There are no short cuts

On any given day turn your TV on and at one point or another you'll see an infomercial for some kind of gadget or work out program that promises you a six pack in 90 days. Haven't you noticed that the people featured on these infomercials with the impressive abs and the before and after pictures are all skinny to begin with? Have you ever seen a real overweight person on those infomercials? I got to tell you and I know that those of you that know me will probably laugh at what I'm going to say but the only person who has the balls to show real overweight people in his infomercials is Richard Simmons!

Call him what you want make fun of his "Deal a meal" or "Sweating to the oldies" video but Richard has always shown real people with real weight and health issues on his shows and infomercials and you know what? I really believe the guy cares about the people he helps. OK, get back on your chair I haven't gone soft on you I'll still kick your ass in the gym but the truth is the truth. We Americans have grown up in an instant coffee culture everything that you need is a drive through window away.

It all started with TV dinners in the 50's then came Sanka followed by my favorite orange tasting powder in the 70's Tang. Everyone is always looking for the short cut, the magic pill to weight loss. Why?, because it's easy, who the hell wants to sacrifice and work hard? Unfortunately, although some of these things may work they are rarely permanent. A true permanent change comes from hard work, dedication and a life style change. One for sure way to fail at your effort to lose weight and improve your health is to treat it as a temporary thing.

Even those of you who are interested in putting on some muscle and not weight loss still have to make a permanent change. Another road to failure is to go on a diet( I hate the word diet)reach your goal and then return to "eating normal". Eating normal is what got you in trouble in the first place. Short term and temporary just don't cut the mustard (no pun intended) for permanent weight loss and a healthier body. Too many people set themselves up for failure when the commence a diet and/or exercise program because it's always a temporary fix. Have I gotten my point across yet? OK, lets move on. Another pitfall is falling into the fat burner or pill trap. Again, haven't you noticed that the people on the fat burner commercials are a bit out of shape or they are skinny fat people?

After a few weeks on the magic fat burner they lose fat and get the coveted six pack. The problem here is that the "normal person" purchasing the fat burners are usually 30-50 pounds overweight! After a few weeks on the fat burners the "normal" people don't get much results (if any) and return to, you guessed it, "eating normal". There's one particularly popular over the counter weight lose pill called Alli. If anyone reading this has used it you'll know what I'm about to say . On the label of this magic pill, it suggests that the user carry with him or her an extra pair of dark pants and underwear! What?, yep that was my reaction too. So what this new wonder pill's manufacturer is saying in plain English is that using the product may cause you to shit in your pants..NICE!

Now don't get me going on the doctor prescribed diet pills. These suckers are really dangerous. You will lose weight alright but you'll also lose muscle mass and then you'll begin to look like a skinny fat person (more on that on another post). Oh, and I forgot, did I mention that these pills have a tendency to do some damage to your heart? Are we so desperate to lose weight that we are willing to shit on ourselves and possibly mess our hearts up? I hope not. In conclusion, there are no short cuts guys in order to make a permanent and healthy life style change it will take hard work and dedication. Did I mention hard work?

That's all I have to say about that..
See you in the gym..