With the Summer Season amongst us, the stress and pressure to achieve the “Beach Body” is at an all time high. There is now a greater emphasis to look good with your clothes off as there is a good chance that a large portion of your clothes will be off these next few months. Whether you’re wearing shorts, tee-shirts, tank tops, no tops, bikinis or speedos (please don’t wear speedos!), you’re bound to be showing more skin then usual within the next few weeks. And with more self exposure comes more self criticism.

I have yet to meet a single person on this planet (myself included) who is completely satisfied with the way that he or she looks. Whether we feel that our waistlines are too big, or that our arms are too small or that our butts are too saggy, there is always something about our physical appearance that the majority of us wish we could change. And as a Personal Trainer and Online Health & Fitness Coach, I believe that this is a good thing. In fact, I believe a little bit of vanity can be a useful self motivational tool to get people into the gym and following a regiment nutritional plan. However with that said, if you are one of those people who judge your own success in the gym and with your diet purely by the results you achieve with your aesthetics, then I believe that you are setting yourself up for failure in the long term.

It Ain’t All About Looks

Whenever we work with a new client one of the first questions we ask them is what their health and fitness goals are. Now for the most part, most peoples’ goals are fairly straightforward. Most people work with us because they want to lose fat, build muscle and become overall more healthy and fit. Sure we work with athletes and fitness competitors whose goals might be more specific to their desired sport or competition, however the premises and protocols in which we use to work with these individuals remains relatively the same. We’re in the business of helping people improve the quality of their own lives. Therefore we don’t only focus on helping them achieve their short term goals, but more importantly we make sure that they achieve long lasting results.

Don’t Diet

I really hate the word “Diet”. So much in fact that I try my best to refrain from using this word when working with my clients on their Nutritional Plans. With so much negative thoughts, feelings and emotions associated with this word, I don’t feel that it has much use in my everyday vocabulary. Therefore rarely if ever will I incorporate any “dieting” into my customized programs simply because I don’t believe in it. My programs are designed to change peoples’ lives in a positive way, not in one which restricts, bans and eliminates certain macronutrients and essential nutrients just to reach a target number on a scale or body fat percentage on the calipers. I want my clients to have a healthy relationship with food. I don’t want them to think that carbs are the enemy or that consuming healthy fats will automatically make them fat. My goal is to help my clients achieve results with their physiques, but not at the expense of risking their health or causing permanent damage to their metabolisms and/or digestive system.

Dumb Dieting

Any caffeine constipated trainer who’s high on fat burners and stimulants can design a cookie cutter diet that will “help” you lose weight. And any know-it-all, overly educated GP can prescribe you some generic bullshit food guidelines for you to follow to “help” you become healthier (I’m talking to You Canada Health Food Guide!). But the fact of the matter is that neither of these plans will work for you in the long term simply because they are unrealistic and therefore are unsustainable.

Following Fictitious Fads

If you’re an avid reader of my weekly blogs, follow me on Instagram or read our daily health and fitness content that we post on our Facebook Group Page, then you will know my distaste for Fad Diets. But as much as I enjoy putting down the IIFYM Diet, shaming Intermittent Fasting and ostracizing Ketosis from the health and fitness community, I’m going to bite my tongue this week and just say this: If you have followed a Fad Diet in the past and have achieved incredible results and have been able to maintain those results since completing the diet then I applaud you. For you have been able to accomplish something that very few people are able to accomplish. As most people who have followed these diets will tell you that they either rebounded with their weight once they came off the diet, or developed some type of issue with their digestive system or thyroid. And I can say this from experience because I’ve worked with a large percentage of these types of people. And I can also say this from experience that it took A LOT of work, discipline and will power for these clients of mine to regain control of their bodies. But luckily most of them had enough patience and trust in me to get them back on track with their weight and their health.

Developing a Long Term Vision

Whether you feel that you are “too fat” “too thin” “too tall” or “too short”, just remember that you can NEVER be “too healthy”. Our looks will deteriorate as we age and one day our health might too. However that one day doesn’t need to be today. And it doesn’t need to be caused by something foolish you did because you wanted ripped abs, toned glutes or bulging biceps. Don’t let short term gratifications get the best of you at the expense of long term satisfactions. Exercise for good health and eat for a better quality of life, you deserve it!

Yours in Good Health,

Nick Cosgrove
Forever Fit Performance