It’s the New Year, and for a lot of people that means getting back on the clean eating bandwagon, joining a gym, or otherwise doing something that will result in fat loss. It’s what we’re supposed to do, right?
Not necessarily. You might find yourself wanting to get healthy but what you’re “supposed” to do doesn’t feel authentic. Maybe you hate the gym, hate smoothies, and there is no way you’re giving up chocolate. So does that mean it’s hopeless? No!
I’m here to tell you that you can ignore the “shoulds” and still lose weight or get healthier. But it’s something that the fitness and diet industry doesn’t want you to know. Why? Because it is an INDUSTRY. A $100 BILLION industry.
You don’t need a gym membership.
I know, heresy, right? My husband and I cancelled our gym membership recently. Why? We much prefer to do our physical activity outside. Yes, even in Michigan winter! Despite all the fitspo images of sweaty people in gyms, and the TV programs showing people on treadmills, there is absolutely no reason you have to shell out cash for a gym membership. There’s nothing wrong with it either, if that’s your thing, but between workout videos on demand and running clubs and even just walking at the mall, there are plenty of opportunities to burn some calories that don’t involve fighting the resolutioners.
You don’t need shakes.
If I had a dollar for every ad for shakes I saw, I’d be a ______ salesman. (Fill in the blank with your favorite MLM product). Shakes and smoothies can be convenient, for sure. But drink something cold in winter for two meals a day? No thanks. And price tag does not correlate with quality. When DH and I had weight loss surgery we had to live on protein drinks for a few weeks. That was enough to put me off of them for quite some time. Now that it’s been a couple of years I can handle them once in awhile, like if I’m traveling or just in the mood, but I don’t purchase them on a regular basis. I much prefer to eat my food. Again, if you like the convenience go for it, but you can lose just as much weight by eating real food.
You don’t need supplements.
Look, I understand the appeal. Several years ago I even tried phentermine for awhile (until my heart started racing when I was out for a run and it freaked me out). For most people just trying to lose a bit of extra fat, all of the supplements with a bunch of letters are not going to increase your performance. You may wish to consider a multivitamin and fish oil depending on your diet, but I cringe when I see a big long list of things that are supposed to boost your metabolism and melt your fat in your sleep. When I went through my nutrition certification through Precision Nutrition, I learned that while some studies show that some of these things help at the elite levels, most “regular people” won’t notice a difference.
You don’t need to spend a lot of money on food.
I’ll give a bit of a caveat here because I know that if you are a couponer and eat a lot of processed food that it might cost a bit more at the grocery store to buy real food. But I also know that people think they have to go to a specialty store and buy things specifically labeled health food, gluten-free, Paleo, organic, etc. Here’s a secret: If it’s labeled as healthy, it’s probably not. I remember laughing at a bag of marshmallows emblazoned with the words “FAT FREE” and “GLUTEN FREE.” As Jonny Bowden, one of my favorite nutritionists, says, “You can have a bag of crap, take all the gluten and fat out of it, and you’re still left with a bag of crap.”
Whew, that’s a relief! So now what?
You might be thinking, that’s awesome, but now what? Well, the first step is to determine your goals. You need to know the address in order to punch it into the GPS. If you are not entirely sure where you want to go, other than a vague notion of “losing weight” or “getting healthy,” I can help!
Join me for a FREE goal-setting webinar on Sunday, January 15, at 4 PM Eastern.
In this workshop we’ll take those vague resolutions like “lose weight” or “get fit” and turn them into supercharged goals.
This session is designed to provide you the opportunity to get specific on what it is that you really want for yourself and to support you on your journey to live a healthy and fulfilling life designed by you. We’ll discover
– How to get crystal clear on your goals
– How to determine if your goals are right for you
– How to put your plans in place
Getting back to basics! That’s what I needed when I recently transformed myself back from being inactive to active again. So great advice there. Although, in my case my health care team did prescribe supplements for me. I think its best always for people to check with professional on their own specific case before supplementing because just of the things you mention.
absolutely!