Looking after our health is a life-long investment, and there are no short cuts.
I am saddened by all of the hyperbole I am seeing in fitness marketing these days. My Facebook feed is inundated with advertisements for me to ‘smash my goals’, ‘annihilate fat’ or ‘drop a stone in a month ‘.
Some personal trainers and companies are praying on people’s gullibility and desperation, and sadly, folks fall for it in their droves.
For those of us who are more honest, the reality is that building (or rebuilding) health and fitness or losing weight takes time – and generally lots of it.
There really are no short cuts when investing in your health.
You didn’t become unfit or overweight overnight, and hence reversing the process may take just as long!
Does that mean that it is a journey not worth embarking on?
Absolutely not, unless you just want to accept a life of potentially declining health and illness.
I saw a lovely analogy a few weeks ago. If you start today and put one penny in a jar, tomorrow two pennies, the day after three and so on, one year from now (it’s a leap year) you will have £671.71. I know a lot of people who start this on January 1st, a popular time for obvious reasons, but sadly most have failed by month two.
Why?
They are not prepared for the work it takes to stick to a habit.
Some start sneaking money out of the jar, pretending that they are going to make it up later. Others come up with excuses why they no longer have the money to put in (remember the most you can ever have to add is £3.66), and yet more go off looking for what may appear easier solutions to the problem such as taking out interest bearing credit for things which they really can’t afford.
We have become a society which expects instant gratification, rather than committing to the necessary work to reach our goals.
Is it any wonder that we are a nation of people with incredible financial debt?
Most amazing of all, if you continued investing those pennies on the same system for between 30 and 35 years (depending on interest rates), you would be a millionaire!
There are unfortunate parallels with our health, where as a nation we are the fattest we have ever been, with an NHS unable to keep up with demand to treat lifestyle-related illnesses.
We have to take responsibility for ourselves, and commit to investing in our own health.
If you have let things slide in recent years, I can assure you that there isn’t going to be a quick fix. You are going to have to make some changes, and be as consistent as you can with your nutrition and exercise habits for the rest of your life.
Just a side line, I have been taking some form of physical exercise pretty much every day for the last 25 years of my life (I won’t count pre-18 as then I simply did what was expected rather than regularly having a choice), and where as I am not a millionaire financially, I am undoubtedly in the upper percentile for my health and fitness.
There have been times when due to injury or illness I have slid backwards, but I have never deliberately stopped trying to do the best for my future health.
I recently added up all of my training hours each week, from their peak of around 25 when I was a reasonably competitive triathlete (with a lifestyle which allowed for it), to now, when having been on my feet teaching 20+ hours per week I only manage to spend two or three hours cycling.
I was amazed to discover that I have spent the equivalent of around two of those 25 years doing some form of structured exercise!
I can come back to the adverts suggesting that they can get you super-fit or into your bikini in a matter of a few months, and ask if that is truly likely?
If I was honest and told you that it would perhaps take you one, two or even three years to get into the sort of shape which you would be truly proud of, it might not sound as attractive, but I could certainly guarantee that you would be successful!
You are storing up trouble if you never start prioritising your health and fitness and continue to slide backwards, or worse still go off on some faddy calorie cutting diet or unsustainable exercise plan which leaves you fatter and more miserable than before.
You can’t make up for lost time, but you can make the first step today.
Start putting that penny in the jar, or taking just a few minutes of exercise, or being more mindful with your eating habits, and see where you can be in six months’ time.
It might still be a long way from your ultimate goal, but I know that you will be healthier, happier and feeling proud of your achievements.
And if you stick at it, ultimately you will get there.
