"If you stay ready, you don't have to get ready."
Unknown
Okay, peeps, this post is going to be short & sweet, so let me get straight to the point. This is gonna' be a little tough love for some of you, but hey, sometimes you need to hear things that you don't necessarily want to hear, so here goes!
You wanna' know what's a pet peeve of mine when it comes to some people and their attitude about health & fitness? Most people refuse to accept the fact that in order to lose weight and/or stay fit, you have to make a LIFESTYLE CHANGE. That's right, I said it, a lifestyle change, not a "diet". The word "diet" is defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as "a : food and drink regularly provided or consumed, b : habitual nourishment, c : the kind and amount of food prescribed for a person or animal for a special reason, d : a regimen of eating and drinking sparingly so as to reduce one's weight." Notice that nowhere in any of those definitions does it mention the word "temporary", but most people have come to believe that a "diet" is a temporary thing and treat it as such. So once their weight loss or fitness goal is met, they go right back to eating and behaving as they did before. 2 or 3 months down the line, all of the weight that they lost has come back, plus more. Does the following sound familiar? A special event comes up, say a friend's wedding, you decide you gotta' lose 10 lbs for that, you lose the weight, off the "diet" you go... you gain 20lbs... it's now June, gotta get beach ready so time to lose the weight again... and the cycle just goes on and on, with you gaining & losing, losing & gaining... it's a vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting with no real end.
My response to all of that foolishness? A saying I heard a few years ago that totally applies: "IF YOU STAY READY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO GET READY." As I said before, this is a lifestyle change. If you make eating healthy and exercising your way of life, you won't have to worry about losing weight for a particular event or time of year, you'll always be ready! Do you know how much pressure & stress that would take off you? I don't mean to sound "holier than thou" because I am in no means not guilty of the "diet" way of thinking at an earlier time in my life, but I now know better, and once you know better you should do better, right? So if you are reading this right now, it's time for you to do better, too! STAY READY!
You wanna' know what's a pet peeve of mine when it comes to some people and their attitude about health & fitness? Most people refuse to accept the fact that in order to lose weight and/or stay fit, you have to make a LIFESTYLE CHANGE. That's right, I said it, a lifestyle change, not a "diet". The word "diet" is defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as "a : food and drink regularly provided or consumed, b : habitual nourishment, c : the kind and amount of food prescribed for a person or animal for a special reason, d : a regimen of eating and drinking sparingly so as to reduce one's weight." Notice that nowhere in any of those definitions does it mention the word "temporary", but most people have come to believe that a "diet" is a temporary thing and treat it as such. So once their weight loss or fitness goal is met, they go right back to eating and behaving as they did before. 2 or 3 months down the line, all of the weight that they lost has come back, plus more. Does the following sound familiar? A special event comes up, say a friend's wedding, you decide you gotta' lose 10 lbs for that, you lose the weight, off the "diet" you go... you gain 20lbs... it's now June, gotta get beach ready so time to lose the weight again... and the cycle just goes on and on, with you gaining & losing, losing & gaining... it's a vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting with no real end.
My response to all of that foolishness? A saying I heard a few years ago that totally applies: "IF YOU STAY READY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO GET READY." As I said before, this is a lifestyle change. If you make eating healthy and exercising your way of life, you won't have to worry about losing weight for a particular event or time of year, you'll always be ready! Do you know how much pressure & stress that would take off you? I don't mean to sound "holier than thou" because I am in no means not guilty of the "diet" way of thinking at an earlier time in my life, but I now know better, and once you know better you should do better, right? So if you are reading this right now, it's time for you to do better, too! STAY READY!
You need to post this everyday until everybody gets it.
ReplyDeleteI hear it everyday. I need to lose 10 lbs by this date. Side Eye. Then someone will post how much they weigh everyday. A slave to the scale is a no no. That's like bench pressing and getting in the mirror to see the results. There is no instant gratificaation here. Be patient, yet consistent.
I bite my tongue a lot on Facebook because I don't wanna cause a lot of friction. But when you tell me it took you 1 hour and 40 minutes to walk 5 miles, I could think of a lot more you could have done in 30 minutes and had a more effective workout. So some people aren't working out at all and that is your primary focus. However there are some that are just going through the motions wasting valuable time. To have an effective walk it should be 15 minute miles meaning at 1 hour and 15 minutes it should have been over. So maybe you can post a blog about faking the funk, Don't cheat your body, etc. Soja1
LOL @ the side eye after "i need to lose 10lbs by this date", KB. :) I always give 'em a side eye, too, although, like you, I bite my tongue, but I'm thinking, 10lbs is not an easy amount to lose and now you're giving yourself x amount of weeks to lose it? Come on! That kinda stuff is what inspired this whole post. People wait until the last minute and expect results to be instant, it doesn't work that way. I've been dedicated to this since 2007 (that's 5 years) and I'm still improving my body but having work yet to do, but you wanna' lose 10lbs and look awesome in 4 weeks?!?! Okay...
DeleteThanks for your response and I'm glad someone feels me on this.
Morning JB. Yes I do feel you on this one. It takes years to master the lifestyle change. If you have a good personal trainer, it might take about 2 years to get competition ready.
ReplyDeleteI spent about 15 of my 20 years in the Army on and off the overweight program. I had to weigh in every month and have my body fat measured. So I would eat whatever I wanted all month and take a laxative the night before the weigh-in. Duh!! You name it, Keith has tried it. Like you stated, it took you 5 years and you are still improving. It wasn't long ago when I decided to stop getting on the scale. If my pants get too tight, I need to step it up. If I can't see my toes while standing, "Houston we have a problem." But even though we do all this for ourselves, I have to admit that I love the compliments from family and friends. Especially those who knew me when I was a FAT DUDE. I am self motivated and self disciplined to workout and eat clean regardless, but I have to admit that helping others, and the push I get from the you and others is what puts the icing on the cake.
I agree completely! I love the compliments! But I also love encouraging others because I know how it feels to be "the fat one", lol! Thanks KB! :)
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