obesity
Jan 3 2020
Fighting obesity in 10 steps

According to the WHO (2016) over 1.9 billion adults aged 18 or older suffer from obesity. These numbers reflect an even harsher reality once we consider that over half of these individuals have difficulties adhering to their treatments (WHO, 2010).

The ability to introduce behavioral changes as part of a medical treatment is called “therapeutic adherence”. In the case of obesity, this usually involves diet, exercise and medication along with modification of thoughts, actions and attitudes related to food intake (Casas, Salvador & Viñals, 2008; Marcos, Rodríguez, Pérez & Caballero, 2009; & García-Cedillo et. al, 2017).

Why write this article?

CrossFit has joined the battle against chronic disease and done a great deal of work in this sense. As a training methodology, it’s demonstrated its utility helping individuals transit to a healthier lifestyle; but it doesn’t stop there. CrossFit has also dedicated many efforts to providing the community with relevant health-related information.

However great these efforts are, they continue to neglect the psychological aspect which has proven to be the key to developing and maintaining many health issues (including obesity). That’s why I’ve developed this scientific-based decalogue. Its purpose is to give individuals general guidelines regarding the personal resources needed to win the battle against obesity.

Decalogue for commitment

1 I’ll surround myself with others in my situation

Having a support system where there’s a common goal has many benefits (García-Cedillo et. al, 2017): you can identify with your partners and share experiences; you can learn and provide useful information (grocery shopping, go-to progression drills for certain movements, etc.); it builds an empathetic space where one feels safe to express their emotions, the obstacles they sometime face, etc.; and, lastly, seeing others progress will increase your motivation to do the same.

2 I’ll remember this is a long process

And when I say long, I really mean it. It won’t happen overnight and it’ll take more than just a couple of months. Unlearning behavioral and thought patterns is constant work and this usually means that the path is ridden with obstacles and mishaps. Therefore, our personal resources must be ready to step in when the road gets tough. But as they say: “when the going gets tough, the tough get going”.

3 I’ll control my environment

Stimular control is a behavioral technique that works wonders in the context of lifestyle modification (Villarreal et. al, 2012) and it’s based on a very “human” instinct which is “out of sight, out of mind”. Avoiding the tub of ice cream that’s sitting in the freezer waiting for us can be really hard… wouldn’t it be easier if it just weren’t there? 

But keeping them out of sight won’t work forever. It’s more like an initial safety net because another common theme in obesity programs is exposure to banned foods (Guisado & Vaz, 2001). Sooner or later we’ll be forced to coexist with our guilty foods and we’ll have to be able to say no to them without losing our cool.

4 I’ll make conscious decisions

Seemingly irrelevant decisions aren’t directly related to any unhealthy behaviors but they end up exposing us to the high-risk situations (Keegan, 2012). For example: unconsciously derailing from my original commute to pass by the coffee shop where they bake my favorite croissants for binging sessions. Coincidence? Not so much.

This isn’t something that happens consciously so the work has to be put in beforehand. We must dedicate the necessary amount of time to identify each and every one of these high-risk situations so we can learn how to avoid them.

5 I’ll learn more about myself

I wanted to avoid using the good ‘ol “love yourself”, so I’ll change it for more operative terms such as self-esteem, self-understanding and perception of self-efficacy. There are several ways through which we can boost our perceived self-efficacy and self-esteem:

  • Setting myself up for success – for self-reinforcement purposes
  • Identifying personal strengths
  • Working on my weaknesses

6 I’ll manage my emotions

Travis Williams (@travismfwilliams) went from a sedentary lifestyle to multiple appearances at the CrossFit Games.

Two of the most common precipitating factors for relapses are stressful situations and negative affect – anger, fear and sadness –. Moving, work-related stress, economic struggles, breakups, etc. can trigger feelings of sadness, guilt or helplessness which are no bueno (as we know).

Avoiding stress is not an option so all we have left is working on our emotional management strategies: activation of adequate coping strategies (seeking information, social support, etc.), emotional expression, and/or reappraisal of the situation (is it under my control or not?). Each strategy serves its own purpose and will be useful in certain situations.

7 I won’t judge myself

Fighting obesity necessarily means there will be days when you avoid the box or abandon your diet but don’t go ahead and use it as an excuse to give up on yourself. If there’s one thing I do believe in is that failure can be used as a learning experience; and this I like to call the “functional relapse”.

The road to self-understanding is built on trial and error. Identify and analyze the processes that lead you to give up on your CrossFit class that day so you can learn how to avoid them in the future. ¡Don’t punish yourself! Go for a functional relapse instead.

8 I’ll keep track of my progress

Luckily, self-tracking is very celebrated in the CrossFit community because only “if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it”. Jot down your first RMs, your max set of pull-ups and your weight history so you can compare a few months down the road.

Watching your new-self beat the crap out of previous versions of yourself will generate those successful situations I was talking about to improve perceived self-efficacy. And if you want to share your success with your support system or on social media, go ahead! Social reinforcement is very powerful and will also boost your self-esteem.

9 I’ll doubt everything

If you’re new to this blog I’ll have you know I’m a big fan of cognitive restructuring, which is quite relevant in this field as well. I must learn to identify negative automatic thoughts and determine their level of certainty. I must also look out for irrational beliefs in relation to myself, my environment or my unhealthy behaviors to adjust them to reality (Lafuente, 2012).

10 I’ll know my WHY

This one’s the ultimate gamechanger when fighting obesity and, although I put it last, I’d start here because it’ll keep you on track when you least feel like it. Reciting all those evil consequences you’ve heard from parents, friends or doctors won’t do unless you’re actually concerned about it. Look deep down and find the real reason you’re willing to sacrifice.

Keep it close everyday because when you feel like giving up you’ll need to activate it. Make sure it’s strong enough to fight off any excuse or obstacle but, most of all, take care of it! Don’t let anybody tell you if it’s valid or not, all you need is for it to work and that’s something only you get to decide.















Casas, P.,Salvador, J., & Viñals, M. (2008). Tratamiento del sobrepeso y obesidad en la empresa mediante terapia psicológica grupal y control médico y dietético. Archivos de Prevención de riesgos laborales, 11(4), 188-195.

- García-Cedillo, I., Guillén, Y. C., Ramírez, A. M., & Sánchez-Armáss, O.(2017). Promoción de la adherencia terapéutica de mujeres con obesidad mediante psicoeducación. Psychologia. Avances de la disciplina,11(1), 13-23.

- Guisado, J. A., & Vaz, F. J. (2001). Aspectos clínicos del trastorno por atracón" binge eating disorder". Revista de la asociación española de Neuropsiquiatría, (77), 27-32.

- Keegan, E. (2012). Perspectiva cognitivo-conductual del abuso de
sustancias. Intersecciones Psicológicas, 3, 5-8.

- Lafuente, M. D. (2012). Tratamiento cognitivo conductual de la
obesidad. Trastornos de la conducta alimentaria, (14), 1490-1504.

- Marcos, L. Rodríguez, L. Pérez, M., & Caballero, M. (2009). Tratamiento de mujeres con sobrepeso y obesidad. Trastornos de la Conducta Alimentaria, 7, 720-732

- Mata, D. Y. C., Sagarduy, J. L. Y., Zárraga, J. L. M. Y., & López, J. A. P. (2015). Adherencia al tratamiento en pacientes hipertensos con sobrepeso u obesidad (Adherence to Treatment in Hipertensive Patients with Overweight or Obesity). International
journal of psychology and psychological therapy, 15(1), 377-386.

- Polivy, J., & Herman, C. P. (1993). Etiology of binge eating:
Psychological mechanisms.

- Villarreal, T., Garza, T., Gutiérrez, R., Méndez, R., & Ramírez, J. M.(2012). Intervención psicoeducativa en el tratamiento de la obesidad en un centro de salud de Nuevo León, México. Atención Familiar,19(4), 90-93.
Desiree Mejia-Naranjo 0 Comments
swot analysis
Nov 13 2019
Why perform a SWOT Analysis after the Open

The CrossFit Open 2020 has come to an end. For the vast majority of us regular CrossFit athletes, this may seem like a dead end but it’s actually meant to be a crossroad. No, we’re not going to the CrossFit Games (shocker) but we too have our work cut out for us.

The Open: a crossfitter’s SATs

We could argue that the Open is the big test we face every year. 5 weeks, 5 tasks and 5 scores that determine the level of our fitness relative to our coworkers, athletes at our box or pretty much any form of categorization you came up with using the personalized hashtags.

What to do with this information?

Well let’s try to give it some use, shall we? Lest we forget that one of the main teachings in the Sport of Fitness is that we are to measure, evaluate and repeat. The measuring phase was completed through the Open so now is the time to evaluate the results. ¿How can we use this data to help plan out the rest of the year? With a wonderful thing called SWOT Analysis.

What is the SWOT Analysis?

SWOT Analysis was created by Albert Humphrey back in the 60s and, since then, it’s become one of the most famous instruments in strategic planning for corporations.

SWOT is an acronym formed by the words “Strengths”, “Weaknesses”, “Opportunities” and “Threats” and during the analysis we evaluate each component individually to help a future decision-making process.

Internal analysis: weaknesses and strengths

At this stage we focus on individual elements that give us a competitive edge (strengths) as well as those that hinder our performance (weaknesses). These may be:

  • specific movements: ring muscle-up, handstand walk, clean & jerk, etc.
  • specific time domains: short and intense or long and grueling
  • personal attributes: self-confidence, risk perception, insecurity, etc.

External analysis: threats and opportunities

Now’s when we dive into situational elements that may affect our athletic performance, both positively and negatively. A potential “threat” can be any kind of life event that can cause stress or any other negative emotional response (breakup, work-related issues, …); and an “opportunity” can be any chance to capitalize our strengths or work on weaknesses: local competitions, specialty courses, monostructural WODs, etc.

SWOT Matrix

All these elements are introduced in a SWOT matrix which would look like this:

In the threat department the goal is to identify them correctly and manage these situations. Increased work-related stress and a breakup will undoubtedly change our emotional affect, which will ultimately influence our performance. We can’t change these situations but we sure can change the way we respond to them.

When it comes the weaknesses it’s time to bite the bullet and let our ego take the hit. Constantly being humbled by pullup or handstand progressions can take its toll on our self-confidence but it’s important we stay on that path for however long it takes.

Give your strengths the role they deserve. If you have a weapon of choice, might as well keep it close. It does no good to unlearn something you’re proficient with just to boost other abilities so keep working on your strengths (especially on those days when nothing seems to go your way – it’ll keep your motivation high)

Seize the opportunities! Luckily, there’s plenty of situations where we can prove our worth or improve our current fitness levels; take advantage of it! Think of it as follow-up evaluations.

… start getting Open-ready for next year

swot analysis

It’s never too soon to start revving the engine for the big test. If you’re of the procrastinating kind (like myself), it’s better to start laying out a plan now that the Open results are still fresh. Jot down that SWOT Analysis, set up some building blocks for your goals and rest assured you’ll see the improvements in next year’s Open.

Desiree Mejia-Naranjo 0 Comments
cognitive restructuring
Oct 2 2019
Cognitive restructuring or how to own your thoughts

I’ve said a thing or two about cognitive restructuring but I haven’t dedicated too much time to it. It’s crazy considering it’s the bread and butter of any psychologist who follows the CBT, so here we go!

Cognitive restructuring is the active modification of our thought content. The tool is the ABC model created by psychologist Albert Ellis in the framework of his Rational Emotive Therapy (1973). The premise is that cognition, emotion and behavior are mutually inclusive rather than pure and separate entities.

In the ABC model, the A refers to activating situations, B to beliefs about these events and C to emotional and behavioral consequences. This sequence comes to say that what we think depends on what we live and deeply influences what we do. It’s only logical that if we wish to act a certain way, we depend on our thoughts to guide us in the intended direction.

Examples:

Performing your first ring muscle up is hard enough…imagine sprinkling it with a touch of insecurity to make that much harder.

But don’t you worry because luckily we don’t have a passive role in writing our thoughts, it’s actually quite the opposite. I can’t change the situation but I can change the way I look at it. Let’s try one more time, shall we?

Careful now! This doesn’t mean you’ll get it on your first try. But avoiding negative self-talk will allow to try as many times as needed until you achieve the goal. And it’s not about building up a fake sense of confidence but being realistic and reality is that if you practice a couple hundred times…you will get it eventually.

What if the situation won’t ever change?

This is the high-level division. Changing your thought process in regards to an emotionally charged situation that can’t ever change can be very, very complicated. But just like the muscle up… after a couple hundred attempts, you end up getting it.

Imagine you lose a competition at the very end to an execution error in the final event. All those training hours suddenly become useless, you feel like you’ve let down friends, family and everyone who rooted for you. It’s quite normal to feel beat down and to even stay away from CrossFit for a while. 

But that can’t last forever. Worst case scenario, that situation leaves a crack in your self-confidence that, in the long run, keeps you from tapping your real potential. 

Remember: our thought process is a dynamic one. We can change it at our own convenience – for better or for worst -. Try to keep your thoughts in the light for the most part to keep moving forward (even when you least feel like it).







Ellis, A. (1973). Rational-emotive therapy (pp. 32-44). Big Sur Recordings.
Desiree Mejia-Naranjo 0 Comments