With so many different gyms, workouts, diets, cleanses, shakes, fitness trackers, books, podcasts, websites, and IG “Fitness experts” constantly shoved in our faces seemingly everywhere we look, there’s a lot of BS when it comes to what really works.
Here are some examples of what you’ve probably heard…..
My friend lost 50lbs from Orange Theory
My friend has terrible knee arthritis from orange theory
My cousin lost 100lbs on Carnivore
My cousin has unresolvable stomach issues from carnivore
Keto is so easy
Keto is literally the hardest thing I’ve ever done
I close my rings everyday no matter what
The rings on my apple watch stress me out more than anything
I want to look like her/him
I never want to look like her/him
For every example of something working. Sure as the sun will rise, we’ll find an example of that same thing not working. Putting myself in the reader’s shoes, I can imagine it’s pretty frustrating.
Almost as frustrating as telling people who pay you for fitness advice to not do extra cardio or randomly start fasting to lose weight, only for them to just do it anyway.
People make careers out of just hawking the next new diet or fad that comes out, like really good careers. Because they’re selling gold! Everytime something “new” comes out they hit again. And no matter how many times people fail, jumping from one shiny thing to another, they never learn.
This time it’ll be different. This one will work. I’m really going to do it right this time.
That’s just the way we’re wired. We just throw a bunch of “stuff” at the wall and see what sticks.
Today, I’m going to give you the one undeniable truth about fitness and weight loss. The truth that no other trainer wants me to share. The truth that could put gyms including the one that pays my mortgage out of business.
Are you ready?
Are you sure?
This may shake you….
Nutrition is the only thing that matters. Like the only thing. Like really, the only thing.
If your goal is to lose weight, your nutrition is the only thing that matters. So much so that your workouts are probably just a waste of your time.
If you want to lose weight, working out is an incredible waste of time. What an inconvenience, you have to carve out an hour a day, 3-5x a week, to pick stuff up and put stuff down, get sweaty and gross, all on purpose? All to do it again the next day?
All to just eat the same shit you always eat and expect the magical workouts to do their…magic?
It doesn’t work that way. It’s never worked that way. It will never work that way.
The ONLY way you will ever reach the level of health, muscle mass, body fat. weight, insert whatever fitness related goal you have is through your nutrition.
I’m using the word nutrition instead of diet on purpose. Diets have endpoints. Nutrition is a lifestyle (I know, eye roll….it’s cringeworthy, but idk how to say it any other way). Diets work until they don’t work. Nutrition is just a way of eating that supports your overall health.
Before you roll your eyes a full 360 degrees at me, you don’t have to be the man or woman at Thanksgiving that only eats salad because “your body is a temple”…that person is weird and no one likes them. They probably talk about their subaru and CSA membership a lot. (I can make that joke because somehow, some way I have both…)
You just have to be the person that makes certain decisions at certain times based on a particular intended outcome ….is that vague enough for you.
More often than not, you have to make the right decision on what you put in your body.
More often than not,
- You should prep your meals
- You should pack your lunch instead of ordering out
- You should pass on dessert
- You should portion out snacks
- You should limit your alcohol
- You should hit your protein goal
- You should hit your water goal
- You should eat real foods
- You should eat at home
- You should eat vegetables at every meal
- You should eat protein at every meal
- You should eat until you are full and stop
- You should eat only when you are truly hungry
Sounds like a lot right? It is! But ask any person that has any semblance of success with adopting sound nutrition habits. They’ll check every box in that column of things that they do “more often than not”.
It doesn’t have to be 100% perfect all the time. But it should be pretty damn close more often than not.
You don’t have to worry about kettlebells, dumbbells, barbells, treadmills, pelotons, sleds, etc. All that stuff is great, but the truth is it doesn’t move the needle, IF you can’t change your lifestyle in regards to nutrition.
I apologize that there aren’t any magical takeaways from this blog. I’m sorry I didn’t give you an ab exercise to melt your belly away, a 20 minute workout for 20 days to lose 20lbs, or a free entry into my spring cleanse.
I gave you in my professional opinion, the best health advice I could give anyone.
-Coach Jeff
