In today’s world of perfect Instagram pictures, Facebook profiles, and Snap Chat filters; it is easy to think that everyone and their mother have six-pack abs and booty goals (I think a hashtag belongs in there somewhere). It is hard to not get sucked into the distinction that there are a lot of perfect 10’s in the world, and you are just sliding the scale from a one to a number one with cheese. Well people, we are here to tell you that you are 100% correct (I’ll bet you that you didn’t see that coming)!
There are a lot of amazing bodies and super attractive people in this world. Unfortunately, for most of us with “normal” bodies, and “normal” body goals, the constant reminder that there are people with Greek God-like genetics out there is greater today than any other time in history. We’re here to spit some truth… no one actually cares about a perfect body! Actually, that’s a lie, the people who have them think it matters. However, to everyone else- all a perfect body is, is an unrealistic ideal that makes absolutely no difference in how healthy, happy, or sexy you are. It’s time to GET OVER IT!
This may seem like a cliche statement or one that is equivalent to the participation trophy, but in our opinion sexy means someone who isn’t trying to be perfect. Someone who is confident enough to work on and embrace their “imperfections,” as opposed to trying to look perfect in an Instagram picture. The problem doesn’t lie with our pursuit of perfection, the problem lies with what we feel perfection is.
Whenever we meet with someone new, we have what is called a strategy session. During this time we talk about all of their goals, and we start to develop a plan to reach those goals. What we have found is that most people have goals that revolve around losing weight, and how they look. Great! However, having an unrealistic view of what that looks like is detrimental to not only goal setting, but goal success rate.
Step 1: Get Over It
All too often we harp on the fact that we aren’t “perfect.” If perfection is what you are seeking, perfection is what you will find… in everyone else. We let this concept of perfection reroute our goals to an ideal that can never be fulfilled. The moment we stop searching for the “perfect body,” is the moment that the paradigm shifts to a more positive approach. The only way to truly succeed is to stay positive. Chasing goals and dreams is inevitably hard, but becomes impossible when we have an idea that is not practical. Stop searching for perfection, stop comparing yourself to that “perfect” model, and start seeing how PERFECT you truly are. It’s time to get over your self-conscience image, and start loving yourself for taking steps to make a positive change!
Step 2: Smile
Fitness is hard, there is no doubt about that. However, we make it harder by setting standards that we can’t live up to. When you take the approach that you need to change your entire life to achieve your goals, it is inevitable that you are setting yourself up for failure. Fitness is supposed to be something you enjoy, not dread. You don’t need to hit the gym 7 days a week to see results (unless that is what you enjoy!). The most important change you will make is to always smile. Have fun with your training, have fun with your fitness, have fun during the whole experience and journey!
Step 3: Move A Little More
You don’t need to dread going to the gym to get real results. If going for a walk is your thing, grab the hand of a loved one and go for a walk. If you want to take a hike on a beautiful Sunday morning, leash up your dog and find your favorite trail. If sports are what you enjoy, get together with your buddies and get a pickup game of basketball. Even playing with your kids after school is fitness. The point is to just move more, and move often! Don’t get caught up in the grind of hitting the gym every day. Get outside, do something fun with friends or family, and always remember Step 2… SMILE!!
Step 4: Ignore Trends
Trends are only trends until the next trend becomes a trend. Now that is a tongue twister for you, but it couldn’t be more true. In the four years since we opened our doors, we have seen everything from no-carb diets to high carb diets, from detox teas to multi-level marketing shakes, and we will be the first to tell you that we have had members tried them all. The problem with that last statement is that we have seen them all because none of them were good enough to stick. When something seems too good to be true, it probably is, and that is the problem with all of these “quick fixes.” Health and wellness are not meant to happen in a short period of time. It is supposed to be a lifelong commitment to yourself. Can you make significant changes in a short time? Yes. However, if you want that significant change to impact your life in the long run, you need to establish habits that can be done on a daily basis. Trends don’t equate to habits. There has never been a successful trend or diet. The only way to see real results, in the long run, is to eat a balanced diet, move more, sleep more, and drink enough water. No diet or product has ever yielded long term results.
Step 5: CHEAT!
“If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.” Have you ever heard that statement before? It is meant to be a sarcastic way of justifying cheating, however, we firmly believe in this rule when it comes to your diet. By cheating, we do not mean that you eat “perfect” all week, just to completely over-indulge on a “cheat meal.” There are a couple of problems with that scenario. The rule of the forbidden fruit applies to this “cheat meal” strategy. If you know that you can’t have it, and will only “allow” yourself to have it once a week, only when you’ve been “perfect” all week, it makes the craving and needs for it seem amplified. Let’s use pizza as an example. If you know you are only “allowed” to have pizza on Sunday for lunch, you are going to think about it all week as you eat your chicken, brown rice, and broccoli out of Tupperware in the break room. When Sunday finally comes, instead of eating two slices of pizza, you eat four because you have been thinking about it all week. Since you only allow yourself to eat one cheat meal a week, you now have doubled the amount of what you ate during that one meal.
A better approach would be to allow yourself to eat the things you enjoy whenever you want, in moderation. Now, that doesn’t mean eating pizza every day. However, what it does mean is if your family orders pizza on a random night, we give you permission to have a slice or two. You don’t have to wait until Sunday to have the leftover pizza that your family didn’t eat, because you’re only allowed one cheat meal a week. It will not destroy your results, as long as you make a good decision with your next meal. Always remember that you do not get fat off of one slice of pizza, and you don’t get skinny from eating one salad. Life is to short to cut out the things you enjoy, and it’s not considered cheating if you have a polyamorous relationship with your diet.
