Do it for the right reasons

My friend Sergio, better known as “the hunter”, came to the conclusion that he would flirt even more if he had more muscles, so he bought himself a giant jar of strawberry protein, some creatine pills and started going to the gym every day. Two weeks later, he fell in love with a redheaded girl and started dating. He was never seen lifting a weight again.

Many girls, before the imminent arrival of the days of beach and swimming pool, decide to try on the bikini in front of the mirror. That’s when they discover that “it doesn’t suit them as well as they thought it did. They’re fat, let’s go. Alarmed, they sign up for spinning classes and start the Ducan diet. Year after year, history repeats itself: out of shape for 9 months, sprint to get ready in summer, out of shape for 9 months, sprint to get ready in summer…

I have seen this so many times that when someone starts a diet or goes to the gym I can accurately predict whether they will maintain that new lifestyle permanently or if they will give up in a month or two. It’s a very common behavior, so let me explain what the problem is:

If the only reason you want to lose weight and get fit is to find a partner or have your favorite jeans fit again, you’re doomed to failure. Why? Because once you achieve your goal, you’ll stop eating healthy and exercising.

The main difference between people who take care of themselves regularly and those who leave after two days is their motivation. Why they do it. The first group has a lifetime commitment, while the second group has a temporary commitment.

Combines diet and exercise

I’m going to be honest: to lose weight and stay fit you don’t need to exercise.

Eat fewer calories than you consume and you will lose weight, even if what you eat is garbage. There are no more secrets. But keep in mind that being thin doesn’t mean being healthy. If you only eat 3 doughnuts a day, you’ll lose weight, but possibly die young.

I wish we were all healthy, because I think the world would be a better place. Besides being surrounded by girls with hard ass and boys with six-packs, we would be happier, we would live longer and the government would spend less on healthcare.

To really get in shape (and lose weight at the same time), you have to follow a balanced diet AND exercise. If you eat well but don’t exercise, you’ll be thin but weak; if you exercise but eat junk, you’ll be strong but sick. Only by combining the two will you get all the benefits.

Diet

What is a balanced diet? Every person and every culture has a different opinion, and I won’t be the one to tell you how to eat. My recommendation is very simple: eat more good things (fruits, vegetables…) and less bad things (alcohol, sugar, refined flours…).

Exercise

If you want to keep your body in shape, you need to do three types of exercise on a regular basis:

-Aerobic (running, tennis, football…)

-Flexibility (yoga, stretching…)

-Force (weights)

In general, I think people who do sports regularly get enough aerobic exercise.

In terms of flexibility, most women tend to do yoga, Pilates or similar; men tend to be looser in this regard, and I think one day of yoga a week can be very beneficial.

Focus on what’s really important

Scientific studies prove that drinking green tea accelerates fat loss.

Eating a fasting grapefruit increases your metabolism for the rest of the day.

To lose weight, it’s best to run at 60% of your aerobic capacity.

STOP!

In the world of nutrition and exercise, you’ll find thousands of tips like these. I don’t know if they will be true or not, but I don’t care, because the impact they will have on the results you get is MINIMUM. Instead of wasting time on unimportant details, I recommend that you focus on WHAT TRUTH MATTERS:

Food & Beverage

-Avoid alcohol and tobacco

-Avoid processed foods (sugar, simple carbohydrates, trans fats…)

-Eat natural foods (fruits, vegetables…)

Exercise

-Do sport 4-5 times a week

-Always maintain a progression: make sure that every day you lift more weight, run more or exercise longer.

Everything else is details. Crumbs.

Stop worrying about whether it is better to do the bench press with free weight or in machine, and dedicate yourself to DOING THE CURRENT BANK PRESS and to increasing each day the weight, the repetitions or the series.

Don’t obsess over whether it’s better to grill or steam broccoli and EAT THE BROCOLI AS YOU WIN IT, instead of accompanying the chicken filet with frozen chips.

That animal products are bad? That it is best to eat paleo? Follow the diet you like best, but don’t stick two liters of Coca-Cola and one pack of oreos a day.