Do you know someone who is all or nothing?

The “I’m going to run 5 days a week” person?

The meal replacement shake or detox convert… who used to stop at the nearest Maccers at the drop of an advert?

That guy or gal that lifts 6-7 days a week… then gives it away for 6 months?

I can absolutely relate to a tendency towards black or white.  One of my close friends used to call me on it at school… “Really?!!!  Do you HATE it?  Perhaps you just don’t like it quite so much?” …back then I was pretty much LOVE or HATE.  Black or white.  Dichotomous.

The problem with this approach to health and fitness is it limits your choices.  Generally those choices are also based on past experiences.

It can also be the perfect excuse… to do nothing!

Researching ‘the perfect’ program?

…or ‘the best’ nutrition strategy?

Starting said program on a Monday.  Or the 1st.  OR the new year!

Not training because it’s a little wet.  Or you have a slight sniffle.  OR an injury that could be worked around… but only if you were open to letting some different shades into your program!

Being so rigid and rule based with your nutrition that you NEVER eat off the plan… until that time you do and then one off the plan meal is a whole day.  Week.  or MONTH off!

I can almost hear my one on one clients chuckling at the ‘rigid and rule based’ – because YES that absolutely is something that I still subscribe to.  The trick is to work out where ‘all’ (rigid and rules) helps and supports you so you don’t need to contend with ‘nothing’ in the form of emotional eating; non-existent training or just generally resorting to the old habits that gave you the level of health you’re not happy with.

As with about everything health and fitness it’s a matter of finding what works for you.

Also it’s vital to acknowledge that if it took you years to get to a state of health you’re not comfortable with… the fact is it is going to take more than days or weeks to get to where you want to be.

Extreme won’t be sustainable long term.

(to my lovely one on one clients ‘extreme’ is subjective – for me the way I eat and train day in day out now is super sustainable… if I’d gone straight to my current behaviours from where I was when I first got into personal training YES it would have seemed extreme and it wouldn’t have been sustainable!!!)

Most importantly, and my final question for you today…

“Are you willing to stick with it AS LONG AS IT TAKES till you get the result you’re seeking?”