Are you losing fat at light speed or slower than a turtle?

Over the years as a professional in fitness, I’ve heard many statements about how people eat.

“I eat pretty healthy already.”

“Oh, my diet is pretty good.”

How come I keep doing this and my body never changes, feels like I’m going nowhere!

“I know how to eat healthy.”

And yet… these people are still not satisfied with their bodies. If you accept that you could not possibly eat any healthier, then you are either a highly successful health wizard or quite simply you are settling for less.

Will you ever be happy by settling for less than your best?

Most people have very little understanding of what it means to truly eat healthy, but they think they do. From my experience of people who are interested in improving their fitness and getting that lean, toned body of their dreams, people usually fall into one of several categories.

Category 1: People who buy processed foods that have deceptive labels and have little to no health benefit (or even negative health effect)

We like to believe that if somebody tells us that this is good for us AND that it tastes good, then it’s healthy enough for you. But you’re settling. Here’s an example:

What’s wrong with this image?

In the above picture, the Nestle brand promotes their juice product by adding small amounts of DHA (an omega-3 constituent) and then claims that this product supports brain development since research has shown DHA is good for the brain.

The problem: By consuming very sugary drinks, it’s not good for the brain unless the body is truly deprived of energy source. After consuming dense sources of sugar such as processed fruit juices, the body must respond by releasing insulin hormone into the blood stream. Over time, with regular consumption of sugar laden foods, the body enacts an immune related inflammatory response which eventually does more damage to the major organ systems. You think diabetes is good for the brain? Think again.

The solution:  Be mindful about what you are truly consuming. Read the label entirely before you make the decision to put it in your shopping cart. Limit processed foods.

Category 2: People who, with good intentions, lower their calories too much and eventually starve their body of nutrients

These people are the quick fixers. They want to lose weight and they want to lose weight now, they will do anything it takes. They think that by exercising six days a weak and eating below maintenance calories that they will achieve the body of their dreams in time for their trip to Cabo San Lucas.

The Problem: By depriving the body of nutrients and over-exercising, the body becomes stressed and other systems within the body begin to degrade. For example, when the immune system begins to weaken, the body will put more value on immunity than fat loss… even if that means holding on to fat!

The Solution: Focus on nutrient density. Whenever you are at a caloric deficit, the overall value of every calorie becomes much more important. That’s why vegetables, fresh juices, herbs, lean proteins etc. are the best approach to fat loss. And not just fat loss. Healthy body composition, hormonal function, longevity, disease prevention and more.

Category 3: People who invest their time in learning about nutritional approaches from different perspectives and viewpoints, apply it to their lives, and LISTEN to the signals from their body

Long term success in fitness comes down to one thing…

But before we get to that, let’s take some examples of people who fit into this category. An example would be the person who joins a fitness studio and learns about a diet such as the zone diet. They start to place certain “values” on the specific foods that they consume, all the while becoming more mindful about what they are literally putting in their bodies.

Here’s one for the paleo fans out there

While a specific diet approach may not work for them, they will take the bits and pieces that resonated with their body and continue to seek and learn.

Which brings us back to long term success in fitness:

It’s a Lifestyle

We have so many opportunities to be led and to be our own leaders. At times we allow the experts to feed us knowledge and support, meanwhile the answer to your motivation lies within you.

How can you leverage that intrinsic motivation which is somewhere inside us all? Maybe you need to spend more time around that person with healthy habits that start to rub off on you. Maybe it’s a book that changes your life, or gosh even a blog like Dre Fitness. If you sat down and had a conversation with me, would it help?

Based on overall population data, there’s a good chance that you don’t eat nearly as healthy as you think you do

More than two thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. Hundreds of thousands of people per day die or suffer from preventable diseases because they either lack the nutrients or they are taking in way too many toxins for their body to handle.

Accept that your learning will never end and that your concept of healthy eating will always be out dated unless you make an effort to be more mindful about your foods.

To conclude this article, my last point is that maybe you don’t even have to keep reading at all. What if you just TRULY listened to your body and experimented with different foods. Stop weighing yourself and start looking at yourself. Did that cake make your belly a bit rounder? Or on the other hand, maybe drinking fresh celery juice made you feel energized, tightened up your skin, and improved your joint pain.

My goal will always be to empower you

Comments and engagement always appreciated, stay tuned for more…