I get to spend a lot of time talking to members at the club and as such I hear all sorts of interesting ideas on fitness. One of things I find most interesting about some of the people that I get to talk with is the individual differences there are in their lifestyles and respective bodies. I know people who eat whatever they want and workout, and as a result they look great. I know people that eat whatever they want and work out, and as a result they look not as good as they want and never seem to change. I know people that work their selves to the bone, try and eat what they think is an appropriate diet and still struggle to make the littlest amount of change. I know that don't work out much, don't eat right, and as a result look that way. And of course I know people that don't have a clue about what to do, don't really watch what they eat, and still look just fine. All of the variations in different people can most likely be attributed to genetics and a bunch of other factors related to lifestyle that I can't get into because I can't give all the information I need to here. Point is, people are different. As such, people need different approaches to reach their goals. I said to a client the other day, "It is really simple - you do X amount of work and take in X amount of the right type of calories and you have no choice but to lose weight". But of course, even though I was trying to put things in perspective for that client, it never seems quite that simple.
So what does all this mean to someone reading this (assuming that someone else is reading this besides me and I am not rambling to myself???)? It means that we have to quest to find what works for us each individually. Most likely you fall into the category of struggle with diet and struggle with workouts. If you don't and you happen to be one of those people who has found results through your efforts, then kudos to you. However, if you are the person that needs guidance and direction, start thinking about what truly works for YOU. Now - the most important thing to consider to determine this, you need to get a little scientific. What I mean is that you need to take a look at the variables in your life that you can manipulate. Things like what you eat, how much you eat, what sort of training you do and how much of it you do are all very important variables to consider. By looking at each of those individually and thinking about what you are currently doing - then thinking about whether or not that is currently working for you - you can start to think about what changes you may need to make. And not every variable may need to be changed right this moment. Some things you do because they really do work for you and without them, things wouldn't work. (Does that all make sense or I am lost in la la land?) Take an individual who is struggling to lose weight, get to the gym enough, work out effectively and eat right. So I take those variables and break them down. How much exercise seems doable right now ... and what are you currently doing ... how is that working out for you??? (Dr. Phil anyone?) Then I take a look at diet. What are you currently eating, what changes could you make, etc. etc. Some things may not work for you. For instance if you know that in the past you have done hours of cardio a day with little change, then you may need to consider that sort of cardio just doesn't work for you. What other sorts of cardio does your body respond to? If you have tried low carb or low fat diets and they have had mixed results not only in how your body responded but also in how you felt while on them and whether or not you wanted to continue ... then again ask, what works best for you. I know all this seems ambiguous and that is because there are so many variables that can be manipulated in so many different ways that to comment on them all would take a book. My thoughts are though, after talking with different folks and hearing all of the things that work and don't work for people, it really strikes me as important to take some time and really think about/meditate on/write out or whatever ... what works for you?
Finally, I am always struck by some of the people that I seem in the gym consistently that have everything clicking and really seem to have found what works for them. What I often find is most consistent amongst the people that have found that is they are strong in the following areas:
Consistency
Effortlessness (not in effort that is put out but effort it takes to muster up the energy to make them do what they have to do)
Schedule
Routine
Discipline
Contentment
Take those words for what they mean and think about that next time you are thinking about what will work for you.
Andy
1 comment:
Great post Andy! You are so right--there is no magic formula that will work for everyone. We each have to discover what works for us, and then stick with it.
Anyone who expects occasional healthy eating and exercise to produce results is living in a dream world. Healthy eating and exercise can only produce results when they become habits. They have to become part of our life to improve our life.
It's been said that it takes 21 days to form a habit, and that's exactly what we have to do: make healthy eating and exercise new habits, a part of our life that we do almost without thinking. This is what worked for me.
EATING: I was able to change my eating habits by writing down everything I ate (yes, everything) for about a month. In the beginning, I was amazed at how much junk I was putting in my body. It shocked me into a mindfulness that I badly needed.
Once I started an eating journal, it was easy to estimate my total calorie intake. Again, I was shocked to find that I was eating 4,000 to 5,000 calories a day! No wonder the pounds were piling on.
Keeping a food journal for that first month or so made me more mindful of what I was eating, and as a result of that, I tended to eat less (and make healthier food choices), and as a result of that, I started to lose weight. Nothing motivates like success!
EXERCISE: There is no surer way to fail at an exercise program than to try to do too much too soon (voice of experience here), so when I started my "exercise program," I made it intentionally easy. I realized that, for me, the important thing was not so much doing actual exercise, but rather learning how to set aside time each day for exercise.
I started with 30 minutes a day, for walking. No weights, no equipment, no health club, just 30 minutes of me, my walking shoes, and the pavement. By doing this for a month, exercise became a part of my routine. And in doing regular exercise at the same time my eating habits were improving, the results were even more dramatic.
Over time, my walking turned into alternating days of weight and cardio workouts. These were easy to phase in slowly, just a matter of filling my exercise time with something different.
You really hit the nail on the head at the end of your post, Andy. Our best hope for success comes through consistency. It worked for me.
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