There are thousands of gyms, diet plans and weight loss products out there in the market today. Yet, we see people struggling to lead healthy and fit lives. Obviously, there are multiple reasons for this. From incorrect information to inferior products to lack of motivation to genetic predispositions, we all have a multitude of factors that are keeping us from optimal health and peak fitness. One such factor is the very way we approach health and fitness. Let me explain.
We are made to think that health and fitness are critical only when it is absolutely necessary. And as a result, we don’t even think about fitness until it is time, i.e. cholesterol levels shoot up, diabetes creeps its way in, bodyweight enters three digits or when someone insults you about your looks or capabilities. But in reality, health and fitness are markers that constantly define well-being and hence are those things you need to keep an eye out for, always. Kind of like your bank balance – no need to wait till you’re bankrupt to start working.
Say you’re given the world’s most effective nutrition and training plan. Of course, it is going to be one that is extremely hard to follow. But let’s say you somehow stuck to the program. And in about three months you ended up losing all the fat you needed to lose and look and feel the best you ever have in your life. Now what? Mission accomplished? All the hard work is done and now you can go back to eating and living the way you always did? Unfortunately, no.
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The thing with the human body is that it is a dynamic system. It changes, ages, lives and dies every second. Anything you do to it at any point of time, good or bad, has an effect on it. It may be small enough for you to not notice but it is being affected. The result of three months on that ‘world’s most effective plan’ is what you see today – looking and feeling like you never have before. But the moment you stop following the plan, your body is being affected differently and is taking a new path. Another three months from today, you will look, feel and be the result of your activities over the last three months.
So if you went back to living like you did before, you will be well on your way to looking and feeling as unfit as you always did. But life will feel easier than the last few months. If you stuck to the super hard yet effective plan, then you will continue to enjoy the results. But life will continue to feel restricted. If you found a happy intermediate zone that will let you eat a little more freely and as a result, compromise your health and fitness but only by an acceptable amount, then you’ll still look and feel pretty good but you’ll also get a little more wiggle room wit regard to food and lifestyle.
No matter who you are or what you do, eating well and staying active for life are requirements for well-being. You can’t get on a program for a few months and resign for life. You can’t somehow get rid of a few pounds of fat and go back to living like a teenager. You can’t give up because you couldn’t find the magic pill. However, you can find a form of fitness that you enjoy. You can do some groundwork and understand how to make food healthful and enjoyable. You can spend the rest of your life keeping fit by making fitness an enjoyable part of your life.
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