We have become a world that attributes speed with greatness. Fast cars, fast internet, fast apps –we seem to have collectively agreed as a species that the faster we can achieve something, the better off we are. Heck, even fast food wasn’t quite quick enough so we invented the drive-thru. It’s a phenomenon which seems to have gained exponential popularity in the last decade and in many ways has made our lives much easier.
However, the mentality has made us very lazy and this is particularly a problem when it comes to our health. Google anything regarding exercise and weight loss and you will find thousands of articles on the newest and easiest ways to gain the “beach body” you’ve always desired. Being in the health industry myself, the number one question I get from people is “what is the easiest way I can lose weight without having to exercise?” It’s such a common mentality that the diet industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry, targeting the consumer that doesn’t want to put a whole lot of work into being healthy.
There Is No Miracle “Cure”
The hard truth is that there is no easy way to lose weight –at least not in the long run (pun intended). Many health gurus and doctors will pedal pills, diets, and supplements, swearing that they have found the miracle answer to a life of washboard abs and perfect health. In fact, daytime TV star Dr. Oz got in trouble for this very thing, making an unsubstantiated claim that a certain natural remedy would make the fat melt away. The thing is, if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is.
Think back on everything you’ve achieved in life and consider how much of it required a lot of work. The amount of effort you put into anything almost always equates to how successful you are at it. School, parenting, financial success, a happy marriage –all of these things require cognizant effort and work on your part to remain intact. Granted, there are those few lucky ones that just seem to have all the luck. But if you are reading this, hoping to glean some inside knowledge on how to achieve the perfect body, my guess is you weren’t one of them. Most of us aren’t. This means we must work hard to see a difference in every aspect of our lives and when we don’t put in the effort, the results are subpar.
Speed Up and Slow Down
Here’s a basic rule of thumb pertaining to weight equilibrium and health: speed up your exercise and slowdown everything else. Burning calories requires effort; this is just a law of physics that will never go away no matter how much you want it to. Exercise is supposed to be challenging, otherwise you aren’t doing it right. If you don’t burn the calories you take in, it gets stored as fat and no amount of natural remedies is going to compete with this scientific fact.
Regarding other aspects of your life, take the time to enjoy good foods requiring time to cook. Get eight hours of sleep. Turn off the TV and cellular devices and enjoy time outdoors and with your family. Meditate. Calm your mind and speed up your body and just keep reminding yourself that nothing in life worth achieving comes easily. You didn’t get to where you are sitting on your butt and cutting corners. Physical prowess is no different.
