Warning – This post contains explicit content
I cannot stress enough that change is difficult. Fat loss, muscle gain, and improved performance take a great deal of both physical and mental effort. True transformation comes through acceptance of discomfort while continuing to proceed forward. It goes far beyond just desiring or wanting to change. The ideology that if you believe hard enough, the change you desire will occur, is a lie.
The holidays can be an overwhelming and intimidating time for those on a diet and trying to keep from derailing progress made. There is a plethora of calorie dense foods around, an excess of sugary sweets, and carb bombs as far as the eye can see.
So how do we enjoy the holidays and keep on track? Or, how do we “eat our cake and have it too?”
Far too often success is defined by the things we have rather than by the people we have become in this world. Instead of measuring our progress by how many lives we are influencing; we gauge it by how much money we are making and the accolades of achievement and higher status.
If the movie Gremlins taught us anything it is that we all know better than to feed a mogwai after midnight. Even the creatures themselves (or at the least the more intelligent specimens) seem to understand the wages of 3 am pizza: complete metamorphosis. Unfortunately, some dietary prescriptions purport similar fear in humans as to what will happen to our bodies if we consume carbohydrates beyond a specific time of day. Most commonly I have heard of cutting off carbohydrate intake after 8 pm. Nutrition myths, misunderstandings, and flat out inaccurate information tend to have a way to live on.
A base piece of my process for intaking a new client is to clearly define the overall goal of the client. Once the goal is established it helps to define the focus of programming regarding nutrition as well as approach to training. As a coach it allows me to set what clients should prioritize to put them in the best position to succeed.
