Last week, we posted this meme on Facebook. We got a lot of feedback from it—so much that it’s worth talking about in more depth.
I’m always perplexed when I meet someone who has completed a six-week or 30-day challenge, has lost a ton of weight, has put it ALL back on (and then some), is worse off than before, and then, when embarking upon a proper training and nutrition plan (at Fit House, of course!) says, “I’m going to do it right this time. I did it once; I know I can do it again!”
I want to shake him and say, “NO! You didn’t do it once! You got bamboozled, shammed, suckered! You’re doing this for the first time, and we are going to guide you to the promised land, but you need to forget everything about what you did before!”
It would be like opening an auto shop that does 30-second oil changes at half the normal cost—WOO-HOO! One problem: your car breaks down 100 miles later, and now you’re paying $$$$$$ for MAJOR repairs or need a new car. Would you bring your jacked-up car to a proper mechanic and say, “Well, it was a good oil change at the 30-second place. I just wasn’t able to keep up with it; it’s my fault”? Of course, you wouldn’t. You’d be cursing out the mechanic who duped you!
You only get ONE body. Treat it respectfully, take care of it, and don’t be cheap with it.
Many people believe that if you simply strive to achieve the bottom half of the meme that shows the person getting leaner, you must be doing the right thing. I see many people who are either not training enough, not being consistent enough with their nutrition, or just plain doing the wrong things but still think they’re right on track. They understand the concept that a transformation takes time, and believe if they keep doing what they’re doing, they’re going to eventually get there. NOPE!
Sorry, but do not pass GO, do not lose fat, do not get lean. The very definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. There will never be a world where you get to come home after work, kick off your shoes, slide down on the couch, pop a cork off a bottle of wine, fill up a trough of ice cream, go to town, and get lean. Nor a world where you get to eat 100% all work week, then drink and eat shitty on the weekend, and still get lean.
I used to be able to do that. I’d eat 100% all week, and then once a week, in one sitting, I would eat a large cheese and pepperoni pizza, a whole chicken finger sub, a dozen Paula’s donuts, and two Reese’s Cups (I would buy the Reese’s Cups from the gas station next to the pizzeria while I waited for my pizza). I could do this and still have a six pack because I did the following things:
- Picked the right parents (genetics)
- Weight trained 6x per week, sometimes twice a day, for approximately 1-1.5 hours per session
- Was 26 years old
- Had been weight lifting for over a decade already, carried a lot of lean mass, and was already lean (I wouldn’t be able to get lean with the above behavior, but I could maintain it)
- Was teaching Boot Camp class 3x per week as well as participating
Could I do that today? Hell no. I’d get fat. The above five reasons are the only reasons that, at that period in my life, I could triumph over the bad food decisions I was making, even though it was only one time per week. As I got older, I lost that luxury.
If you truly want to see long term transformation results, follow this formula:
Doing the right thing + consistency + an extended period of time = long term body transformation. WOOT WOOT!!!
Bonus: it really doesn’t take that long to see measurable results. If you’re following the right stuff, 100% of the time, you’ll see enough stability in results to keep you satisfied and motivated to keep moving forward.
About the author
Chris Rombola
Chris is the owner of Fit House. He's run the training departments at several commercial gyms, and after years of seeing how awful those environments were for his clients, he opened his own studio. He is devoted to getting people strong, lean, and healthy.
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