With a special nod to the USA Women’s Soccer team, this week’s newsletter is dedicated to overcoming the impossible. On Sunday, I watched an amazing comeback that represented all that is right with fitness. Team USA’s victory against Brazil was inspiring and motivating, and not just because of the dramatic fashion of the victory. The women dug deep to overcome and seemingly impossible situation: Down a goal and a player, they never quit fighting and they were rewarded with a victory.
That same night, I found myself wondering if an entire country could channel the same relentless will to succeed. As I searched through some journals, I found an article that highlighted a disturbing trend. According to recent research, the obesity trend in the United States won’t plateau until the year 2050. At that point, it’s predicted that more than 40 percent of the nation will be obese.
As I re-read the shocking stat I wondered how this could happen.
As it currently stands, more than 30 percent of the nation is obese or overweight. In fact, only one state (Colorado) has an obesity rate under 20 percent. But the outlook indicates that the trend is going to become worse—in a big way—before it starts becoming better. And the resulting weight-related health problems will shake the foundation of our entire society. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity was linked to medical costs of approximately $147 billion in 2008 and a $70 billion loss in work productivity. Even more disturbing, some experts predict that this generation of children will live significantly shorter than their parents, mostly as a result of health problems associated with being overweight.
So how has this happened? Unfortunately, there isn’t one answer. Some people
blame dieting, but that’s misguided considering that many people who consistently “diet” (you might call it lifestyle change) are healthier and don’t struggle with weight problems. Others will blame the government, but they aren’t forcing you to eat bad food. The reality: Blame gets you nowhere. Action is the only way to reverse the trend, and that starts with facing the truth about
three common fallacies that contribute to the country’s weight battle:
1) We exercise enough
If you step into any gym in the US, you get the feeling that we’re an active country. After all, 45 million Americans belong to some sort of health club, compared to only 23 million in 1993. But according to the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 82 percent of American’s don’t meet the government’s exercise recommendations. That doesn’t mean you need to lift weights or run a marathon, but we do need to get up and move. Find a workout partner, run around with your kids, or join a group and log your fitness. Whatever you do, just be active and find something that you consider fun. Anything that keeps you active is a good thing.
2) We know how to eat
When I was younger, I thought I knew everything about food. I avoided fat when I was told it was bad, avoided all carbs when I learned they were evil, and watched my protein so it wouldn’t hurt my kidneys. After all, I was well-read, educated, and could take care of myself. As you can imagine, these drastic changes led to years of struggles. That is, until I really started learning about nutrition
But you know what? All of the scientific information wasn’t as helpful as learning how to eat. We’ve been trained to eat until we’re full, to eat fast, and enjoy. We need to slow down, learn how much we need to eat, and consumer fewer liquid calories. If you follow these three simple steps, regardless of your eating philosophy, you should lose weight and feel better. And then you can focus on learning on what foods are better for you. Which reminds me…
3) We know what to eat
Our country is notorious for eating high calorie, low nutrient foods. Some of the blame is on food manufacturers who produce these foods, and then sell them cheap. A little less marketing and a little more transparency would go a long way to improving the health of the country. But it’s still your responsibility to eat the right foods and maintain a healthy weight. And that starts with consuming more fruits and vegetables—something that our nation neglects. Seven of the states with the lowest consumption of fruits and vegetables are also in the 10 top most obese locations in the country. Coincidence? Probably not. That means it’s on you to eat more fruits and vegetables. (I’d recommend veggies at every meal) And while you’re at it, limit processed foods and unnecessary sugars.
While a hard look in the mirror is a step in the right direction, there’s no simple fix. The ability to make a massive significant change lives within each of us: Me, you, your neighbor, and every person in this country. We have to work harder to acknowledge our problem and take action. Not only on the individual level, but also on the community level to help others fight the battle of the bulge.
The truth is, most people exercise and eat healthy for themselves. They want to live longer, look better, or impress the opposite sex. And there’s nothing wrong with any of those goals, but you can do more with the gift of health. You can instill it in others. And if we are going to win the battle against obesity, our only chance might be banding together as a team, digging deep, and inspiring each other to achieve the impossible.
It’s become painfully clear that not everyone is a fan of
The Search for the Perfect Diet. And you know what? I don’t blame you. After all, most people have become so tired of “diet talk” that they do everything to avoid the topic altogether. Why believe yet another expert's take on a played-out topic? You shouldn’t. Instead, I’m suggesting that you approach this in a different fashion: Just listen and learn. Agree or disagree. But be open to the thoughts and opinions that will be shared.
I’m not offering anything other than information—and hopefully a little bit of entertainment. I’m not telling you to support the methods I try. And I’m not suggesting that you follow my eating plan. All I want to do is offer unbiased, research-backed, expert critiques of different food options and dietary approaches.
In
my search for the perfect diet, I’m not necessarily looking for one eating strategy that I will endorse as the answer to all eating problems. Instead, I want to assess styles and patterns and see if they work for me. In the process, I hope to uncover if what I find is supported by research. I want to analyze diets and know why they work (or don’t). Because in the end, the variability and unpredictable nature of your lifestyle is really what dictates how you eat and—at times—what you eat. And my day is just as chaotic as yours, which is why I’m embarking on this journey.
The truth is any diet can help you lose weight. In fact, a university professor
ate Twinkies and lost 27 pounds. (That sentence is not a typo. Twinkies = weight loss…but I wouldn’t recommend it)
If you want the simplest diet approach, here are what years of reading research, working in university labs, and interviewing nutritionists and researchers has taught me: Eat greens (veggies), drink water, consume fruit, limit your consumption of processed foods and try to eat protein at every meal. Oh yeah, and exercise and make sure you sleep well.
If you follow those guidelines, you’re probably going to live a healthy life.
But if you’re looking for something else, then stay along for the journey. Are you interested in going vegan or consuming more fat in your diet? Want to see if you can eat more carbs and still stay lean? (A good sandwich can be tough to give up) Or maybe you just want to see what happens when one guy tries to tackle everyone's least favorite four-letter health word.
So as I start the process, I’m doing the one thing that seems counterintuitive on an eating journey: I’m fasting.
(You still there?)
I’m trying a dieting strategy called intermittent fasting (IF). To me, it’s always come across as the most extreme of eating behaviors, but a recent review of literature has me believing that a staggered approach to eating might benefit my health more than it seems.
Here’s how I’ll approach intermittent fasting: I’m going to not eat for 16 hours a day (8 of which will ideally be spent sleeping), and then have an 8-hour feeding period. A similar technique has been popularized by
Martin Berkhan.
This means that I’ll break three of most common diet “rules:”
*No breakfast (gasp)
*No pre-workout meal
*And lots of carbs at night
You might be wondering why I would do such a thing to my body. It's primarily because I want to test out if 3 meals a day is any different that 5, 6, 7, or 8. After grazing on multiple meals for the past 10 years, I want to try something different. (Ignore the fact that I could just eat three square meals. This seems like more fun).
I’ll provide more details and research behind the madness in my next post, and let you know how I survived the first day of my new eating approach. Until then, feel free to discuss or post your questions. I’ll be listening.
I have a confession to make: I’m obsessed with food.
I watch The Food Network, I sometimes dream of eggs (I eat A LOT of them), and I thoroughly enjoy Man vs. Food. In fact, I’ve often wished that I could take on Adam Richman in an eating contest. Call it the Battle of Adam.
As a fitness and nutrition editor my mindset seems wrong. How can someone who preaches a healthy lifestyle enjoy indulgence—or even worse, gluttony?
Maybe I should blame my chubby childhood, but there’s no need for me to make excuses. Food is
meant to be enjoyed. It's not the cause of obesity or the enemy. Our bad choices are. Food is an essential part of life, and treating it any other way is the reason our country has eating problems. The real issue: Why do so many people feel so strongly about food? The answer is complex, and the reason I’m starting a new personal journey. It’s one that might change your life.
We’re all voyeurs of nature, and our natural instinct is to judge and criticize what’s different from our own beliefs. This is especially true with dietary habits. Just look at last week’s post about the new government
My Plate guidelines. It was viral—and not necessarily in a good way. Contrary to many of the reader comments, I was happy the government made changes, but based on my conversations with many prominent nutritionists, it was apparent that more could be done. I wanted a bigger stand to help the nation eat better and become healthier. So I shared my thoughts on how we could take the process a step further, such as combining the government guidelines with a tool like
MyPlate.
Instead, it became a feeding frenzy of anger and insult. Food became the enemy, and I was the messenger. The verbal bullets were shot towards my editorial fortress, and I used food to deflect the criticism. After all, my words were just my opinion. Some people disagreed, which was fine. Every issue is not black and white, and my thoughts are not a criticism of everything else that falls in opposition. They are simply an informed perspective.
I’m life crusader, and my mission is health. If I think our nation should follow one set of guidelines, it doesn’t mean that another option won’t be just as effective—or possibly more effective. This point is lost in heated conversation because most people don’t argue to learn: They argue to prove others wrong. Because at the end of the day we want to point the finger at someone or something. And when it comes to our weight and health, our first impulse is to point the finger at food. (Or the government) When what we really need to do is take accountability and action. That process begins with education.
I’d like to put an end to the blame game. I want to help empower you to make the
food choices that work for your style of living. In the end, that’s what the term “diet” is all about. It’s a style of eating—one that works within the confines of your day and your schedule. There are hundreds of diets, and no matter how much you may disagree, many diets work. And many others don’t. So I’m going to try them all. One bite at a time.
Call it “The Search for the Perfect Diet.” Along the journey I’ll share my feedback and allow you to make your own opinions. You can take my lessons and tips, and adjust them to fit your own life. But no matter what, don’t blame the food. In every scenario, it’ll be the secret to unlocking the life—and the body—you want.
The government recently tried to create a torrential storm of change in the world of diet and nutrition. Instead, their efforts felt more like a drizzle.
If you missed it, the archaic Food Pyramid was finally removed as the crux of the American eating strategy (although it happened years ago, unofficially) and replaced with My Plate—a new circular-shaped guideline for dietary habits. And despite stealing the name of LIVESTRONG.COM’S popular eating tool (yes, we coined MyPlate first…but imitation is the greatest form of flattery), and having the best intentions, the new government guidelines leave me with more questions than answers. While I will admit this is a step in the right direction, and I applaud the efforts, we should expect more. And after talking to multiple nutritionists, I discovered that I'm not alone in my disappointment. Consider the following flaws of the new guidelines:
1) It’s Confusing
I’m not saying that the new My Plate is the Rubik’s cube of eating, but it’s close. The biggest problem that most people have with their diet is portion control. And yet, the new guidelines provide a pie chart that offers a hefty serving of ambiguity. Sure, you see that fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein should make up the bulk of your eating (and wash it down with a small glass of dairy...that's what the picture shows, right?). But how much fruit? How many vegetables? And what grains? We act like foods only come in one variety per category, when the reality is that most people aren’t informed enough to know good grains from bad grains. And they certainly struggle with portion size. So if this plate is based on the American supersized version, then the changes will be superficial. After all, it doesn’t matter how well you’re eating if you're overeating. And wasn't that the biggest problem in the first place?
Let’s dig a little deeper. If you look at the plate from a meal-by-meal basis (which it appears is the intention), it’s IMPOSSIBLE to know exactly what you should be eating and how much. That should be the goal: Make it easy to know what to eat. Enable people so they can accomplish their goals. In that respect, the new guidelines have failed. Meaning that no matter how much “balance” the plate shows, the average American is still guessing what to eat and the portion sizes. This is a bad thing.
2) It Makes Fat Look Bad
The new guidelines are not developed for the average American. Most American’s don’t view foods in terms of categories. They look at macronurtrients: Proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Think about it: When you analyze a food label (if you analyze it, that is), do you look at the ingredient profile? Probably not. You're more likely to analyze the total number of calories and how many grams of protein, carbs, and fats are in each food. Most people do this because they don’t inherently know what food sources possess certain nutrient qualities. To them, food is food and the nutrition label is their guide.
Therein lays the problem with the new My Plate image. Unless you go online to the government site and click on the specific sections for more details, the graph itself doesn’t tell you much about what to eat, which is what American’s need. Not to mention, by grouping into food categories, it makes it seem like fats are bad. Without any context, fats are not listed anywhere on the guidelines, which is a regression back to the low-fat craze of the 80s and 90s. While I’m sure this was not the intention of the government, just looking at the categories makes it seem that fat should not be a part of your eating plan. This runs contrary to numerous research studies which have discovered that high fat diets help you melt your gut and ward off diseases. In fact, research from the University of Connecticut found that a diet as high as 60 to 70 percent of fat led to more fat loss than a diet that consists of only 20 percent fat.
So don’t forget, while it’s not inherently listed on the chart, healthy fats such as nuts, oils, avocados, seeds and fatty fish are still good for you and should be included in your daily diet.
3) It’s Designed for Weight Gain
I don’t believe in setting a standard for what people should look like. Everyone has different goals and expectations for their ideal body. And if a background in psychology has taught me anything, it’s that beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. With that said, we—as a nation—are overweight. There’s no debate about it. Most of the population could stand to lose a few pounds. And that has nothing to do with building six-pack abs, having long and lean legs, or building bulging biceps (all are great goals, though, if that’s what you want). But the current guidelines seemed skewed in a way that will make you MORE likely to gain weight.
Let me explain. The grain group still takes up the largest single portion of foods within the new diet guidelines. According to nutritionist Alan Aragon, M.S., creator of the Alan Aragon Research Review, the new My Plate guidelines offers up to a 50 percent allowance for refined grains. While grains are not “bad,” an overreliance on processed foods is one of the primary reasons America is currently waging an ongoing battle of the bulge.
What’s more, we are already a society that is overly reliant on carbohydrates. This is a direct correlation to our carb-heavy diet, and the insulin problems that have led to an onslaught of type-2 diabetes and excessive weight gain. You see, insulin is a complex hormone in your body. When it’s raised at the wrong times, you won’t be happy with what it does to the appearance of your body. This hormone can slow down your ability to incinerate fat, and it ramps up your body’s ability to store fat. Bottom line: If you’re eating an excess of processed carbohydrates day-after-day, in the most simple sense, those carbs will be broken down into sugar that the can end up storing as fat. The fatter you become, the less you exercise, and the more you risk suffering from obesity and diseases like Type 2 diabetes. In other words, it’s a perpetual cycle that starts with an over-reliance on processed carbohydrates, which includes grains.
This does not mean that carbs are bad. They are an essential part of your diet and should be consumed. But they should not be the bulk of your diet, and the majority of your daily carbohydrates should come from non-processed sources, such as fibrous vegetables (think broccoli, spinach, kale and most greens) or from fruit (although in more limited amounts).
4) It Downplays A Vital Component
When I look at the new My Plate guidelines, I’m shocked by the small proportion of protein. The protein allotment offers less than half of the dietary protein that’s considered optimal for active male adults, says Aragon, and it's low for females, as well. And while other food groups contribute some protein, it’s not enough to make up the difference and optimize the demands of physical active individuals and dieters.
That’s not to say that everyone needs to go on a super high protein diet. But the truth is, protein is a satiating component of any eating plan that will not only help you eat less, but it is also activate your metabolism. Quite simply, eating protein helps you burn more calories and lose more fat—without ever stepping in the gym. That’s because your body has to work to break down protein, and that process burns calories. What’s more, protein is also involved in building lean muscle (that fights against your body’s desire to build fat) and it can help prevent a laundry list of diseases that you’d rather not have.
As a general rule of thumb, many nutritionists suggest that you should shoot for anywhere between .7 to 1 gram of protein per pound of your goal body weight. (so if you weigh 200 pounds, but want to drop down to 180, you should aim for roughly 180 grams of protein, per day). Women will tend to be on the lower end, and men on the higher end. Use this as a guideline, and while the protein may seem like a lot, this type of diet will leave you less hungry to desire the other foods that have fewer nutritional benefits and pack on unwanted pounds.
We’re bringing the battle of the sexes into the world of fitness. Forget every previous gender debate that ever occurred. I don’t care if men are from Venus and Women are from Mars, if Bobby Riggs had no chance against Billie Jean King, or if the Twitterverse thinks that I’m much funnier than my fiancé. (they do)
This challenge tests something much bigger: Accountability. Throw out excuses about one gender being physically or emotionally superior. In this battle, everything is equal. This is a test of will power:
Who wants it more?
Who genuinely cares enough about their health and fitness to make it a daily part of their life?
And how much can your activity inspire an entire gender to join your efforts?
This challenge will answer all of these questions—and help you achieve your healthy living goals along the way. (while offering some amazing prizes)
Here’s how it works:
The challenge is simple: Be active 30 minutes per day.
It doesn’t matter if you walk, ride a bike, lift weights, move boxes, go swimming, or do the Cha-Cha. We just want you to get up and move. Have some fun, break a sweat and make activity a consistent part of your day.
Each day log onto MyPlate, track your fitness activity (and your eating habits, if you’d like), and then post about what you did on the group challenge page. The more frequent you post and make comments about your activity, the more likely you are to win.
If you’re man, sign up here.
If you’re a women, this is your place.
The prizes:
Each week we’ll assess who was more active: Men or Women. It will be dependent on your consistent daily activity and how frequently you post on the group page and motivate the rest of your sex to be active. So reach out to your friends and family and have them join. Spread the word on Facebook and Twitter. After all, it’s your health and a chance to influence others.
At the end of each week, we’ll assess which gender was more active. And from the winning gender we’ll select ONE winner who will be featured as the “Member of the Week,” in our newsletter. We’ll also feature the winner on our Facebook profile page.
This is your chance to be the face of health and fitness for millions.
About a year ago I came to a frustrating conclusion: Work is designed to make you fat.
Before you accuse me of making excuses, the concept is actually proven by science. When I was at Men’s Health, we wrote an article about how sitting in a chair is literally killing your body—regardless of your level of activity. Quite simply, your job forces you to move less and oftentimes eat worse.
Fortunately, you don’t’ need to throw in the towel. I’m here to tell you that accepting the reality of your job is the first step in shifting the battle of the bulge. You see, just because work makes it harder to stay in shape doesn’t mean long hours must sabotage
your healthy living goals. That’s the type of excuse that isn’t acceptable. But it’s human. So much so that I have a confession to make:
I let my job get the best of me.
I’m not sure when or how it happened, but the truth was written all over my body. I was lethargic, lacking energy and not sleeping well—this despite the fact that I was still hitting the gym four days a week. I share my story to remind you that every stumble is another opportunity to pick yourself back up. And that failure and mistakes are only as permanent as you make them.
My problem was my diet, as it is for most people. More specifically, I stopped paying attention to what I ate. I had so much confidence that I knew what it meant to be healthy that I went on autopilot and figured I didn't need a helping hand. I stopped using
MyPlate. I starting snacking more at work (even healthy snacks become unhealthy in large amount) and I tricked myself into believe that everything was good.
But good should never be a substitute for great, especially when it comes to your body. It doesn’t matter what your goal is. Your expectation should always be to push the limits of your potential, which is why I’m reaching out and recommitting to my healthy eating goals and continuing to educate myself on healthy foods. It will be more work on my end, but it will help me recapture my body, my energy and create the life I want to live.
I suggest you do the same. Look in the mirror and ask yourself: Are you eating the way you should? Have you stopped pushing yourself to become better? I don’t have the solutions, and I'm not telling you how to eat. But I know that asking the question is necessary to finding the answer. And the quest to become better will ensure your next step takes you one step closer to the person you want to be.
Editor's Note: This is part of a series called, "One GREAT Answer." Each week we ask our readers what they want to know, and take their questions to the world’s smartest experts.
My job seems to make it impossible for me to keep off the pounds. What at work strategies can help me lose weight?- Barry T, Alabama
If you’re looking for advice on how to shed pounds at work, the devil is in the details, says nutritionist
Dr. Mike Roussell. After all, most people don’t realize the small decisions they make that can either help them burn more calories, or pack on stealthy extra pounds. Roussell crafted 3 simple tips to help you prevent your job from becoming a gateway to overeating. And if you’re looking for more great nutrition tips from Dr. Roussell, post your questions in comments section below or check out his Facebook page for his free cookbook,
The 7 Healthiest Meals Ever Created.
Take Conference Calls Standing
Sitting eight hours a day at work is a metabolic death sentence that burns as little as 25 calories per hour. Bump up your calorie burn by taking phone calls standing (pacing is even better). By just standing you can burn up to 75 more calories per hour. If you are on conference calls or phone meetings as little as 45 minutes each day and you stand instead sit, you’ll burn an extra 280 calories per week – the calorie equivalent of running an two and three quarter miles per week.
Bring a Satiety Shake Work
Food found around the office is horrible. From the refined carbohydrates in the vending machines to the doughnuts in the break room, to the chocolate and candy bowl by the receptionist – it is a nutritional landmine for anyone trying to lose weight. Instead of letting hunger get the best of you pack a Satiety Shake in your bag before you leave the house. In a blender combine chia seeds, protein powder, walnuts, blueberries, water, and a couple ice cubes. Blend it up, put it in a shaker or Rubermaid Chug bottle and bring it to work with you. The chia seeds contain fiber, which helps slow how fast you digest food, making you feel fuller longer. The protein powder and fats from the walnuts will also increase your feeling of fullness. Blueberries contain low impact carbohydrates, which keep your blood sugar controlled providing you long lasting energy—without gaining fat. An added benefit of blueberries is that their antioxidants have been shown to improve mood.
Don’t Eat at your Desk
When it is time to eat, just eat. Multi-tasking while eating will cause you to eat more and leave you less satisfied once you get back to work. A study recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that when study participants used a computer while eating they did not feel as full following their meal. In addition, when offered a snack 45 minutes later, they ate more calories than the people who didn’t play on their computers while eating lunch. The lesson: Turn off your monitor or, even better, get away from you desk so that you can enjoy your lunch without multi-taking distractions. You’ll feel more satisfied and you’ll be less likely to have a mid-afternoon urge to devour the bowl of chocolates at the receptionist’s desk.
You mean other than the mirror? Everyone has some specific goals in mind when they start a workout, but it’s easy to become discouraged when you don’t see results fast. “Success is not found solely through hard work, but smart work,” says Martin Rooney, C.S.C.S., the creator of trainingforwarriors.com. That’s why Rooney suggests the 80-20 rule for exercise (based on the Pareto Principle), which suggests that 80 percent of your results will come from 20 percent of your work. In order to help narrow your focus and figure out what exercises are right for you, Rooney offers four common signs to determine if you’re using your time efficiently. If you find yourself in any of these situations, Rooney recommends that you try something different to get back on track.
1) You perform exercises that don’t contribute to your goals
If your goal is losing fat, you probably should be focusing more on some sort of resistance training. If you want to be a marathon runner, you should be setting up a schedule to increase mileage. The key point is that in order to know what exercises you should perform you need to have a concise goal. Once you experience success, then you can set a new goal and take on new exercise challenges. Trying 100 different exercises spread across 6 different goals might seem like a great way to add variety, but it will only lead to frustration and a high likelihood of failure.
2) You perform exercises that you don’t believe will work for you
The mind is an important part of any exercise program. You need to believe in your program and what you’re doing, or else it will be hard to remain focused and see results. So if you have doubts, be confident and ask questions about why you’re doing certain exercises to make sure they’re right for your goals. Just make sure you don’t confuse “what’s right” with “what’s difficult.” Exercise is meant to be hard, so you should expect to struggle and not always make instant progress.
3) Exercises are taking too much time and energy to learn
While you can’t expect instant results, you should make general progress with time. After all, the goal of a good workout is to make some progress every week. So if you’re struggling with the same exercise for months, or not becoming stronger or improving your endurance, it probably means you’re doing an exercise (or training plan) that’s too difficult. Taking a step back to master a more basic movement will pay off in the long run. Remember, mastery of anything means that you’re making progress, which is the sign of a good program.
4) You find yourself in a negative mindset when training
This might be the most overlooked aspect of exercise. Your workouts—whether they involve running, walking, lifting weights, or playing sports—should be fun. If you’re not enjoying the process, then you won’t remain consistent and won’t see long-term results. Your end goal should be focused on living an active lifestyle. While you’re bound to have bad days when you don’t feel like doing an activity, you should generally enjoy the process and look forward to exercise.
It is said that the only thing that can stop you is yourself. For most people, this is interpreted as an overrated motivational non-sequitur; a blind statement that underscores the variability and uncontrollable nature of every day and every situation. But it’s also an accurate assessment of what it takes to be successful. Life is unscripted, which means you’re guaranteed to be thrust into situations that are mentally and emotionally challenging.
These are what I call pulse moments. They represent who you are at your core and they vary from important decisions to small lifestyle choices. They are, quite simply, a test of your heart and desire.
My most recent pulse moment happened this morning. After three days out of the country, I returned to my normal routine of 5 am workouts. As I found myself in the gym, my mind was still in bed and my body was lacking motivation. And yet I still made sure to continue my workout and become a little better. The surroundings might have been different, but it was a choice we all face: Push on or go home. Eat better or slip up. Dream of a promotion or settle for something less.
In isolation, the decision to go easy isn’t the problem. Missing this morning’s workout wouldn’t have turned me into a pile of mush. Just as adding dessert won’t destroy your diet or taking a day doesn’t represent a lack of ambition. But if you’re hitting cruise control every time a moment becomes difficult, then you are stopping yourself.
I encourage you to embrace pulse moments and even create them. If we’ve learned anything from our amazing success stories, like
Angel Hall, your mindset is the secret to achieving your best body ever. It’s also what helped our editor, Sarah Metzger, change her eating habits and
create a new lifestylethat motivates others to be healthy.
At some point, you have to become tired of using life as an excuse. Sure, it won’t be easy. Your heart rate might elevate, you’ll feel anxious, nervous or even frustrated. But these are the raw human emotions that will lead you to push a little harder. Focus a little more. And claw towards something you didn’t think was possible.
So tell me: What’s your most recent pulse moment? And what are you doing about it? Confronting your challenge is the first step to becoming unstoppable.
