Weight Loss Success, Getting Fit, Staying Healthy Using “Simple Science”

We all know it is not uncommon to make attempts at weight loss, getting fit, or trying to get healthier by joining a gym, starting a diet, or taking the latest diet pill. Unfortunately, we also know that we soon find these efforts heaped on the pile of “unattained goals”, and the limited efforts end up causing more discouragement (and even resentment) than actual success. If it were easy, as they say, everyone would be doing it and being successful.


But, there is hope if we understand the facts. Weight loss, or losing weight and getting in shape, is a chronic and persistent problem for millions of people. It’s not a simple problem that can be solved with a simple solution – or at least a single-threaded solution such as joining a gym or class, or nutritionally turning to Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers (great nutrition programs in their own right – but virtually useless in the long run when implemented as a “point” solution).


So – this is where the hope starts to come in – realizing we need a multi-dimensional approach instead of the “quick fix” solutions being sold on every web pop-up to 1am Informercial.

There’s an old saying from the “wild west” days that says “never take a knife to a gun fight” – which even for us non-violent types is a simple metaphor for saying always understand the scope of the problem you’re about to face and come well-prepared.


For some reason, when it comes to getting in shape, losing weight or getting and staying fit, we don’t follow this sage advice and we usually stumble into a big battle without knowing what we’re facing.

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If you want to conquer a persistent problem (such as losing weight or weight loss which you are able to maintain) you need to combine multiple influences into a winning strategy to fight the problem (the equivalent of bringing a gun to that gunfight, along with five friends with guns) – overwhelm the problem to the point where your odds of success are multiplied exponentially.

Those who understand how to combine four to six sources of influence are up to ten times more successful at producing substantial and sustainable change. These “sources of influence” were developed initially by Vital Smarts and integrated as a framework in the bestselling book “INFLUENCER – The Power To Change Anything”.

Inspired Fitness has built out this award-winning framework (2009 MIT Change Management Approach of the Year) for the health, fitness and wellness industry in the “Inspired Change Methodology^SM”. Starting by incorporating the aspects of how to use proper goal setting techniques to clarify your results and personal motivation, and then encapsulating results of hundreds of research studies that show not only how to set goals the most effective way, but as importantly, stick with and and attain those goals.
The Methodology introduces techniques our clients use which have been scientifically proven to actually activate the areas of the brain responsible for creating stronger goal commitments (which means you’re far more likely to reach those goals because your brain is now working with, instead of against, you), as well as how to deal with the inevitable situations that present themselves as obstacles to your goal attainment and how to use “if-then” planning to stay on course.

There are six sources of influence that drive our behavior and anyone with the ability to make change successful is adept at employing these sources in combination.

Motivation and ability are the foundation of our six-source model. We then subdivide these domains into three distinct categories: personal, social, and structural, which in turn reflect separate and highly developed bodies of literature: psychology, sociology, and organizational theory.
The first two domains, Personal Motivation and Ability, relate to sources of influence within an individual (motives and abilities) that determine their behavioral choices. The next two, Social Motivation and Ability, relate to how other people affect an individual’s choices. The final two, Structural Motivation and Ability, encompass the role of nonhuman factors, such as compensation systems, space, and technology.

Using the Six Sources of Influence

Successful influencers increased their chances of success tenfold
by combining strategies from at least four of the six sources of
influence. In the following pages, we’ll develop the six sources to
see how you can use “simple science” to finally reach your goals of losing weight, getting fit, and staying healthy.

Tell Me About Each Of The Six Sources