As we all continue our relentless pursuit of a healthy lifestyle and weight loss, sometimes we forget that the psychological side of the journey is just as important as the physical activity itself.
Unfortunately, some people treat weight loss like a game of high-stakes poker which can actually hinder your efforts. This is literally the case as some people have made a serious amount of money by losing a lot of weight. Walter Fisher pocketed $1 million dollars after losing 70 pounds by winning a wager placed by his poker friends who said he couldn’t shed the weight.
Another one is professional poker player Doug Polk who has 3 World Series of Poker bracelets and is currently in a weight loss wager right now. Polk, who felt his body had plateaued, was looking for motivation to cut his body fat percentage in half. This led Polk and Bill Perkins to lay down a $200,000 straight wager which is still ongoing.
Hearing these high-profile poker weight loss stories might motivate some but treating your weight loss like a high-stakes poker is a fallacy, and we’re going to explain why. But before continuing, you can try gastric sleeve UK for weight loss consolation and operation.
Only Two Outcomes:
Poker players are focused on only a few outcomes, and that’s winning hands, making money, and growing that profit as much as possible. The only other option in poker outside of winning and making money is losing. When losing weight, the focus shouldn’t be losing a large quantity of weight in a short amount of time, it’s on the incremental gains we make every day and developing our lifestyle to something healthier.
In fact, losing too much weight too fast is unhealthy as it can cause other changes in your body, like loss of hair. Losing weight and making these changes takes time and is a long-term goal you’re constantly adjusting and pursuing. Once we turn weight loss into a success vs failure situation, it can be easy to get discouraged when there are low points on our journey.
Weight Loss Can Only Be Serious:
We’ve all seen a poker game, especially one with a large profit on the line; everyone at the table is focused, trying not to make a single mistake or give up any clues as to what their hand could be. Sometimes weight loss has been pitched as this serious activity where we must meticulously plan everything out and never deviate. This couldn’t be further from the truth; believe it or not, you’re allowed to have fun while you’re on your weight loss and fitness adventure.
Perfection doesn’t exist, we’re all going to make mistakes, laugh it off and get back to it. There’s no need to put so much pressure on yourself in the name of weight loss; that will just discourage you from continuing to pursue that healthier lifestyle we all want. Join a fitness group like Melissa Joan Hart, or add an app to your phone to help make weight loss fun and entertaining, not serious and boring.
No Resting Until The Game Is Over:
Back to the table, in poker, there’s no room to let your guard down or take a break; the focus has to be on the table and the strategy at hand. This is possibly the worst way to tackle your weight loss journey. Burnout is real and happens to the best of us, usually with the best intentions. Here’s the thing, though, your body cannot handle exercising constantly; it needs rest.
Even Cameron Diaz has spoken out about the importance of resting and how working out to exhaustion can lead to injury. When resting, your body, muscles, and even your mind is recovering from the exhausting activity you’re engaging in. Along with stretching, eating well, and proper technique, ensuring that your body is getting time to recover is essential as well.
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