You Choose Your Lifestyle: Choose Wisely!
“If you choose the lifestyle, you quite simply have to accept the results it produces.”
That’s a quote from an article I recently wrote that stirred up quite a buzz, but what does that really mean?
Lifestyle is a general term for lack of a better one that simply was meant to refer to the food choices we make and the activities we choose or don’t every day over the course of time. And they are just that – our own choices.
It’s not at all meant to suggest that there are only two lifestyles; one that produces fitness models and one that produces overweight people who are just sitting around doing nothing but eating all day. That’s just silly.
The notion that weight loss or being fit needs to be a lifestyle change rather than just a diet is almost becoming cliché. But most people never really get it and therefore don’t make the change. Why?
I honestly don’t think the average person realizes exactly how much it matters and how much control they really do have over their health and their bodies by changing the choices they make every day; or how far away the average American diet is from what we should be eating. I also think many simply don’t want to believe that r
eality because it’s easier to bury our heads in the sand or blame external sources than do anything about it.
“In this world, the only thing we truly own is the body we shape every day.”
Like it or not, the choices we make affect not only how we feel, but how our bodies function and look – either positively or negatively and they can either bring us closer to our goals (whatever they are) or farther away.
Here’s the thing. I’m not particularly special. Just an average, ex-fat girl who’s spent years trying to circumvent the rules and get that perfect, hard body while still being able to indulge in the crap food that I’d been addicted to for years (it doesn’t work, btw). In that process, I’ve had the opportunity to watch firsthand the impact food choices make and have learned some very important truths that I think many people just do not truly get, or do not want to accept.
Of course food is not the only factor but I cannot possibly overemphasize how much it matters. Literally, if I choose a piece of bread over oats or Greek yogurt over a piece of fish or fast food over my prepared meals even one time, it impacts not only how my body looks but it impacts how my body is able to perform.
And I think just about anyone who’s ever gotten lean enough to be able to see those effects would agree with that statement. Now, imagine that power being compounded over time. And like it or not, the only person who chooses what we put in our mouths is us. Don’t shoot the messenger; I didn’t put a muffin in anyone’s mouth or the muffin top around anyone’s waist. ;)
“I don’t diet, I just eat according to my goals.”
I love that quote and I challenge you to think a
bout it before putting food in your mouth. If before you make a choice about what to have for supper you think about that quote with the knowledge that every choice you make matters then what goals are you eating for with your food choices?
Would you be so quick to grab that frozen dinner for supper or the quick muffin for breakfast if you knew the goal you were working towards with those choices was a muffin top or feeling sluggish and bloated and contributing to disease?
Further, it goes deeper than just making better choices. I think a lot of people think that by switching from full fat regular chips to baked whole grain and munching on fruit all day that they’re dieting.
There is a difference between making healthier choices and eating for a lean, well-defined body or a body capable of performing well in sports or an endurance event, for example.
Eat specifically for your individual goals. If you’re trying to lose weight and all you’re
doing is making a few different choices that you think are better or healthier, don’t expect it to work. It’s just not that easy.
Activity... or not
An inactive lifestyle will, without exception, ultimately result in muscle wasting which results in a slower metabolism, more weight gain over time and overall a softer, weaker, less mobile and unhealthier body. Use it or lose it, as they say.
In the same way that just making healthier food choices isn’t enough to lose weight, depending on your goals, simply being active may not be enough. The way we train also affects the result we get. We all know those people who seem to work their asses off but never really get anywhere with their desperate attempts to change their bodies. They’re probably not choosing the right training for what they’re trying to accomplish. Someone looking to become a bodybuilder wouldn’t get very far training like a marathon runner, would they? Ladies, same goes for us.
If we want a strong, lean and tight fitness model type body, well, taking a 30 minute abs toning class twice a week is not gonna get you there. And if you’ve been spending years running more miles than you can count every week always desperately trying to lose that final 10 or 20lbs, it’s just not going to happen.
Not because you can’t lose them, but because you’re choosing the wrong activity for where your body is and where you want it to be. You wouldn’t train for powerlifting like you would for a bikini competition.
The point is, If your current training isn’t helping you reach your goals, rethink what you’ve been doing and take another approach.
So, “If you choose the lifestyle, you have to accept the results it produces” is meant to be a reminder that the choices we make every day are just that – choices that impact our bodies more than we even know. If those choices are making us unhappy with ourselves, we can change them.
I say find whatever lifestyle supports the body or the sport or the health benefit that you want and that makes you happy and live it. If that happens to be an Egg McMuffin for breakfast while rushing off to work and a frozen dinner or take-out for supper more nights than not while collapsing in front of the TV all evening, stop complaining or expecting a different result and accept what those choices create.
AUT
HOR
Roni Davis
Nationally Qualified NPC Figure Athlete
Personal Trainer
Online Coach
Nutrition Consultant
http://www.facebook.com/RoniDavisFigureAthlete
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