A Passing Thought

For YEARS we've been approached by different people with different diet plans that "we've just GOT to try". 

As early as the third grade I was involved with the local "Taking Off Pounds Sensibly" (TOPS) organization, because at that time, that is what was offered (I was only involved for about 2 months...which for that age is a pretty descent attention span, I think). Then later the Fen/Phen craze hit the Midwest.  Fen/phen contained the combination of two drugs called fenfluramine and phentermine. While one drug suppressed the appetite, the other drug prevented drowsiness. Fen/Phen worked! I took it in 1996 and lost quite a bit of weight. I also experienced chest pains, freaked out, quit taking it and now I take daily medicine to treat what, according to doctors, may or may not have been a pre-existing condition prior to taking the drug. Anyway, long story short, it worked, it hurt many people and even killed desperate people who just tried to make themselves healthier.

Slim Fast promoted shakes and now there are a slug of shakes and supplements that promote a healthier lifestyle. Body by Vi, Herbalife, Advocare, Smoothie King, and more....they all are tasty and serve purposes with studies to back them up. I'm not going to get into the differences between the products, if you find a representative for the items, they can do that for you. That's not my intention with this blog. Just pointing out that they are there.

Some folks have had weight management surgeries. Some folks have had amazing results! Some folks still struggled with the mental issues that put them in the position to have the surgeries while some were able to overcome them. All very valid methods.

There are also some well reputed weight loss/management support plans out there. Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, locally I believe there is a physician's office providing one right now. Again, all very valid methods. Some even offer meals to take the thinking out of the diet game. Which, could be a very valuable tool!

Just walking in Target, Walgreens or Walmart, there is an entire wall dedicated to weight loss products. Business Week states that American's spend $40 billion dollars a year on weight loss products. 

But here's there deal folks ------

A DIET ONLY WORKS 

AS HARD AS YOU DO.

That's it. That's the meat, the potatoes, the side salad, the roll, and the glass of iced tea. The end. It doesn't matter WHAT you do...if you don't DO it, it's not going to work. You can throw as much money at a plan or idea as you want, but if you don't literally put your MOUTH where your MONEY is, it is a waste of your waist. 

Read this again:

A DIET ONLY WORKS 

AS HARD AS YOU DO.

If you don't like the word "diet" (like me)....change it up. 

A PLAN only works as hard as you do. 

A WORKOUT only works as hard as you do. 

A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE only works as hard has you do.

A TREADMILL only works as hard as you do.

A PAIR OF RUNNING SHOES only work as hard as you do.

At some point in your journey, you need to realize...this is on YOU. Don't freak out, if you are reading this then you know you have Andrea and I in your corners and probably countless other people. But, what Andrea and I do in OUR workouts, has absolutely NOTHING to do with what YOU do in YOUR workout. It is up to you. And you CAN do this. You CAN master your body. And, let's face it, if you EARN the body you get, you will appreciate it that much more. (Just like when we were kids and we had to earn our allowance.) Earn it and LOVE it!