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This is a continuation of the series of posts on Bill Phillips’ book Transformation, a component of his Transformation fitness program, which I started back in July before I started the program in earnest in August. So far I’ve lost 10 lbs and 4% body fat on the program, so I know it works, and wanted to encourage those readers who want to lose weight and keep it off to give the program a try. In fact, I checked yesterday morning and I’m on track towards losing my next 10 lbs as well.

1. Introduction

Here’s a recap of the chapters so far:

 The sixth chapter is entitled Healthy Spaces Makeover, and it is designed to have you restructure your environment in such a way as to remove obstacles to your success and to install those features which make it easier for you to succeed.

 2. People

When we think of the environment we think of objects, but people are part of our environment in the sense that they shape our mental landscape through our interactions with them.

Surrounding yourself with people who are positive and supportive is one way you can increase your success. The flip side of this is that you need to remove yourself from the presence of those people who are negative and who are not supportive. If that person is a loved one in your household, this can be difficult.

Bill Phillips’ response to this dilemma is to find those people in your family who are supportive and shift your attention as much as possible to them. Once the results of the program start to show up in your life, many times those people who were obstructive can turn around, because part of them will want to emulate your success.

 3. Places

Of course, a good gym is a place you should try to make the central location of your exercise routine, with a home gym a possibility if you are on a budget. However, the connection with other people is the reason why going to a good gym is preferable. I know that on some mornings, especially towards the beginning of my Transformation program, I would not necessarily be in the “mood” for exercise.

 But once I got to the gym, and saw all the people getting their exercise done, I couldn’t help but be swept along in the tide of motion.

 For some people, a coffee shop can be a place that detracts from their fitness not because of the coffee but because of the piles and piles of baked goods that they often sell along with the coffee.

 That is why I carry around meal replacement bars when I am traveling around in my car so I can have something that is reasonably healthy to eat that will curb my appetite. I also did it specifically to wean myself off the baked goods sitting at the coffee shops that I visited on a daily basis.

 What I find interesting is that as the Transformation program continues and you gain more energy, there may be some mornings that you have so much energy that you find you don’t even NEED coffee to be a functional human being in the office or classroom.

 4. Things

You can tell about a person’s eating habits by looking at the contents of their refrigerator and/or kitchen cabinets. Bill Phillips in chapter 1 recommends taking a picture of your body before the Transformation program begins so that you can compare it with the end result. In this chapter he recommends you to do a “healthy space makeover” in the following way:

• take a picture of what your kitchen cabinet and refrigerator look like,
• clear everything out,
• throw out the items which are not in line with the guidelines laid out in chapter 3 “Right Nutrition”,
  
• restock your shelves with more nutritious items, and then
  
• take a picture of what your kitchen cabinet and refrigerator look like NOW.
  

You should keep a picture so that, if you are tempted to buy what can only be referred to as junk, that you are reminded of what it is like to have a healthy space in your kitchen.

5. Music and TV

A lot of people listen to music while they are exercising to give them motivation to exercise or to get their mind out of a negative frame of mind. I have found that listening to foreign language tapes or podcasts from people I admire are also good motivators while exercising, but that’s just my own personal preference.

Don’t forget that what you watch on TV and movies can affect your body’s stress hormones such as cortisol, so try to avoid watching the news while you are eating. That was a rule my mother set down years ago when I was a child and I’ve learned the wisdom of this in my own life as an adult.

Before going to sleep, try watching something that either makes you laugh, makes you think, or inspires you. This, plus the exercise you’ve done during the day, will help your body ease itself into a peaceful sleep.

6. Summary

So the basic idea of the chapter is that, in order to increase your chances of success with the Transformation program, don’t just work on cleaning the interior of your body through exercise and better nutrition. Work on cleaning up the exterior environment in which you and your body live so that it will be like a current that helps you to swim in the direction you want to go.

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