Jan 20, 2019 4 min read

As the Biggest Winner competition progresses at the Washington Health System Wilfred R. Cameron Wellness Center, contestants are learning that diet and exercise alone may not be enough to help them realize their goals.

Instead of cutting calories or going to the gym, health fitness specialist and personal trainer Jamie Udeze recommends that you start by focusing on your mindset.

“Typically, when people come to the gym, they are coming in for some reason. That reason may be to lose weight, reduce stress or to stave off a medical issue,” Udeze said. “But we often find that they don’t know where to start or what they need to do to get to their end goal.”

Udeze, and other staff members at the wellness center, help transform bodies and minds through the EXOS training system. The program is comprised of four pillars: mindset, nutrition, movement and recovery, and all are equally important in producing results and achieving goals.

“Mindset plays a heavy role in the other pillars. It will determine your success,” Udeze said. “While they are all equally important, you can’t have one without the other.”

Changing your mindset is about achieving a state of mind that will allow you to perform at your best. But more importantly, Udeze said it’s about setting realistic smart goals.

“This should be something that you really need to change,” he said. “Make it as specific as possible, and think about any obstacles or challenges. Think about how you can address them and set more realistic goals.”

While a personal trainer can help to identify concerns or ways to make improvements, Udeze said anyone looking to make healthy lifestyle changes can adjust their mindset by approaching their goals in a positive manner.

“A positive attitude is key. Surround yourself with a good support system, be honest with yourself, and have as many small victories as you can,” Udeze said. “And try to have fun. If you make it fun, it eliminates the idea of work.”

Finding and focusing on some type of motivation is also helpful in altering your mindset.

“Finding small things to keep you going is key, but you also want to find a reward that’s not based on food or one that will alter your improvements,” Udeze said. “Everyone’s different, so you have to find something that will put you in a positive state.”

TiAnda Blount, a regular at the wellness center, credits a focused mindset with helping her to reach and maintain her healthy lifestyle changes.

“Everything formulates in your mind,” the Claysville resident said. “If you don’t have control of your mind, you can’t accomplish your goals.”

Blount has competed in the Biggest Winner competition since it started eight year ago, and has been a part of the winning team at least four times. You can find her at the wellness center six days a week, either working out on her own or with her trainer, Kenny Rosenbauer. While her goals have changed over time, her focus remains the same.

“You have to have it set in your mind that you can do it,” Blount said.

If visualizing goals isn’t working, Udeze recommends writing down goals and displaying them in a prominent place, like on the refrigerator or on a calendar.

“It’s a different level of commitment when you write something down,” he said.

And if all else fails, Udeze suggests finding like-minded gym partners.

“Encouragement – never putting others down – is the spirit of the competition. There’s a lot of accountability with this whole process. At the end of (the seven-week competition) we don’t want you to stop. We want you to be more accountable for yourself. We want to see you here.”