagine these will be forearms and shoulders ?

Thanks James, we have discussed such things in great detail in other parts of the site. Especially your points about bulking up and working the forearms. Have a look at the complete guide to cricket fitness, especially the articles on strength training.

"Generally, we eat too many starchy carbs (rice, pasta, potatoes, bread) too often. A good way to cut back without feeling restricted is to save these until after you have exercised and treat them as a reward" I'm going to disagree here. Imo brown Rice and Pasta are great bases for any athletes diet. The low GI carbs these have are great for releasing energy gradually and keep you from getting hungry. If anything you want high GI carbs (personally I put dextrose in a protein shake) after a workout along with a good protein source. This is becuase they will replace depleted glycogen stores in the muscle faster and some say "shuttle" the protein which repairs the muscles.

It kind of depends (as always). People respond to carbs differently, so as a general rule saving carbs until after exercise is sound advice. However, if you respond to carbs well and don't put on extra fat as a result there is certainly no need to avoid them. On the other hand, if you are very sensitive to the insulin surge you get even with low GI carbs then you might want to cut them back drastically to lose fat. As long as you are not filling your body with processed rubbish, which is bad for everyone.