My Philosophies about Motivation and Mindset

When it comes to addressing the mind and motivation some of my main beliefs include –

• Motivation Fluctuates – Motivation is like the weather, it shifts constantly. That’s normal. What matters is having different approaches ready for high and low motivation days. A focused day might mean intense training or disciplined eating. A stressful or tired day may need a gentler, more forgiving plan. Expect the shift and prepare for both.

• You Are Addicted to Something & That’s Ok – Everyone has default patterns they turn to under pressure: alcohol, sugar, snacks, scrolling, or something else. These patterns aren’t signs of failure, they’re coping strategies. Lasting results come from identifying the emotional root of these behaviours and developing better alternatives that still serve the same need.
• Food Cravings are Both Physical & Mental – Cravings are not just about willpower. They can be caused by genuine nutritional deficiencies, blood sugar swings, or emotional triggers. You won’t know which until the physical drivers are sorted. Once you do that, many cravings disappear on their own, what’s left is what really needs addressing.
• Willpower is Overrated– Willpower is simply the number of cravings you resist each week. It’s a finite resource. A better approach is to reduce the number of cravings in the first place. Would you rather resist 6 out of 9 urges, or only face 3 in total? Results come from building a lifestyle where the hard choices rarely arise. 

• Change Has Many Influences – My approach is built around what I wrote about in my book “The Grand Unified Theory of Weight Loss, which is a framework that recognises body transformations are not about just one thing. It’s not just food, not just exercise, and certainly not just motivation. Real change happens when multiple systems shift together. That’s why I developed an approach that has access to six interlocking areas, meaning we can align your habits, environment, emotional patterns and more so that change becomes lasting, automatic, and genuinely life-shaping.

• Eating strictly – You do not need to eat perfectly and live a strict life like a monk or similar. Instead, you just need to hit a certain threshold of good behaviours that produces results. This leaves plenty of room for freedom and doing so called “bad” behaviours. You simply need to learn what threshold of behaviours allows for results yet also feels manageable.

• Eating freely – I am all for eating foods for an experience – The new food, the new restaurant, the social occasion, the romantic dinner. However, I try to encourage you against mindless eating, such as eating the same comfort food time and time again. Eating freely is not the issue, it is eating the wrong foods regularly in the wrong amounts. When this is resolved you can eat freely and get results. When you have the balance right, eating for experience becomes even better. 

• Drinking – It is no different to eating “bad” foods. It has a place, it also has the potential to ruin results if not accounted for correctly. You do not need to be tea total for results. Likewise, you probably cannot drink a bottle of wine every night. I have not drunk since 2008 but in general I am not that anti-alcohol as have seen many clients get results without giving it up.

• Stress – For most people, as their stress levels rise, their nutrition and exercise gets worse. The key is to create new behaviours to handle stressful periods more effectively. It is also prudent to investigate the very nature of stress, which is your thoughts and the weight you give to them. Using stress reduction techniques can be very helpful.

• Happiness – The other side of the coin to stress is happiness. How happy you are is directly correlated to your health and fitness behaviours. Luckily exercise and eating right, directly increases happiness. Investigation into the nature of happiness and thought can also make dramatic changes in your overall levels of wellbeing and happiness. You may also need to consider if you are the kind of person who overeats when in a good mood, as this will undermine your results

• Natural Behaviour Patterns – The results you have or have not obtained in the real world are the direct consequence of your current behaviour patterns. To change your body going forwards, the underlying patterns must be changed so they automatically produce a better return on your efforts. You, like anyone, can change your habits and how you act.

• Behaviour Change Techniques – These methods are varied and are aimed at changing your behaviours from where you are now to where you need to get to. They also look at stress, happiness and success.

• Coaching = Action, Not Just Planning – Coaching isn’t just about giving you a plan. It’s about getting you to do it. Most people know what to do, but they don’t do it. My job is to help you break through whatever stops you taking action. That’s where change lives.

Summary

Mindset is the backbone of transformation. Without it, food plans and workouts are just temporary fixes. To go deeper, and make change last, you must work from the inside out.

For more on motivation make sure you stay in contact with me by joining my weekly newsletter here>> or by getting a copy of your Body Transformation Guide using one of the boxes on this page.

 

My personal training service combines nutrition, exercise, postural correction and behaviour change techniques to ensure you get fantastic results. Download my Body Transformation Guide to understand how these techniques are all brought together to ensure results.
The best way to understand how I help people get into amazing shape is to contact me for your Free sample session. Call Ben on 07915 397 703 or email me at info@one2onenutrition.co.uk
Watch me being interviewed on the BBC 1 Breakfast show discussing milk and the plans to stop milk for under 5 years old’s.