“Why You Will Quit” by Paul Nobles

I read this on FB, posted on a page called Eat to Perform. I thought it had some good insights here.

“Why You Will Quit” by Paul Nobles

We all know somebody who decided to get fit and changed EVERYTHING they were doing. they started working out for hours a day, ate nothing but celery for months and it stuck. It was hell, but that person made it happen. Good for them! But you should know they are an outlier. For every “before and after” you see on the internet, you can pretty much bet that the conditions were right – the photos you end up seeing are taken on the ABSOLUTE best day, with the best lighting available. Wouldn’t you love to see what these people look like 6 months later or 5 years later? Was the result sustainable? Did it stick? Probably not. Let me tell you why it doesn’t for a lot of people.

1. They take exercise to the extreme in the beginning; they push themselves too hard initially without respect for their limitations.

2. They cut calories too aggressively. Let’s say you don’t know how many calories you are eating a day, nor any idea of how much protein, carbs, and fats. Wouldn’t knowing that be a good place to start? Nope. Most people neglect this step. Simply put, a lot of people think they eat much more than they actually are and don’t satisfy their basic requirements. Maybe more importantly, when they start to exercise they don’t account for the additional energy expenditure.

3. They try to do both at the same time. This scenario turns into a train wreck real quick. Let’s face it - when you first start working out again it’s hard; everything hurts and you want to quit. The same can be said when you diet too extremely. It doesn’t take a genius to realize the odds are stacked against you in this scenario.

4. They get hurt. Everyone talks about good form and bad form. Guess what, you can have the best form in the world and still get hurt. This is why I believe you should have some basic idea on how to keep your weight in check and recover from your injury in these scenarios. If you knew you could control your weight without killing yourself in the gym, you would probably be less prone to getting hurt. Let me tell you the dirty little secret about training hard - people get hurt. It’s just part of the deal.

5. The journey becomes shallow. Rather than focusing on doing things they, enjoy people lose focus and start working towards an aesthetic. Whether it’s abs, glutes, legs or arms. All of those are muscles. Too many people want results too fast and believe that eating less will bring them nirvana. I can tell you personally that having to flex to see some glimmer of abs is nowhere near as gratifying as pushing your well developed abs into your weight lifting belt and lifting heavy stuff.

Let’s face it, you have killed yourself working out, you have done every cleanse and detox imaginable and you have eaten as little as humanly possible and none of it has stuck. If you think working out fed for life might work for you so do we.