The Most Important Part Of Weight Loss

THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT IN WEIGHT LOSS

Eric Viskovicz

One look at Eric Viskovicz, and you would think he spends hours in the gym. With an 8% bodyfat, he looks shredded from every angle. It is no surprise he has been a fitness model, and guest appearance on over fifty television shows. Yet many of you would be surprised to learn that he was, at one point, 50 pounds overweight. Struggling with an eating disorder for three years, Eric’s weight would go up and down, even as he was working as a personal trainer. During this time, he did spend hours in the gym, and taught all of the right information to his clients about food and exercise. He just didn’t apply any of it to himself. So when you ask Eric what is the most important ingredient in weight loss, he won’t tell anything about nutrition and exercise. Instead, he will tell you that the key to weight loss, is understanding yourself. The first, and most important, piece of this is acceptance.

According to Eric, acceptance is about acknowledging that you have a problem with food. Whether you have a clinical eating disorder, disordered eating, or even just eating issues, healing starts when you can admit it. When you do, Eric continues, you become willing to accept help for your problem. Essentially you are willing to look at all the ways in which your eating has affected your life, and caused you to lose sight of your goals. This, according to Eric, is the part where you really begin to understand yourself. You begin with a look at your attitude. Are you positive or negative most days? Do you tend to go through life angry? Do you look at situations and predict the worst possible outcome? Answering questions like this will cause you to really look at your overall attitude honestly.

From this point, Eric asserts you are ready to then explore internal dialogue. This, Eric states, is what you say to yourself, that you do not say out loud. It is what you will say to yourself when you look in the mirror, and also what you say to yourself when you look at that fudge brownie sitting in front of you. Are you using negative words to evaluate yourself in the mirror? Are you criticizing yourself? Calling yourself names? What you say to yourself becomes your identify, coloring the way you feel about yourself. This often has a profound impact on what you are going to say to yourself when the fudge brownie is staring back at you. If you feel bad about yourself, you may tell yourself you CAN NEVER have the fudge brownie. Or, just may tell yourself that you’ve already failed at weight loss, so you might as well have the fudge brownie anyway. You may even promise yourself that you will start your diet tomorrow. Whatever the case may be, what you say to yourself when you are looking at a food you want with characterize your relationship with food. Exploring this, and understanding how what you say to yourself affects what you ultimately end up doing is an absolute necessity in weight loss. When you are willing to do this, Eric says, again, you are ready to accept help.

Now, for Eric, comes the next step, you have to have a goal. In accepting help, and being fully willing, you have to be ready to look at your goal. Do you have a goal? What does it look like? What are you doing? Who is around you? When do you want to accomplish this? What steps are necessary to get there? You may not have a goal, and according to Eric, that is ok, you just have to be willing to find one. The willingness is the key, Eric reminds us.

The last step, Eric says is understanding your personality. Everybody has a unique personality, and Eric defines this as “The characteristic pattern in which a person approaches the world.” This pattern, Eric continues, describes how the person handles their life, responsibilities and expectations, relationships, and especially their relationship with food. Do you tend to be more concerned with others than yourself? Do you tend to take things on with an all or nothing approach? Do things have to be perfect for you to feel ok? Does your life feel kind of empty? Are you looking for a goal in life? Again, answering these questions is a way to understanding your own unique personality. For Eric, understanding your personality will help you to understand the reasons behind the patterns in your life. Then, according to Eric, you must be ready to accept help for this. Whether in the form of clinical therapy, a support group, or a counselor, the key, again, is the willingness to accept help.

Once you have gone through all of these steps, Eric asserts, you are on your way to weight loss. And it is not until you have achieved this understanding that the weight loss will last either. To be sure, Eric has seen his share of weight loss ups and downs, and as a personal trainer to many celebrity clients, such as Jessica Biel, Matt Grant, Bette Midler, and Ben Moody, he will tell you that the first, and most important part of weight loss, is understanding yourself. And in order to do this, Eric contends, you must be willing to accept help.

Eric Viskovicz has a B.S. in economics and biology from the University of Pittsburg, is a Certified Nutritionist, Child Fitness Specialist, Post Rehabilitation Specialist, and Child Nutritionist, and has been featured on over fifty shows, including Dr. Phil, America’s Next Top Model, Fox Sports Network, Blind Date, and has been a consultant to NBC. Eric Viskovicz has helped thousands of people lose weight and has trained several prominent public figures and celebrities including Jessica Biel, Matt Grant, Bette Midler, the princess of Jordan, Ben Moody, and the son of the Korean Prime Minister and is the president and founder of Live In Fitness Enterprise, a residential bootcamp in Marina Del Rey CA. Eric is currently completing book, due out later this year. Additional information about Eric, Live In Fitness, or the book can be seen at www.liveinfitnessenterprise.com, www.camptechnique.com, or www.ericviskovicz.com.