Ditch the Quick Fix Fad and Reach Your Health Goals

WOW!  Look at those results!  She lost 75 lbs in 2 weeks!  That's amazing!  Unbelievable!  Oh wait...something seems a little "too unbelievable" here... maybe it's so unbelievable because it is not true...  The image below is a before/after photo that is completely photoshopped.

Photo Credit:  Gym Free Fitness

Some companies (not all) in the health and fitness industry will use glossy photoshopped images and fancy marketing phrases to attempt to convince you not only that you can but that you SHOULD lose weight FAST!  I get it.  It is awfully enticing to think you could drop 20 lbs in a week, right?  Here's the thing though.  Sure, it could maybe be possible to drop a bunch of weight in a short time, but would you really want to?  Really?  How healthy could that possibly be?  Is it long lasting?  Is it hurting you in the long run more than it's helping? Will you find yourself bingeing when you're done with your "diet" because you didn't take the time to actually change your daily habits and/or address the underlying emotional issues that are driving the unhealthy living to begin with?  Will you be sucked into another product/pill that costs loads of money each month and seems more interested in building a business than building health in the individuals that support it?

The REALITY is... healthy weight loss will likely be slow, ideally, 1-2 lbs a week.  Healthy habits need time to be practiced and the emotional/mental side of the journey should NOT be ignored.  Living healthy is not built only on fitness and nutrition.  It requires looking at yourself as a whole person that will make mistakes along with improvements every single day.  It IS possible to reach your goals.  Allow yourself to BELIEVE in your ability to overcome difficult circumstances, stubborn plateaus, negative thoughts and realize that your greatest asset to acheive your health goals is YOUR OWN DETERMINATION to NOT GIVE UP!  Oh, my goodness, I'm so passionate about this that I am literally shouting it on the web via caps!

You deserve to be told the truth about living healthy!  Reaching your goals will take work.  It will take HARD work, commitment, re-commitment and continued consistency.  It may, in fact, be the most difficult endeavor of your existence, but imagine your satifaction when you begin to realize that you are indeed living the life you desire and YOU did it!  YOU made it happen!  That  feeling is worth working for.  

I believe that letting go of the "quick fix fantasy" mentality can actually open the door for your mind to accept what living healthy actually looks like.  It looks like eating adequate nutrition through fruits, vegetables and quality protein sources (among other things), hydrating your body, being active, limiting sweets and processed foods, connecting with others by offering support and encouragement, improving yourself mentally, spiritually and emotionally.  All of these things contribute to the building of a foundation of living healthy and will allow you to ENJOY the life you have.  It may be a slow road.  It's not a quick fix, but it's a road worth taking!  Wouldn't you rather take a longer path that will get you where you want to be then the short loop that just seems to take you back to where you started?  I know the path I'll be taking.  What about you?