Un-Lucky 7: 7 Reasons We Don’t Eat Right & Exercise
Most people know how to eat right and exercise…right?
Maybe, maybe not. At a recent Body Under Construction book signing, I was asked, “Since everyone knows that we should eat right and exercise in order to live longer, healthier lives, why don’t we do it?”
I think that this is a great question that gets to the very heart of why people don’t do what they should to live healthier lives.
Here are the 7 UNLUCKIE reasons I gave her…
Expectations. We set our expectations too high and establish unattainable weight and health goals. When these unattainable goals are not reached, most give up on attaining and maintaining optimal health before giving the process time to work.
Instant Results. Many expect instant results. They view themselves in the mirror and weigh themselves daily expecting an immediate transformation. When instant results fail to appear, many give up. Ironically, when we became overweight, the weight gained did not occur instantly. It was an insidious process that took place over a period of time.
Attaining and maintaining optimal health requires patience as a person reverses the unhealthy habits which took years to develop.
Procrastination. We find multiple reasons to start tomorrow. Many won’t start until they are required to by a doctor who warns if you don’t develop healthier eating and fitness habits, you are at risk for cancer, heart disease, type2 diabetes or other chronic illness. Start today so you can have many healthy tomorrows.
Time. Many claim they don’t have enough time. We make time for so many things in life. We make time to watch our favorite TV show. We make time to clean our cars. TV shows eventually get cancelled and are replaced. Today’s car models are replaced within a year. But our magnificent bodies are irreplaceable. We only get one. Many need to make time to attain and maintain optimal health.
Priority. Health is just not a priority to many people. It only becomes a priority when a person is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, heart disease or other chronic illness. It’s best (and less stressful) to adopt healthier habits as a means of prevention.
Discipline. Establishing healthier eating, fitness and sleep habits requires discipline. Developing a more disciplined lifestyle is difficult at the start. Overtime, however, your disciplined health-based lifestyle will become second nature.
Fear of Failure. Many men and women have a genuine desire to lose weight and attain optimal health. Unfortunately, their true desires are taken advantage of through weight loss gimmicks, commercial promises to lose weight instantly or get the six-pack they always wanted in “3 easy steps”
When these gimmicks, weight loss gadgets, and “belly fat blasting” promises fail them, they give up and rarely give attaining optimal health another chance. They feel as if they’ve failed. What they don’t realize is that they didn’t fail. The gimmicks, gadgets, and unrealistic infomercial promises failed. The only failure in attaining and maintaining optimal health is a failure to get started.
