The #1 secret to health and fitness.

Hopefully everyone had a great Christmas and a relaxing holiday.  That being said you probably are now more cookie crumb than human.  Don't fret, it happens to the best of us.  There are a few really simple ways to get back on track or even get on the track for the first time.  They don't involve buying the new shake weight 5000 or miracle detox tonic XXX.  So, here it is, the number one secret you've come for... The secret is, get ready for it, THERE IS NO SECRET. 

The title was a bit misleading, I know, but that's the point.  I wanted to show you how so many people can take advantage of you wanting a quick fix or a magic pill to pop.  There are so many people and training facilities that promise to teach you the #1 trick, most well kept secret, ultimate dieting tip, etc that it takes away from the REAL secret.  People in the health industry love to make it seem like you are missing out on something that only they can provide you with and you need their special method or ultimate supplement to achieve the results you want.  The problem here is twofold in that it creates a belief among people looking to get healthy that they don't have to change and can simply do one or two fast things and get an immediate fix which sets them up for failure.  This same mind set keeps them looking for the next quick fix marketing strategy out there, and again no results and back to looking for another easy way out.  You can see this will lead you nowhere except broke from spending money on all these gimmicks and broken from being let down over and over.

Here is the truth.  Getting healthy, and hey, what most of us also really want, looking good, doesn't have to be hard or complicated or expensive. Does that mean it won't take some effort and dedication?  No of course not,  but it is simple.

Let's start out with diet and food choices.  There are 18 gazillion(I know, a lot right?) diets out there right now and most of them focus on the wrong things.  I even hate the food pyramid, both old and new and here is the new one to the right.  While I disagree with grains even being on there, and think that fruits should be a lot smaller than veggies and protein, I won't go into the negative effects of too much fructose or the digestive and chronic inflammation issues that grains cause right now.  Instead, I would like to talk about what I think the food pyramid should be.  Again, this is really easy.  The LEAST amount of processing a food has to go through, or went through, before you can eat it should form the majority of the diet.  Is it a microwavable dinner in a box that is supposed to be beef stir-fry but the ingredient list has 42 different things in it?  You probably shouldn't eat it.  Did it come from a factory where it went through more processing than your computer does in a day?  Again, you generally shouldn't eat it.  You can see what I'm getting at here.  Generally speaking stick to the outside of the grocery store, buy foods you can name off simply by looking at them and that don't even have an ingredient list.  Think about it, what are the ingredients in broccoli, raspberries or salmon?  You see what I'm getting at here.  Eat real food!

Now don't get me wrong, I think there are nuances that can, and should, be manipulated... eventually.  If we can get people eating real food, change will happen.  If you take up rock climbing you certainly aren't going to start on Mt. Everest.  I will write a more detailed post about macronutrients and some general ideas on calorie protein, carb and fat intake in a later post.  For now, if you focus simply on cutting out processed foods and eating more REAL food I guarantee you will feel better, feel more full and energized while eating less and even look and perform better in your workouts and in your daily tasks.  Playing with the kids or moving that brand new 60 inch TV that you got for Christmas to the 10th spot your significant other wanted it will seem like a breeze.  

Time to address the exercise portion of the fitness world.  If you are doing ZERO exercise right now, I'm talking about the people who think walking from the cubicle at work to the lunchroom is a workout, then I can guarantee that 20 minutes of a bodyweight circuit of pushups squats and pullups would get you results.  Again, you do not need a million dollar home gym to start the ball rolling in a positive direction.  Do SOMETHING, anything that you enjoy.  Take up a sport you use to love as a kid.  If you are a kid, you're lucky, stop reading this blog, grab your friends and, since it's winter here in Canada, go skiing, play hockey... heck, have a snowball fight.  People seem to have this idea that you have to go sit on a treadmill for 2 hours a day to lose weight; you will lose weight doing that, but it will be muscle weight and you don't want to lose that, trust me.

Think about what your goals are, what your current fitness level is, and be honest with yourself.  Are you looking to lose the last 10lbs or the first 10lbs?  Things will look a little different.  The important thing for both is to challenge yourself.  That is the number one tool to progress.  Challenge your body and your mind while you workout.  Make it a competition with yourself.  Have a goal for each workout, for each week, for each month.  Try and always do better than YOU did the month before or whatever your timeline is.  Most people can stay in good shape with 3, 45 minute workouts a week, EASILY!  That is more than enough time.  Lift some weights; especially women, and NO, you won't get bulky.  Take up a yoga class, try out a new activity with friends, run around in nature.  The important thing is to find something you enjoy doing and keep doing it.  I can write up the best fitness program ever, but if someone isn't going to stick with it, it isn't very good is it?

What are you waiting for?  Get off your ass, make some REAL food for your next meal and move around until you sweat a bit.  Make today better than yesterday and make a better version of yourself than the day before!

Enjoy the rest of your holidays and hey, why wait for the new year when you can start today!  As for myself, it's time for me to put the computer down and get a workout in.  Talk to you guys later!