Shortcuts in Fitness Only Prolong Results By: Bonnie Pfiester

 
Shortcuts in fitness only prolong results
 
Have you ever heard the saying “a lazy man works twice”?  It’s ironic, but we often end up doing twice the work trying to take shortcuts in life. 
 
When it comes to fitness, dieting is number one on the shortcut list. Most people think you should be able to physically “work” the weight off without dieting.  No matter how much I encourage people to work as hard on their eating as they do in the gym; some people just have to learn the hard way.  
 
This experience is most obvious during intense training like our Boot Camp program. Most of our boot campers have never worked as hard as they do during Boot Camp. When you’re working that hard you expect results - and when you don’t get them you are devastated. Besides, you put in the same energy as the girl next to you who seems to be dropping weight by the minute.  The difference is you are trying a shortcut and your shortcut isn’t working. 
 
So, what do you do now? It’s time to turn things around and take the road to success. The first step is to forgive your self. It’s so easy to beat yourself up and feel like a failure, but you’re only a failure if you give up. Almost all of our weight loss success stories were once so-called failures – but they were failures who learned from their mistakes and became victorious. 
 
This brings me to the next step which is to learn from your mistakes. Not only can you learn from your own mistakes but you can learn from other people’s successes. The key is applying what you’ve learned for your benefit.  
 
Next, even if you haven’t lost weight from exercise alone, you’re probably in better shape now. Use your new physical condition to work for you. The only difference is now you are going to work just as hard on both your diet and your exercise.
 
Lastly, look at past failures as the beginning and not the end. Once you have learned a lesson, you get to start fresh with the new information you have obtained. This is far from the end - this could be the beginning of your personal success story. 
 
When it comes to fitness, short cuts will get you nowhere. Besides, sometimes the long way is the only way to some of the best destinations.