Diet “quick-fixes” are a pretty common aspect of the fitness world. Everyone wants to have a great body, but they don’t always have the motivation or desire to put in the work. So they think some Hydroxycut or wrap bullsh*t is going to give them the body of their dreams. I’m not making fun of those people. Don’t get me wrong; I bought my fair share of money-wasting products when I first started working out. I wanted it to be easy, too. That leads me to what I’ve learned is the best kept “secret” of the fitness industry.
Flashback to four years ago: summertime 2013. I was 22 years old. (Wait… that can’t be right. I was definitely younger.) I started my “fitness journey” roughly one year prior (2012), and I typically worked hard in the gym. Sometimes I’d go in there and mess around, or my workouts weren’t super intense simply because I was not yet aware what I was and am capable. On the other hand, my food intake was… sporadic. I’d do so well all day eating my fruits, veggies, complex carbs, and lean proteins. And then it was dinner time. And so I ate a lot of food: pizza, burgers, chips, you name it. I wouldn’t really call it binge eating because it was controllable. I just knew I’d worked hard, so I wanted to eat some food! I earned it, and I was hungry. I sometimes ate “good foods” for dinner, too. I also bought fat burners because I loved to waste my money.
Flash forward to present day: summertime 2017. I am 26 years old (I’m probably just going to stay 26 forever – still need to figure out how). I go to the gym almost every day. I eat my prepped meals the vast majority of the time. I take vitamins. I look completely different than I did three years ago.
The biggest fitness secret? Are you ready? Consistency. That’s right. Reliable, boring consistency.
The biggest difference between my “before and after” story is just that: consistency. I thought I was working hard and being consistent years ago, but if anyone offered me a margarita, I ALWAYS accepted. If anyone wanted to go out to eat, I assumed my diet for that meal was trashed before I even got to the restaurant. If a friend wanted to hang out in the evening (my regular gym time), I simply didn’t have time for the gym that day. I did work hard in the gym. I did eat well. I just didn’t do these things in a regular manner.
Consistency can be boring. Consistency can be tiring. Hell – the other night I dreaded going to the gym. I’d already been up at the crack of dawn to do cardio, meal prepped, worked eight hours, and got home around eight PM. I sat on the couch & debated simply staying there and hanging out with Jim & Pam (any Office fans?). Then I made myself consider a few things:
- There are a million thousand hundred tons (I love a good hyperbole; it’s fine) of people out there who are busier than me.
- Consistency not intensity.
I didn’t have the energy for a goal-crushing, life-changing workout, but I had the energy for a workout. So I got off the couch and went.
That’s what you have to do to truly make a change in your physical appearance. GO & be consistent. You don’t have to kill it every time. You don’t have to make yourself so sore you can barely walk the next day every time. You just have to get yourself there (all together now) every time.
You’ve got this 🙂
Always,
