STOP LISTENING TO OVERNIGHT SUCCESS STORIES

 I was inspired to write this post after speaking with a friend today about business growth and success. We have very differing viewpoints and as I thought more about it I realized that my views of fitness success and business success are very similar. So, let’s dive in. I’m sure all of you reading this at one time or another have seen a post on Facebook promising copious amounts of weight loss in a very short time. Or maybe you’ve been approached by a friend selling some new weight loss supplement or fad diet. Or maybe you’ve even been inspired by the fitness “guru’s” with their six pack abs promising their method will “GET YOU RIPPED NOW”. Well guess what IT’S ALL BULLSHIT. Can you get ripped in 30 days? Some people yes, some people no. So let me go more into detail about this subject.
In my opinion, people who advocate for “challenges” or “fast weight loss” end up hurting more people than they help. Now, don’t get me wrong some people thrive on having a deadline and a big goal get’s them excited. But, for us “normal people” moms, dads, wives, husbands, we just want to feel and look better while still enjoying food that we love and not being chained to a squat rack. When you have someone who boasts on Facebook about this new fad diet or workout plan they’ve been doing and they show off their awesome before and after pictures you have to take it with a grain of salt. I believe there are a few questions everyone needs to ask themselves before being envious of this “success”. One, is what they are currently doing sustainable for your lifestyle? Maybe you have kids and this person doesn’t. Maybe this person has a little more willpower than you do (AGAIN THAT IS OK, STOP TRYING TO FIT INTO OTHER PEOPLES MOLDS!). Two, what level of fitness is this person on? If you take someone who is 200lbs and ask them to lose 50lbs in the same amount of time as someone who is 300lbs the 200lb person is going to have to work a lot harder. You also have to take into account that you are not genetically the same as anyone else. This makes your journey completely unique. Three, will this person still be down in weight in a year? MANY PEOPLE take on big goals and burn themselves out leading to more weight gain or constant weight swings. What’s the point of losing 30lbs if you are only going to gain 20 of it back? Four, are there health risks involved with drastically changing your lifestyle? In many cases there are. I’ve had several people come to me and tell me that they ended up with high cholesterol after jumping on a high fat “keto” diet. I’ve had others tell me they were hospitalized from taking supplements that were recommended from a Facebook diet “guru”. I’m going to be honest with you it’s not worth risking your health to look a certain way. Because if you get seriously ill or injured you are only only going to be farther away from the goals you originally set for yourself.
If you’ve read my previous blog posts you know that I’m an advocate for lifestyle modification in small doses which leads to big changes. I recommend “pulling a few weeds” here and there to clean up your diet, instead of uprooting your entire lifestyle. Making small changes each day is really what leads to success. Imagine if you ate one less “bad” food per week? Over a year how much would that add up? What about 10 years? Now imagine doing that and then adding another good habit. How much farther along would you be? IT ALL ADDS UP! Now, is doing that going to provide FAST, INSANE, AMAZING results overnight? No, it won’t and maybe that doesn’t get you excited. However, it will provide sustainability, long term progress, and BIG changes in the long run.
Everyone these days wants crazy results right now. But, for most of us that type of progress is not in the cards. We have obligations, cravings, setbacks. It’s ok, you don’t have to lose 20lbs by tomorrow. You just have to get a little better everyday. Slowly getting better and forging new habits is the key to long term success. Do you want to look good for one day or the rest of your life? Do you want to constantly battle with up and down weight gain and loss or just learn how to control your portion sizing? The choice is yours, but I will tell you in my experience it is those who are in if for the long haul that are the happiest and the most successful. I hope you all enjoyed this post and remember, it’s not about being your best all the time it’s about slowly making better decisions that will create a better you. STAY STRONG!