For  people who don’t Diet or work out, the thought of doing these things day in and day out, is quite frankly, scary.  I know a lot of people that do not diet or workout and quite simply don’t care to, no matter how bad they may need it.  It seems like it’s too much work, too hard, they get too sore, they will never be able to keep it up, etc.  the list goes on and on.  They look at people who exercise and diet regularly as being different…or having something in them that they don’t have.  The problem is with these people is that they never have given the healthy lifestyle a chance.

For the most part these people have tried to diet and exercise and some point in their lives, but never followed through with it long enough to get or feel any benefits.  I believe a lot of this comes from following diets and exercise programs that were ineffective for reaching their goals.  For example, they may have started working out way to hard and decided that it’s just crazy to want to do this every day.  What people do not realize is that when you first start working out, you must start off slowly!  There is zero benefit to pushing too hard or doing too much at the beginning.  Progression is the key.  Your body cannot tolerate physical activity when you first start.  That’s why the workouts seem so hard when you first begin and are barely doing anything.  Don’t worry it is like this for everyone.  The good news is that they body can change very rapidly if you stress it with the proper kind of program.  In 4-6 weeks I can take a person who is very out of shape and make them into someone who is in better shape than most of the general population…regardless of how much they weigh.

Now lets look at the people who have been dieting/exercising regularly for years, as is the case with many of my clients.  A common statement that many of them say is, “I just don’t understand how people eat bad” or “I don’t understand how people don’t work out.”  It is baffling for those of us that do it on a regular basis.  A lot of times when clients have to miss workout sessions or have fallen off their diet for a bit they start to feel it and often will go through withdrawals.  Withdrawals from feeling good.  You take away diet and exercise away from them…it will affect them negatively in a lot of ways.  They will say this.  I will often here stuff like, “I fell off my diet for a weekend, I just feel gross” or “I haven’t trained in a few days…I’m so lethargic”  Whatever they say makes no difference,  the bottom line is that they cannot wait to get back on track…once they get that one workout in or one day back on the diet they immediately start to feel better…much better to be honest.  This is why they cannot understand how people do not diet or exercise.  You have to experience both sides of the coin to understand it.

So what is different between these two groups of people?  Are they somehow made up differently?  Nope, that’s not it.  The group that craves diet and exercise, is actually craving how good it makes them feel…kind of like drugs.  When you work out your body releases endorphins.  Endorphins are “feel good” hormones that your body produces naturally.  So yes you want to get to a point where you crave this feeling and can’t wait to get your next “high”.  I know for many of my clients and personal experience that during and after your workout you feel wayyyyyyy better than before.  A lot of times when clients come in having a bad day or are tired they leave the workout feeling energized and happy.  It is very profound how your mood and how you feel can be changed so drastically and in such a short time…just like drugs.  Even if there was no endorphins involved the process of accomplishing goals and looking better on a daily basis is highly addicting as well.  So the best advice I can say to people who haven’t experienced this phenomenon yet is to give it a try.  But you must progress properly and do it long enough so that you will start to crave it.  Once you get to this point going to the gym will not be an issue…you may actually find that you want to work out even more!