What " dedication" really means

HungryasFuark
HungryasFuark Posts: 463 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm wrtting this post to alert people that are yo yo dieting and training without noticing after seeing some people in my gym that are always there pushing it really hard and with extreme dedication and drive but still looking the same or constantly going up down in a matter of probably weeks , months or even fully rebounding ( my gym is small so everyone recognizes the other ) you probably notice the same in your gym

After speaking with some of them the reason for this was pretty obvious their mentality towards dieting and working out is great the dedication and drive is definitely there BUT there mentality about their plans is really really bad without going into details there mentality was like if I didn't burn my self out ( how i c it and how it simply is ) If I don't hit the gym hard and diet harder ( how they c it ) I ain't dedicated enough or the weight won't come off and If I fell off track I'm gonna go crazy on the weights and cardio

Now this mentailty is fantastic ( some of it ) on the short run and if done right ( think prepping for a bodybuilding show ) but when u Prep for a show , photoshoot or whatever a period of gorging on carbs and fats is also planned to balance it out .

That prepping for a show , working hard and dieting harder mentality was their plan on the long run thinking that this is "Dedication" which is absolutely not and was the cause for looking the same or constantly going up and down and even rebounding

I also had this problem for a while , I guess most of us did ,anyways if u are reading this and u have the same problem that's how u solve it ..Dedication is not hitting the gym as much as you could and not dieting as hard as you can sure that's part of it but not the whole process the real dedication is smart planing your long term fitness plan and patience for weight loss , muscle gain or maintenance that's the real dedication test of fitness not the hours of weight pounding and endless cardio and intense strict dieting .

I'm talking about sustaining ur hard work If u find your self pushing it really hard and then messing it up with either food or complete lack of activity or both and then blaming it on your low will power or dedication then get back crazier then ever then messing it up again you should stop and revaluate what u are doing it's not that you are not dedicated , lazy or that you slipped off its because you are simply overdoing it and not doing it the smart way , it really should be fun and exciting every day for you to follow your fitness goals because that's how it should be for a normal person that just wants to get In good shape and most importantly you should be gradually improving not going way up then down sure even if done right and smart there will be struggles and setbacks etc but 1 , 3 , 5 or even 20 times is ok but being like this all the time is simply wasting your time and and definitely not dedication.

Please try to avoid the following

Long cardio( 1 hr plus ) and weight training + intense calories or macros restriction

Hitting the gym or being crazy active everyday

Long term all in strict mentality ,be flexible with dieting and training

Intense long sessions to make up for extra calories consumed

Feeling completely drained and tired from the gym through ur day and at the gym

Yo yo dieting and training if u are yo yoing it's simply just a bad fitness plan and not a lack of dedication or intensity .

Hope this helped , cheers and good luck ! :)












Replies

  • HungryasFuark
    HungryasFuark Posts: 463 Member
    trigden1991 wrote: »
    HungryasFuark wrote: »

    Long cardio( 1 hr plus ) and weight training + intense calories or macros restriction

    Hitting the gym or being crazy active everyday

    Long term all in strict mentality ,be flexible with dieting and training

    Intense long sessions to make up for extra calories consumed

    The first bit was an interesting read but I categorically disagree with the above points. There is nothing detrimental about them, as long as you know what you are doing. I am "guilty" of all of the above and see no negative impact on my health, life or progress to my body.

    Yes true I completely agree with u but I think you are missing my point every advice or tip I'm giving in my post is about long term sustainability and for avoiding yoyoing sure if people can do all the above in a sustained way like u said then it is a long term successful fitness plan but some people don't think about it this way they take it as I'm Intense and really dedicated kinda way without having the required knowledge or experience or fitness level to sustain it yet they do it again when they fail because they think it was just a lack of dedication and not planning and they try to sustain it and it does result in constant fluctuations and failures get my point ?

  • HungryasFuark
    HungryasFuark Posts: 463 Member
    ChelseaHeights wrote: »
    Some people like being "crazy active" everyday. Not everyone in working out just for weight loss. I find exercise to be a great stress reliever. I do agree with your take on the all or nothing thinking.

    Crazy active to the point of being drained and tired in and out the gym thinking that's the way to go that was my point :)

  • BoxerBrawler
    BoxerBrawler Posts: 2,032 Member
    I agree with your point of view, if it's what works for you. For me, crazy intense crazy active weights plus cardio plus cross fit, boxing, running, challenges and restriction is what works for me. And it's worked for over 5 years and no I haven't crashed and burned and I haven't damaged my metabolism like many people warned me about in the very beginning. Real dedication is finding what works for you and doing it, everyday, no matter what people say about it. Real dedication is telling people they just have to wait or plan things for a different time because your workout routine is a priority over everything else. Real dedication is getting your *kitten* to the gym and giving it a thousand percent on the days where you just want to stay in bed. Real dedication is ordering a healthy meal while everyone else is ordering calorie laden foods. Real dedication is having fruit for desert when everyone is having cake and real dedication is knowing, not just saying, that it's a life-style and not a diet.

    Initially working out for weight loss is ok, especially if one has a lot of weight to lose. I think everyone does that in the beginning. But over the years people learn to work out for performance and skills. I mean let's face it, anyone can lose weight without exercise. The exercise is the bonus. When it comes to long term sustainability you have to look at the nutrition plan.
  • rightoncommander
    rightoncommander Posts: 114 Member
    On the eating side, I totally agree that insanely restrictive regimes are extremely unlikely to be sustainable, and are therefore self-defeating.

    On the exercise side, there's good and bad in what you said. Going to the gym already drained is a definite red flag, as are "punishment" sessions for eating something "bad". Just claw those calories back over the next few days, no need to beat yourself up and possibly risk injury through over-training.

    But cardio sessions over an hour and going to the gym every day are not danger signs. Maybe they would be for you, but not everyone. I wouldn't be seen dead in a gym, but I do "dangerous" 1hr+ cardio sessions 4 times a week. I've been exercising 6-8 times a week for 3 years now, so I'd call that sustainable.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    I do an long hour cardio (with warmup and cool down) and lift on the same day 4 days a week for about an hour.. I have dual goals, I guess I am on the crazy side. Saturday's are also spent doing two hours of long duration cardio as well..

    If I am fatigued, I slow down, cut back or alter the plan.. If exercise ever becomes punishment, I am sure motivation and lack there of will take care of that as well.

    My best advice is follow what works for you, sometimes you have to try it out before you deem its not something you can do.

    I am on the eating side of this too.. Fuel is king.. can't perform all that I do without it..

  • HungryasFuark
    HungryasFuark Posts: 463 Member
    rightoncommander wrote: »
    On the eating side, I totally agree that insanely restrictive regimes are extremely unlikely to be sustainable, and are therefore self-defeating.

    On the exercise side, there's good and bad in what you said. Going to the gym already drained is a definite red flag, as are "punishment" sessions for eating something "bad". Just claw those calories back over the next few days, no need to beat yourself up and possibly risk injury through over-training.

    But cardio sessions over an hour and going to the gym every day are not danger signs. Maybe they would be for you, but not everyone. I wouldn't be seen dead in a gym, but I do "dangerous" 1hr+ cardio sessions 4 times a week. I've been exercising 6-8 times a week for 3 years now, so I'd call that sustainable.

    Yep and ur diet is healthy and u can sustain it ! :) long Cardio sessions over an hour and ON A HUGE restriction is what I wrote to be avoided

  • HungryasFuark
    HungryasFuark Posts: 463 Member
    RoxieDawn wrote: »
    I do an long hour cardio (with warmup and cool down) and lift on the same day 4 days a week for about an hour.. I have dual goals, I guess I am on the crazy side. Saturday's are also spent doing two hours of long duration cardio as well..

    If I am fatigued, I slow down, cut back or alter the plan.. If exercise ever becomes punishment, I am sure motivation and lack there of will take care of that as well.

    My best advice is follow what works for you, sometimes you have to try it out before you deem its not something you can do.

    I am on the eating side of this too.. Fuel is king.. can't perform all that I do without it..

    Im by no means against long cardio lol I'm into long distance running all my life even have some Prs but what is said is crazy activity to the point of being tired and drained and about long cardio ON A BIG deficit which a lot of people think it's the right way since it does change ur body in just a couple of days lol only to crash either mentally or physically and compensate by over eating it not moving or binging then compensating by excercise etcc

  • laurens47
    laurens47 Posts: 117 Member
    OP-- I can add this as a personal perspective to coincide with your post/attempt.

    I lost my first 40 lbs with diet alone (bc that's all you need to lose weight in the first place). I was a yo-yo dieter most of my life and frankly, I had to make up my mind to not go in "this" time with all these crazy goals or plans. I just created a calorie deficit, got my eating under control and worked on the underlying issues that caused my over eating. Food wasn't the problem, I was. I actually set up to lose only a pound a week, even though I could've lost more given how much I had to lose. After I felt that I was in control of my eating habits, or even lack there of, and it was now my life-style, that's when I added in a workout plan. I started out just adding cardiovascular based workouts. After I lost another 20 lbs, I decided to start weight training. That's when I found what I loved.

    5 years later, I still have the weight off and I now look at diets/fitness completely different...but most of all, I see myself differently.

    I understand what you are trying to explain to people. Unfortunately, information is subjective.

    I look like a crazy woman in the gym now-a-days. I carb cycle, I can do extreme measures with my diet, but I am psychology aware of myself and how to complete those extremes with care and precision. Experience.

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