This time of the year especially you will be bombarded with the latest fad diet claiming that you will lose 10lbs in 10days. Or a DVD program that features shredded abs and glistening thigh gaps. But I want you to think for just a minute before snatching them all up off of the shelf. How many people do you know who make resolutions, buy these products with these amazing claims and now look like the bodies seen in the infomercial, or who claim to love never eating carbs or meat or only drinking shakes, etc?
I’m not saying that achieving results with those programs isn’t possible, I’m saying that they tend to set the bar unrealistically high, which leads us to feel like a failure if you “cheat” or if after 30 days you haven’t lost the pounds they claimed you would, etc. And this sense of defeat leads us to completely abandon health and fitness all together cuz we “couldn’t hang”.
My point? We are all different, our bodies have all been designed uniquely. We respond to exercise and food differently. So don’t put someone else’s success or failures on yourself. Know that exercise is good for you, period. Know that eating healthy foods in a balanced way and leaving room for some “sanity” foods along the way is better than the restricting and binge/guilt cycle.
Some of you will see quick results, and others it will take a little longer. But progress is what we’re striving for, not perfection. So if the scale isn’t instantly reflecting your hard work, maybe mentally you’re in a better place with food. Or you understand now how to make time for fitness, or you learned something new about how to prepare a meal for your family.
Progress, not perfection. (Cuz guess what, we’re all perfectly imperfect already in the eyes of the One who made us )