DIETS ARE STUPID

So we live in a day where there's more diets, magazines, websites, exercise equipment, and even apps than ever. Yet the nation is more obese than it's ever been. Hmmm, maybe it just all comes down to proper eating and exercise?

Out of all the people that start a diet only about 5% of them actually get any results. But the results don't last long. Why? Well, let's think about it.

What's a diet? A temporary thing where you take a drastic cut in calorie intake.

Basically starving yourself. What happens when you starve yourself? You go into starvation mode.

What does starvation mode do? It slows your metabolism as to not burn too many calories and keep you alive.

Why is it so worried about keeping you alive? Because your body doesn't know you're trying fit into some skinny jeans for a high school reunion.

Your body thinks that it's still caveman days and doesn't know when the next meal is coming. So it slows calorie burning to keep you alive longer. Rationing out your calories, holding onto your fat.

What it also does is burn off your muscle for more fuel. Meaning that in addition to having less tone and firmness to your body, you also have less muscle to burn your fat.


Muscle burns your fat, because muscle is high maintenance and need a lot of calories to exist. So muscle is constantly burning your calories like a furnace burning coal. So while you're driving, watching TV, reading, sleeping, muscle is always burning calories.

Which means....drum roll....the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, meaning you get a better metabolism. Getting to eat more, and not have to do as much cardio. That's a Win-Win.

If you lose this muscle you will lose a lot weight, but it's not the weight you want to lose.

When people lose weight quickly most of it is either water or muscle, so it's not good.

After the diet is done and the weight loss is achieved what now? That means one of 2 things

1) Time to gorge and give into those cravings.
or
2) Back to business as usual.

Either way you're metabolism is now worse than it ever was.

So now the result of those two is...

1) Of course it's bad, but it's now with a damaged metabolism so it's even worse.
2) You now are worse than you originally started, you now gain even more weight than you used to when you ate the way you did.

But people do this all the time. Ever notice someone lose weight then gain it back even worse?

Then they repeatably do it over and over again, getting worse and worse. This is what they call the YoYo Effect.

Make a small cut in the amount of calories you eat, and burn the rest off with exercise.

Yeah, that's the answer. I could go into more detail and I will...NEXT BLOG.

For now, just do what I said and eleminate this bad habit of "weight loss".

MEAL IDEAS

Breakfast 
Turkey Bacon
English Muffin

Snack
Peanut Butter
Apple Slices

Lunch
Grilled Chicken Salad

This Week's Tip:
What are some healthy foods you actually ENJOY eating. Start replacing the food's you eat with healthy alternatives. Sounds simple and obvious, but have you done it yet? Lucky Charms<Oatmeal, Hamburger<Turkey Burger,  Microwave Buttered Pocporn<Air Popped Poporn, French Fries<Sweet Potato Fries.

So if you've been reading this blog at all you know what you have to do.

Hell, you've always known at least that you need to eat better and exercise more.


But why do you not do it?

It's not for lack of information, but lack of motivation.


At the risk of coming off like some kind of self help guru I'm going to tell you a lot of things that involve self improvement and self worth so bare with me. Because it's necessary.


Change isn't easy. You've basically established who you are and always will be at the age of 7. There was even a documentary about this where a filmmaker recorded many several children at 7 and returns every 7 years to see how they've developed. All of them retaining the same traits they had as children.


So if anyone wants to have a complete reprograming of oneself, then there is a lot more necessary then just a few tips on how to hold a dumbbell. You're going to have focus, visualize, and sacrifice a lot of things to make this improvement. But if you truly desire this change, then it will happen. But first hang on let me get off my high horse.


So for most of you going to the gym is tough. You have to drag yourself there.

I've got plenty of clients that used to be that way. Guess, what though after you force yourself to do something long enough it becomes a habit.

Meaning you've formed a good habit. Sub-consciously you're driven to have a routine of something actually positive.

Going to the gym and eating right should be like brushing your teeth. Granted you brush your teeth a lot.

I know people who could barely drag themselves to the gym when they first started, now go crazy if they can't get to the gym.

You're not in control, your subconsious is.

99% of what you do is habit. Think about it. Check your facebook, eat the same foods, go to sleep the same time, do the same things.

Change it up!

You need to make goals, and don't make some wimpy small goals. Think big.

Small is boring and uninspiring.

Make an end goal. What you ulitmately want. To win a figure competition, or look like a celebrity.
12 Month goal. A big milestone. Be down to 13% body fat.
3 Month goal.  Smaller goal but adds up big. Lose 5% Body Fat.
Weekly goal. Weekly check up on how you're doing. Measure yourself to see how you're doing.
Daily goal. Habitual things. Work out, count calories, drink lot's of water, go to sleep on time.

Make deadlines too. REALISTIC ONES. So you don't break yourself.

It's good to have a great end goal, but don't focus on it too much or you'll get discouraged. See the forrest for the trees. Keep meeting those deadlines and feel great about it.

Remind yourself of all the small accomplishments you've achieved to keep fueling you.

What are some things you've done in your past you wouldn't think you could've done, but you did. Exactly, you can do this as well.

Also what's important about this goal, and why is it important?

You want to date more, tired of getting turned down. Must not be that tired because you haven't done anything yet. Actions speak louder than words.


Is that pizza and beer worth your current body?


Or is an hour of working out that time consuming?


Health reasons? Want to keep up with your friends or even your kids? Want to go to the pool without wearing a shirt?

When you add an emotion to your drive you will physicalize that part of your dream.

Also, only dwell on what you want. Not on what you want to avoid.

Don't think about how you might fail, how you could waste time, how you don't want to eat bad.

Focus on how you'll eat healthy food that you actually enjoy, how you're going to make a huge transformation.

Negative people and thoughts. When you first start this life change, there will be people who won't like this. They won't tell you this outright, but they'll not be supportive and put their own guilt and doubts unto you. I've had clients who have made vast improvements in their life but hear negative comments by people all the time. "You're getting too skinny". "You're getting too obsessive, you need to just eat what you want every now and then".

If someone is working so hard to make an improvement in their life, why would you want to make that path even harder? These are the people you need to avoid. Sorry to say, some of them will be family and friends of yours.

Even if you don't think you can, believe you can anyway. We've all heard if you tell you're self a lie enough times you believe it, well it's true.


When writing and reciting your affirmations always make sure they're present tense. If they're future tense, as in something you will be doing, then you always will eventually be doing it but never doing it. Keep saying it until you believe you've done it. When you're already there in mindset, then there's no reason to ever doubt yourself.

I AM IN GREAT SHAPE.
I WORKOUT AN HOUR A DAY PROPERLY.
I HAVE MADE  A LOT OF PROGRESS IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.
I PORTION MY FOOD CORRECTLY.

Always reflect on your past accomplishments for even more motivation.

Make sure to compare yourself to others if want a life of misery.

Visualize in your mind you doing what you're setting out to do. Visualize you succeeding in your goals. Visualize the life you want to live.

Don't visualize mistakes you could make, or you failing. No point in that. That's doubting.

The question is: Will you write your a goals list, will you visualize yourself succeeding, will you recite your affirmations or even less write them out.

The answer for most of you will be no. For those that do heed this advice, a smaller percentage will actually follow through and stay consistent with this. But if only 2% of the people that read this have their lives change, then this post had made a larger impact than a Rocky Montage.


Let me know if you've taken any steps toward this, I'm interested in hearing about it.

Steven Farmer
www.atxfitbootcamp.com

This Weeks Tip:  TAKE ACTION NOW AND DO THIS!!!