Frame of Mind

Good afternoon everyone,

Frame of mind is an important concept when dealing with challenges towards health. For me, getting into the 'right' frame of mind for eating healthy foods seems equivalent to the difficulty mountaineers face when trekking towards the summit of Everest without appropriate foot wear on! You probably think I'm over-doing it a little...more than likely I am, but for those few who know the feeling that there is a chocolate gateau in the depth of the fridge, staring at you...laughing! You know the unlikely event that you'll go to sleep that night without lying in bed in-tears over the fact that you just devoured 1242 calories in less than 8 seconds...teeth covered in chocolate and a breath that represents a 'taster session' to everyone nearby for what you'll deliver once your stomach churning stops. "It was worth it at the time" I guess is the reply.



Anyways...frame of mind. It clearly has an impact on people's motivation and ability to deliver on performance and achieve the things they set out to complete. With that secret weapon we call 'willpower' lasting approximately 5 minutes, I think its time to re-evaluate our strategy.

So what is our strategy? I know each time I set out to lose a pound or two (or twelve) without anything to follow, it doesn't go all that well...pretty miserable in fact. So what can we do about it? Well...we can put a strategy in place I suppose. It sounds simplistic probably but think of this as our 'road map'...the way you can follow the exact directions outlined by the map to lead you to a destination. It's no different with (in this case) weight loss! Yes, the route may change a little from person to person, but we all have different starting positions...and some people have further to go than others. Give them the RIGHT directions in the first place however...and maybe they'll actually enjoy the journey instead of just returning to where they started, frustrated and feeling like there's no point!



So, through my own experience, I've discovered your 'frame of mind' is a very important concept! It doesn't give you directions, but having the correct mindset will allow you to continue again and again without giving up. I reckon by now you're expecting something like "10 tricks to trim stomach fat". Quite frankly, the quicker they're off the internet, the better.

So what advice do I have then?



Re-organise your values first! We need to get to the point where healthy living is ranked amongst our top 5 values. This will help gain a much stronger position to evaluate related actions, making it less likely that we will depend that momentary willpower when faced with a choice. So try this, Think about your top four values...really think about them for a second...

 Now, label your values in order, but try to include healthy living is at least one place.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. (Example: Healthy living)

When we come across people from all walks of life and from different countries, we can notice that their lives lead entirely different paths based on their values. If they valued money more than themselves, how would their life look? If they valued family over themselves, how might this be different? If they valued 'junk food' as pleasurable and fruits as a painful necessity, how might this affect the persons habits?...And would this be any different if this was the opposite way?

Now. We all have values that have either been developed through experience, circumstance or just pure choice. For the next couple of days, I'd like you to consider the values that you have chosen including 'Healthy living'. Having this valued amongst other important aspect of your own life will increase your 'frame of mind' to perform in your favour...rather than weightless advice like "just be positive."



So here's the challenge for healthy living. You have to consider your actions...no matter how insignificant they seem...and compare them against the new value that we have created! This means anything from thinking of the food that you consume, the way you treat yourself or your surroundings and the actions you take on a daily basis.



Once we get experience of a new frame of mind, we will be on course to applying our strategy...but one thing at a time.



If you have any questions get in touch at healthrevd@gmail.com. If you have the time, please share, discuss and get in touch.

How To Get Success

Good afternoon everyone,


How Do We Achieve Our Success?

First, I think we have to consider what success means to us personally, which for many of us will be completely different. This is an important distinction, because it accounts for the satisfaction we feel in ourselves on a day-to-day basis. The possible mention of any success leads us to believe that you need to have a certain threshold of earnings, a wardrobe full of tailored suits with made-to-measure pockets...for your wallet, and not forgetting, the sex appeal of Ryan Gosling.

What has this in relation to a Health App? Well...health comes in many forms, not just the extremes we spoke about in the previous blog...So imagine you had have signed in to your profile, selected your interests... then, the challenge system the App has designed gets to work!

How Will The App Help Create These Changes?

• Raising standards - This is an exciting addition to the HealthRev challenge system! It will include instructions to help you question limiting factors in your life, things which are holding you back and help you re-calibrate yourself to achieving anything you aspire to.

• Changing those beliefs  - Standards are not just something you say you have, the App helps eliminate any limiting beliefs you have about your ability...and those small moments you question yourself! It will seamlessly integrate with with SocialRev (our social media platform) to have what will be a 24/7 around-the-clock support from any of your friends and soon-to-be friends.

• Helping You Strategise - You need a strategy if you truly want to commit to change! We all know how easy it can be to have good intentions only to fall away from something before we have given it our fullest efforts, which can be quite frustrating for all of us. Having your standards raised through the challenges, then linking them through SocialRev will give you consistent reminders that you want to achieve something in particular...and, you have a community of support to help you along the way to keep on taking Action. Thats a strategy!

                "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit"

                                                                    - Aristotle

Habits are something that will be created though this feature. Habits that will benefit your day-to-day life for the reasons that are Important To You! One of the issues without setting baseline standards is that it becomes easier to accept behaviours and attitudes, or a quality of life that is miles below what you deserve! It's not good enough, you deserve better! So having this feature helps you take Action and helps you make the Decisions to change your situation in moments. 

These small steps can help improve your physical health, your relationships, your working environment, your emotions or your income. Not because I say it, but because you already know it! You already know that there can be small or big issues that you want to improve on, but often let it slip past you and declare "I'll come back to it another time." 

                                    "You can't build a reputation on what you're going to do"

                                                                  - Henry Ford

What's important for now is that you can Decide to keep on making changes, not having to know all the answers for the time being, but that you will find your way, no matter what!

Decide what you want, Now! Not later. Learn to take action. Learn everything you can from what has happened. Then Change your approach accordingly. When you can do this, you will be on the path towards Your Success, whatever that may happens to be.

As always, we would love for your support, so share it if you can, discuss it with friends or just get the word out and encourage others to take action. Get in touch at healthRev@gmail.com for more information.

Also a big thank you to everyone, we managed to reach over 2,000 people in our first week from across the globe, which has been amazing. We just got started on Facebook too, so come along and help us raise awareness. We will be doing an exciting social experiment soon, so that'll be the best way to see how you can get involved :D.  Search for Myhealthrev (with the same display picture).

Weight Loss

Good morning everyone,

Today's subject of discussion is the dreaded topic of weight loss. Often, people shy away from this topic, but let's hope we can change the negative associations related throughout this blog.

Defining obesity

Ok, so this is often measured through a person's body mass index (BMI), which determines your weight relative to your height. Great! But, if you have ever come across this term...followed by a brief conversation afterwards detailing that you sit above a measurement of 30, then...maybe not so great!

This same conversation will then proceed to the topic of exercise and a healthy diet, at which point you are either bouncing about with excitement from that life-long epiphany. Or, you get even less motivated, not because of the 'challenge' ahead, but because you've accepted the 'label' given to you and associated some form of negativity with it, which gradually increases over time, leading to:

• Stroke
• Coronary heart disease
• Type 2 diabetes
• Several forms of related cancers, such as bowel cancer and breast cancer

Now, it seems that when we follow this professional advice...with the added somber tone usually encouraging it, we picture the image of how our dinner plates used to be stacked high with a mixture of exotic foods from around the world, which will now be reduced to a few carrot sticks, 2 Brussels sprouts and (if your lucky) an anaemic slice of meat! Any enquiry into deserts will earn you a unamused, insulted stare..."half a grape!"

In the United Kingdom, one in every four adults and approximately one in every five children aged between 10 and 11 are now obese. But this isn't something we should sit back and think "it's just a few extra pounds". It should be something that we should encourage change for both ourselves and others we both know and don't know.

One of the largest health problems in the U.K. is stroke. In fact, numbers are estimated towards 150,000 people every year! Now, this is something that we need to continue to address and resolve. As mentioned, obesity is one of the major causes of this and...it's preventable! Can we prevent it though? At the moment, it seems as though health issues are worsening, with medical bills more than willing to match it. Top that with 'health companies' showing you how cramming a powdered down multi-vitamin down you ought to cure it, or how protein powder will save the day...how would that look along side the rest of your prescribed meal?

You don't need me to tell you it's not working! I mean, for those few who apply it fully, it might...but for how long? Here's the thing, your body is a science. What I mean by this is that weight loss can be calculated ahead of time. There's equations, a few variables and solutions.

So now, rather than saying "eat this instead", I'll tell you something more about the App, MyHealthRev. When you log into your account, you will be asked what interests you...because that's important...that's where we'll begin! You can have the choice to take photos of yourself to track progress or share it with other friends. You can take part in social and individual tasks to help bring some passion...and no, this is not the only options offered, nor is it an invitation to start a local marathon. Ohh also...in fact, I'll finish this another time, for now get excited for a strategy of solutions instead of temporary gimmicks :D

As always I'd love your support, your opinion and to encourage discussions. So share it, discuss it or just get the word out...talk to those people you don't know and encourage them, it'll bring about this change quicker.

If anyone wants to email me, catch me at healthrevd@gmail.com

Improving Sports Performance

😁☺Good afternoon everyone,

For those of you who got in contact about the App to see if it included any fitness related materials to support users or guide them...the short answer is yes. The answer I would want to tell you is that the materials that will be given to the users will out-perform anything currently available from a mobile application. So on top of being a multi-functional app which accommodates many health aspects...it also delivers on performance!

I have drawn this to show you what I mean...

This may or may not mean anything to you at the moment, but what this allows is detailed videos showing how biomechanics and exercise physiology will improve your ability to train, thus your performance. Throughout the app, you can unlock these videos through completing stages and swiftly become that person with the edge ;) Does that interest you?

The materials that users can unlock will vary, but you'll be glad to know there will be a range of coaches that will show you: how to perform exercises, which exercises and why, technique correction, injury prevention and how to attain maximal performance. We're just getting started!

When you develop your profile, you will be given a range of topics of which you want to focus on. Your app will then assess the best ways of getting you there. We will be encouraging user engagement through active social channels, set up directly for the application (more on that another time). Ohh! Also an achievements sections and unlockable content section which will hold all of your content until such times as you need it... to share with (or brag to) your friends. ;)

As we can see from the diagram above, we see the muscle being activated through the small weight placed on the hand. So biomechanics swoops in, with our visual demonstrations and video content to show you just what is happening mechanically, which factors may be working against you and solutions for overcoming performance barriers!

Are you interested in performance or just casually want to do your own thing? Not a problem! We'll accommodate all! Videos you can all get involved with and other unlockable content incase that's not your thing!

This feature has been designed through coaching experiences of understanding the client's perspective and knowing how difficult it can be to perform exercises or improve performance...but now, we've got you covered!

As always, we would love your support, so share it if you can, discuss it with a friend, imagine the possibility and imagine how it could influence your training or lifestyle...let's create that solution.
healthrevd@gmail.com

I also thought I would share another picture of just behind our University campus in Scotland for you all, because our blog views are from all over the world...reaching over 1,000 of you in just 4 days :D. If you guys feel like commenting on the blog, feel free to post photos of your home country too, I'd love to see them! Hope to hear from you soon.

Could You Help Shape A New Stereotype?

Good afternoon everyone,

I hope you have been intrigued by what has already been shown with the upcoming HealthRev application. I'll call them tasters compared to what will be shown very soon 😋

Already the reports have shown this small atom of the internet has reached far beyond bonnie Scotland, reaching viewers throughout: United States, Ireland, France, Germany, Finland and Austria. So having this blog live for just 3 days has been very encouraging seeing the response world-wide, so thank you and keep on spreading the word!

Unlike many other Apps or start-ups, HealthRev will be designed on your feedback, your experience and your needs. To be quite honest, whenever I think of the word 'health', I conjure up one of two images. The first, would be a photo-shopped male or female model with abs so sharp, it poses risks to their clothes...which I suppose may explain why they struggle to wear any. The second image, would paint a doctor's office with a waiting list able to make you feel more-ill than the original reason you were going to visit. Or, the feeling that age and ailments can fight like Mike Tyson, so you'd be better off just accepting defeat than to step in the ring and get humiliated.

So we have two extremes it seems. Whilst many people have this shared view that you are either all-in or all-out, I would like to challenge you all to make a small change...Imagine that things change. Even if you can't imagine this, by viewing this blog and passing it on, or even discussing with someone you know, you have taken me up on my challenge!

So what's next for the blog of HealthRev? Gradually, I'll be introducing concepts and ideas which I'm sure you will love! The more feedback we get, the more we can shape the app around you and many more...and we're going to show you every piece of progress made.

I'll also be sharing some videos shortly to introduce myself and give you some further details on our exciting App.

As always, pass it on, start a conversation, share it, or just get in touch at healthrevd@gmail.com. I'd love to hear all of your feedback 😊

Earn Your Status

Hi again everyone,

Has anyone lost weight before only to gain it back again? How about the overwhelming feeling that those dreaded scales count quicker than Einstein. Or, being almost certain you have an under-active thyroid that your night concludes tearing through that emergency tub of Ben & Jerry's...on your own. So breathe and relax, because your not alone - I'm definitely no exception!

Statistically speaking you have 83% chance of losing weight, then gaining it back again within a two year period. Which already presents a challenge of pressure, uncertainty or perhaps even a justification to start! Oh-well I can imagine people say, followed by a deep sigh...what now? Well it's time to mix it up a little then...these statistics are based on people who follow the same malnourished advice polluting the industry, and the unfortunate ones who get fleeced by an over complicated and over priced industry. 

Great! you think. Another person willing to pass on their so-called 'sage' advice...if only. How about this but. I'll figure out the way to counteract this issue through the same App i've shown in previous blogs. How about getting you to replace current habits with ones which allow you to feel fulfilled instead of being constantly frustrated with yourself? But this isn't enough is it? I didn't think so either, nor did those few who were burdened by me constantly asking them i'm sure.

Imagine this...

Every single day we get put to the test! We get new engaging challenges to test ourselves (depending on our interests) and truly put our commitment to the task! Ohh but heres the thing, unless you complete the challenges (either social or individual) you cannot proceed to the next one. Completing them means you can earn your 'stage rank' and accumulate 'bragging rights' when you get the App's recognition, which ought to be fun way to wind-up friends. 

So now, picture the scene, you wake up in the morning and you are met with this challenge...then it'll be your choice to accept or decline. To accept would be a way of showing you are up for challenging HealthRev and earn a reputation worth drooling over. To decline would only mean allowing your friends to catch up to your level and rank before you decide to race-away in front again..but that's up to you😋 

As always feel free to comment or to email me directly at healthrevd@gmail.com

How Can We Shape HealthRev?

Good morning everyone,

I got some great responses through email with readers who wanted to know what the application may do. I have drawn up the most amateur-looking materials you are probably willing to look at (hopefully), so try to forgive this. However the concept, I believe, is strong. This one feature was developed as an almost 'help' feature of the application, allowing anyone suffering any form of temporary panic or related moods to aid recovery faster. The hope is that anyone who suffers panic attacks, anxiety or depression (in this case) have a solution. The solution may seem simplistic, but this feature may hold hope for those suffering, which can apply to so many - 615 million worldwide!

United Kingdom: Anxiety (8.2 million), Depression (1-in-10)

United States: The number of people treated for depression has tripled over the past two decades (20.9 million in a given year).

In the example above the HealthRev application will guide users through a process which will gradually work through various stages of control to help whoever has accessed the feature. The reptilian brain is responsible for many functions, among them - breathing! Therefore the app can ask the users pre-made/adaptive questions to determine the issue and appropriately offer a solution.

As always, I would love feedback to the site or my direct email at healthrevd@gmail.com. If anyone likes the idea or has more things you could see this app perform, please don't hesitate to get in touch. 

I am determined to design this App for many people out there, so please share and lets see if we can all collectively find a solution.

(More to come very soon!) 

What Are Health Applications Missing?

Good afternoon everyone,

I am currently designing a health application which I hope you will all find extremely exciting. The app will have a holistic delivery from three sciences: Neuroscience, Social Science and Sport and Exercise Science (my own field).

I'll cut to the chase...

I get frustrated with false promises and gimmick health advice currently snowballing through the industry and even more-so when people are lead to believe all hope is lost and its not for them. I want to change this! Through 'life', like most of us, I have had either health issues personally or have known someone who I wished I could trade places with to overcome their struggle, whatever that may be. The mobile application I have designed (so far) has been directly influenced from personal experience and feedback already given from those it was intended to reach. It will range from managing weight all the way to helping manage depression (and more), but the opportunity for who this will benefit will be unbelievable (which I can show you all very soon).

For now, I would like to find out what's most important to its users (hopefully anyone reading this) and what the current apps are failing to deliver on...for you personally? I understand that many issues relating to health are personal, so feel free to email me at any time at healthrevd@gmail.com

If you can spare some time, I'd love some of your advice 😊