We have been coaching, studying, applying, and reassessing client plans and feedback long enough to hear plenty of frustrations from people who are simply looking for the best diet and exercise routine to get them healthy.
There are usually three common complaint categories (we touch on the most detrimental one below) that we often hear:
1. Lack of Time
2. Lack of Motivation
3. Just Plain Confused
Keep reading to see some easy bridges to these common gaps and frustrations and how you can end the exhausting loop of failed diets once and for all.
Although these frustration categories are common, they are by no means generic.
There are plenty of specific or individual complaints that can arise or stem from these problems.
Yet, the main pillar of frustration appears to be confusion.
If you find yourself confused for long enough, you will surely end up lacking time to continue the chase for a healthier body, and with that comes the draining of motivation.
It appears that if people could just figure out how to clear their confusion, they would be set up for success.
And while in theory it appears true, sadly, (in reality) it isn't that easy.
"If more information were the answer, we'd all be billionaires with abs by now." - Derek Sivers
How To Break Through Health Plateaus
Most people understand a "health plateau" as something that symbolizes a long stretch of continuing an action without any continued progress.
Stalling in regard to fat loss on a new diet...
The scale not budging after a few weeks of eating salads...
Or hitting your strength limits in the gym...
And while "plateauing" can pertain to a new diet or exercise regimen, it can also just as easily symbolize the past several years of your life in general given the mental and physical ruts you have slipped into without even starting to diet or exercise.
Yet, the frustration comes from finally mustering up the motivation to get started and putting in a ton of work to gain momentum, only to be let down with a serious lack of progress given the tremendous changes and effort getting put in on the front end.
Again... confusion rears it's ugly head.
Why Are Health And Nutrition So Confusing?
Welcome to the American Health and Fitness Industry!
Where people will practically throw money
that they don't have...
at supplements and diets they don't understand how they work...
explained to them by people who don't look like they use them...
What most Americans know as "Health and Wellness" is probably the greatest lie of our modern time.
And even though we are spending (literally) BILLIONS of dollars and our rate of obesity has tripled... no one is taking a step back and looking around to question it.
Think of how misleading all of the health and diet marketing is out there.
You should make it a point to simply wake up at 4 am and watch some of the infomercials on TV just to receive my point.
We laugh at how cheesy those are, but they are basically feeding you the same false promises and information as the talking heads on Facebook Lives... just with better lighting and video editing.
Think of all the common "mantras" you hear time and time again, thus causing you to change courses from your current routine or diet plans:
"Fat will make you fat..."
"Carbs will make you fat..."
"Protein causes cancer..."
"Deep breathing causes COVID" (You knew that was coming... everything causes COVID!)
"The majority of diet plans are either too complex or there's too much information floating around on the internet that you see or hear that makes you second guess your plan." - Adam Bornstein
What Is The Cure To Health And Wellness Confusion?
I have said it before and I'll say it again:
The majority of people do not lack motivation or knowledge. They lack consistency and discipline.
Most diets and exercise regimens work... people just fail to be consistent with them.
It is all too easy to start a new way of eating and exercising, only to come up on the next holiday or vacation and completely derail any evidence of progress or habit formation.
You see it all the time with smokers who quit... daily... (only to run into a bit of stress and find themselves lighting up again.)
Or those who stop drinking alcohol... yet hit the greatest trigger of all... THE WEEKEND. (#I'llStartMonday)
The truth is, the diets and exercise routines that have the best track records, often seem the most boring.
They are not flashy... or ripply... or oily like the infomercials.
I mean, can you believe people actually called to order Shake Weights? As if the body builder holding it on TV built his arms and chest by jerking a weight...?
The hard and bitter truth is that in order to have the results you want physically and mentally in regard to health and wellness, you not only have to learn the foundations of them both, but you have to really understand how your body responds to the subtle nuances of eating certain foods or performing certain exercises.
You can't run before you can walk...
You can't do calculus prior to learning simple addition and subtraction...
And you can't enjoy lasting health, abundant energy, low body fat levels, increased sex drive, and extreme focus without building foundational understanding and routines.
Real behavioral change happens when your environment makes it really hard to mess up.
Supplements and "hacks" are sexy... but it's a mirage.
Like wearing beer goggles at 1:45 am before closing time...
Proceed 👏With 👏Caution👏
Small, subtle changes lead to huge results.
The Freedom Spectrum
I'll wrap this up with some more wisdom from Adam Bornstein.
He discusses what is called "The Freedom Spectrum".
At one end of the spectrum is a diet and training program that’s 100% dialed in ALL of the time. You’re so focused on your physique that you don’t allow yourself any of life’s pleasures.
At the other end is pure hedonism (located locally right here in South Louisiana): You only do what you want, when you want.
#liveyourbestlife
In order to succeed along this spectrum, all confused health and wellness seekers must continue to ask themselves two crucial questions:
How much am I willing to sacrifice for my fitness goals before it has a negative impact on my well-being?
and
How much freedom can I enjoy before my health and fitness break down?
Simple? Yes
Easy? Not without taking the right approach with the right mindset.
Want Help Navigating Your Own Health and Wellness Spectrum?
Click below to see what it is like to finally have someone walk next to you day by day and help you navigate your own personal road blocks in real time.
No hypothetical scenarios... no predetermined diets... no strict exercise plans.
Just meeting you in your current situation and navigating towards your desired situation via habits, routines (with a lot of grace) and understanding.
What if you could have your last "First Day of dieting"?
Just think of where you would be if you had clicked this a year ago...
