My Story
Have you been working out hard, but you are still struggling with seeing good results? Are you doing cardio with intensity, but jsut seem to hold the fat on your frame? Are you one of the people who works out consistently, but is still “fat”? If so, this post is for you, so open up your mind and heart to what you are about to read.
I began working out in earnest a little more than 5 years ago. I got involved with a group that was formed by Adam Waters. Adam is a guy who became somewhat famous by transforming his body real time in front of followers on the internet. He posted daily accountability photos and blogged daily on what he ate and how he trained. He called his approach “Real-time Accountability” and it clearly worked for him.
I joined Adam's very first “Group Shred” mission and set forth putting up photos daily along with a blog entry. I never missed a day and soon began to see some progress. I lost a ton of inches in my abdominal area, but could only get things to go so far. I trained harder than anyone at my gym. I did my cardio. At the end of the day, nothing really changed regarding my body fat.
At one point I even thought that maybe I just needed more muscle, so I went on a bulk. I was very successful with the bulk, adding mass to my back, shoulders, arms and legs. I am very proud of the hard work I did on that bulk, but the gut still remained.
I've tried alot of approaches the past 5 years, but the biggest problem hadn't been overcome. I was lying to myself. While I was convinced that my nutrition was good, it really wasn't. The problem wasn't the majority of my meals, it was the little binges I would go on.
Just this past week I realized that I needed to reevaluate. I realized that I needed to be real with myself about my nutrition. I had to figure out the real cause of my failure in this area. As I examined all the evidence it became very clear that what was lacking was something I have personally written about in the past. I wasn't planning ahead properly. I was finding myself caught in a tight spot nutritionally far too often. This was sabatoging my ability to burn the fat. I quickly realized that I needed to make some drastic changes.
How Does This Help You?
If you find yourself relating to what I'm saying so far you are probably asking how you can be helped by this. Hang in there because that is the next step in the process. I want to help you the way I've been helped.
Four Steps to Being Real With Yourself
There are 4 steps to being real with yourself.
Admit that you've been lying to yourself
In order to change the cycle you've been in you must admit to yourself that you are really the problem. You have to stop blaming other people and other things. If you have been blaming others, you have been lying to yourself. Admit it!
Find a source of accountability
After you admit that you've been lying to yourself, you must take immediate action. The fist piece of business should be finding a source of accountability. You must find accountability amongst like-minded individuals. Think about what I said.
“You must find accountability amongst like-minded individuals.”
If you want to get a better body you do it by seeking accountability from others who have the same goals as you. I found a place that is called Serious Lifters and that's where I am currently getting my accountability. The people there don't judge me. I get nothing but encouragement. They have vowed to hold me accountable. The site has a place to enter what you eat and it can be seen by anyone clicking on your profile. Remember, public accountability ratchets up the pressure on you.
I also recommend setting up an accountability blog. I am using Welcome Inside My Mind (my personal site) for this very purpose during Mission Accountability. You can also find accountability on Twitter.
Plan Your Meals
It is absolutely imperative that you do this step. It is truly the key to the entire change you are trying to make. This is what will keep you from being caught without the right food to eat.
Fat loss guru, Tom Venuto has said that counting calories is easy if it is done during the planning phase. What he means is that you don't actually have to count if you plan ahead correctly. I just used this approach this past Sunday to insure that I ate well at my daughter's soccer party. Bringing your own food insures you comply with your nutritional needs. If you are really not sure what to do about your nutrition, I highly recommend Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle book.
Plan your workouts
Just like not planning your meals will defeat you, not planning your workouts will derail you. Your weight training and cardio workouts are going to help you succeed, so be sure to have a schedule of when you will be doing them and what you will be doing. This is the key to great programs like Lean Hybrid Muscle Reloaded.
Wash, Rinse, Repeat
Now that you know the four steps, all you have to do is execute them over and over again. It is a repetitive cycle that you must stick to for teh long-term.
Conclusion
It is my belief that you will see much better results if you follow the pattern laid out above. It is a process that takes time. You approach it with baby steps. One small success that builds on a previous small success is the way to victory. String together a bunch of successes and you will be amazed at the results!
