Excuses, Excuses.
While the idea is to focus on progress, not perfection in the Body For Life program, you need to watch that you don’t get caught up in excuses.
What do I mean?
The, “Oh, I don’t have time to work out”; “I don’t have a gym membership”; “I can just spread my free day throughout the week”, etc.
The idea behind Body For Life is to make a change in your life. Change doesn’t come easily, nor without resistance. It’s like a new pair of shoes you’ve got to break in and get used to. It’s VERY easy to slide back into your old patterns of not eating healthily and not exercising.
Remember: there’s no one holding anything over you if you don’t eat your six meals a day, or if you don’t do your workout, or even if you don’t hit your high point in your workout. In fact, the only person you’ll be cheating is… yourself. Your coworkers won’t care if you’ve gorged yourself on five pounds of chocolate. Your loved ones won’t know (if they don’t watch you or if they aren’t on BFL with you) that you skipped your bike ride and stopped off at Krispe Kreme.
But YOU will know. Once you start the program and feel the effects — the change, from the inside out that you are creating — you will know. Even on your free days, when you’re free to eat anything you want, you’ll slowly notice changes being made in your own decisions. Sure, you can stuff yourself with artery clogging fatty foods (and in fact, in the beginning of the program, you WILL do it, believe me!), but then you’ll feel stuffed, bloated, and uncomfortable. That’s not to say you shouldn’t use your free days to eat whatever you wish — that’s what they’re there for. You’ll just learn not to overdo it.
It is a change, however, and that means you don’t just stuff your face with full-fat garbage. Did you know the reason most people don’t enjoy their food is because they can’t taste it? Food has become so bogged down with fat and sauces that if you were to take and only use simple spices (as simple as a small amount of salt (or salt-substitute, if you’re on reduced sodium restrictions due to health concerns) and pepper), the natural flavour (which you can then enhance with garlic, onion, red pepper, oregano, etc. etc.) comes out and you are actually able to enjoy your food more. That’s why people who quit smoking tend to gain weight. They can actually taste what they’re eating instead of having their tongues coated all the time. Reduce the fat, you reduce what coats your taste buds and … less fat in you, less fat on you. Eating healthier doesn’t have to be boring, and honestly, there’s little health benefit to be gained by using whole fat ingredients 99% of the time.
Most importantly, Body For Life isn’t just a 12 week program that you complete and VOILÀ, new you. It’s a 12 week program for the rest of your life. You simply live from one 12 week period to the next, setting new goals and dreams for yourself.
It is making a major change in my life, and I know it can do the same for you.
