Let's say we want to make a cake.
In order to make a basic cake we need the following ingredients:
Butter or Oil
Sugar
Eggs
Flour
Baking Powder
Milk or Water
Time - to prep, bake and eat. =)
Each of these elements is critical to the success of our cake. They each play a huge role in the success, color, texture (mouthfeel) and taste of our cake.
But what if we left an ingredient out?
No Butter - rougher texture, the cake is flat and not airy.
No Sugar - lacks cake taste, no browning of the cake.
No Eggs - rougher texture, flat cake, ingredients don't bind together.
No Baking Powder - flat cake, not spongy
No Milk or Water - dry cake, ingredients don't have enough moisture to properly be mixed together
Leaving just ONE ingredient completely out is a recipe (LOL pun intended) for a disastrous cake.
Consider this..
Isn't a cake much like your weight loss and healthy lifestyle journey?
Here is the recipe for a standard journey:
PROPER BALANCED NUTRITION
CARDIO
STRENGTH TRAINING
DRINKING WATER
TRACKING FOOD
TRACKING FITNESS
CREATIVE AND OPEN MIND
SUPPORT
So if you decide that you don't need one of these, that you can have a successful journey without them, what happens to your recipe?
NONE OR POOR NUTRITION - body not fueled, unable to get through day or workouts, no energy, brain slow to respond. Increasing hunger due to poor nutrition leads to binging and "cheating" behaviors. Hungry, binging or cheating lead to mental challenges.
LITTLE TO NO CARDIO - no calorie burn, heart is not strengthened, lung capacity not increased, you don't feel good, you don't sleep well
LITTLE TO NO STRENGTH TRAINING - Metabolism isn't raised, fat doesn't burn as many calories as muscle, bones aren't strengthened, more prone to injuries, coordination and balance aren't tested and strengthened.
NOT ENOUGH WATER - You don't digest as well. Metabolism suffers. Water is SQUEEZED out of your waste product before elimination so you are hydrating on waste moisture - toxicity. Kidney stones. Lungs aren't lubricated. Joints aren't lubricated.
NOT TRACKING FOOD - Unable to regulate weight and plan for results. No historical data to show clear improvement in nutritional values. Unable to confirm schedule of meals and snacks evenly throughout the day. Unsure if you are getting the right amount nutrition critical areas to weight loss - calories, fat, carbs, protein, sodium, etc.
NOT TRACKING EXERCISE - Unable to regulate weight and plan for results. No data to show clear improvement in fitness abilities.
NOT HAVING A CREATIVE AND OPEN MIND - Unable to create solutions to overcome challenges, unable to see the issues right in front of you to combat and change them, unable to find ways of creating successes in your program. Unable to recognize, accept or apply support and tips that can help you be successful in your journey.
NO SUPPORT - Isolation, no exposure to other people succeeding at what you are doing, no place to get a head check, no accountability, depression, failure.
The recipe for your LIFE LONG health and fitness is a carefully balanced recipe complete with proven methods, chemical reactions, science, and so much more.
Unless you are a person who is at goal weight and have kept it off for 5 years while missing one key ingredient above, DON'T YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF to follow the proven recipe so you can HAVE and ENJOY your cake, and eat it too?
(LOL pun intended there too!)
