The Journey To a Healthy Body and Lifestyle: Romance vs Reality
About A 6 Minute Read
So, there’s this great new diet that will help you lose a bunch of weight, keep it off for good, without exercising or giving up the foods you love! How amazing would that be? Or what about that machine that you hook up to your abs while you watch TV and enjoy your favourite snacks, and you still end up with 6-pack abs in about a month? And let’s not forget the newest celebrity diet that will have you looking like Beyonce or Jennifer Aniston, or Ryan Gosling or Hugh Jackman, inside a few short weeks, and all you have to do is take this magic supplement!
There seems to be such a disconnect when we talk about the reality of weight management, practicing healthy habits, and creating a sustainable healthy lifestyle. I mean, I get it - we’re all busy, and we all want instant gratification. Trust me, I was a serial dieter for most of my life, so I’ve been there more times than I care to admit. But sooner or later we have to face reality. None of that stuff works.
We can’t get the body we want or the healthy lifestyle we desire, or the sculpted muscles we dream about unless we Do The Work. Unfortunately, there’s no other way. If there was, the diet industry wouldn’t be pulling down over $700 Billion a year, a lot of which comes from repeat customers.
Why am I telling you this? Because this time of year the new year’s resolutions are long-since abandoned, and new products are coming up on your social media feeds. The TV is packed with people telling you how easy it was to follow the diet they’ve been on, and all you need to do is buy their special food or supplement or simply replace 2 meals a day with their special shakes. Reminders that spring is just around the corner and you want to get your “Swimsuit Body” ready for summer, so just join this workout program and we’ll have you sculpted in just a couple of months!
It all sounds great, doesn’t it? Oh, all I have to do is this one thing and I’ll have the body of a magazine cover model! It’s a very romantic notion, but it’s simply not reality. They are lying to you. There is no product or exercise program that will do it all for you. And most of those programs require a large investment of both time and money, complicated exercise routines and diet plans, and special foods that you may not even like. The bottom line is that each of those programs puts you in a calorie deficit and that’s what it takes to lose weight. BUT…
The path to managing your weight is never a straight one. The path to managing your weight and establishing healthy habits isn’t romantic. And sometimes it’s really f*cking hard. If you want to build a body you love living in and the lifestyle that will maintain it, there really is only one way. You have to do the work. Period. So, now that I’ve put that out there, what is the work?
Patience is a requirement for success, in general as well as with yourself. There is no such thing as a quick fix.
A slight calorie deficit, maintained consistently, is the only way you will lose weight consistently. (I say slight because any more is unrealistic and unsustainable.)
There is no one-size-fits-all diet. Buying into a specific diet or exercise program, especially if it requires special products or eliminates entire food groups, is more like joining a cult, and is not sustainable for the long term (aka, the rest of your life).
Carbs are not your enemy.
Sugar is not your enemy.
When your health is important to you, you will find the time to do what’s needed.
Non-negotiable elements of a healthy life include restful sleep, daily movement or exercise, healthy meal planning and meal prep, hydration, and stress management.
If you think you can maintain a healthy lifestyle without consistently including everything in the list above, your expectations are not realistic.
If you want to reduce your weight, remember that you can’t lose weight forever. If you want to maintain weight loss and live a healthy lifestyle, it will be critical to learn the habits and practices that will sustain it as you go along. That way when you reach your goals, you’ll already know how to maintain them.
Your favourite foods have a place in a healthy diet and lifestyle, and you can learn how and when to include them so as not to disrupt or derail your progress.
Getting results is absolutely not possible if you’re not willing to put in the effort it takes.
You are 100% responsible for your health.
I could go on, but you get the point. Too much tough love? Sorry, here’s a hug.
As I mentioned in the list above, you can’t stay on a diet forever. I may sound like a broken record, but I’ll shout it from the rooftops if I have to in order to help you understand it right down to your very core. In order to make lasting, sustainable change, you have to change your habits. Gradually. In a way that fits with your life. Why? Because you didn’t gain weight or get out of shape overnight. As a result, you are not going to lose weight or change your body overnight either. Some of us have been struggling with this stuff for nearly a lifetime, so it’s going to take time to change it.
Change is hard. Really, really hard in some cases.
Why am I taking such a hard tone with this post? Because I’m frustrated. Angry. Troubled. There are so many snake oil sellers, diet gurus, and companies out there providing unrealistic promises, unscientific approaches, and in some cases, potentially harmful information. I talk to people all the time who tell me that they’d like to try coaching, but they don’t think they can afford it. Even though they’re planning to spend - or have already spent - hundreds, or even thousands of dollars on magic pills, powders, and potions that don’t work. It just destroys me to watch people fail over and over again when I know that the answer for them is simple and straightforward. It simply requires them to do the work. But you can’t force anyone to do anything, and that’s certainly not what I’m about. So I wait here, prepared, willing, and able to help when they finally decide they are ready.
Changing your body and your health isn’t a glamorous process. The people you see in the real-life “after” photos didn’t get there overnight, and in some cases, it has taken them years of hard effort and uncompromising focus to get there. Exercise is great and an important part of getting healthy, but YOU CAN’T OUTRUN YOUR FORK. Changing your body and your health requires learning and practicing basic nutrition and good eating habits consistently. It starts with mindset work that requires practice. No, it’s not flashy, and yes, it’s hard. But it’s a whole lot better than staying on that hamster wheel and getting more and more frustrated as you try over and over again without finding a way to make it “stick.”
You deserve to be healthy and fit and full of energy. You are absolutely worth the effort it takes to get there. Don’t ever let anyone tell you you’re not - especially yourself. If you need support, someone to believe in you, someone to help guide you along the process, then get the coaching you need. Just be picky about who you choose. Check their credentials. Get to know them. Find someone you “click” with, who will be compassionate, non-judgmental, supportive, and who will help hold you accountable to yourself. You are an amazing person, an elite human being, and I wish you the best, most vibrant life you can create. You have many gifts to offer, and the world is waiting for you.
Have a health of a day,
Juli