Finding Your Fitness Formula

You always hear about the 'right' way to eat and the 'right' way to exercise. But do these rules work for everyone? Will you receive the same results as your friend who lost 20 pounds on a specific diet if you followed the same diet religiously?

The Answer

As a personal trainer of 10 years … my answer is NO! I have never recommended a specific diet or exercise regimen to my clients because it worked for other people. Why? Because we are all unique; and our bodies respond to different foods and exercises. I firmly believe that each person must find the right "formula" for him/her to be successful at life-long fitness. So what is the answer? What are the rules you should follow? Well-let me tell you a little story about my life, the answers that I have found that DO WORK and how you can apply these same answers to find your own fitness formula!

The Road I Traveled

My commitment to fitness started at the age of 14 when I realized that my jeans weren't shrinking…I was getting bigger. At that point, even at such a young age, I started watching what I ate and I had a desire to stay active. Because of this focus, I never gained so much weight that I would be considered obese, but my weight and body composition did fluctuate. My weight would range from 125 to 150 pounds and my body fat would fluctuate from 16% to 30%. On a 5'7" medium frame, the fluctuations did not show too much…if I wore the right clothes to hide the parts of my body I did not like. Hmmmm-what is wrong with that way of thinking?

The Right Amount of Fat

We all have been told that women's body fat can be between 18-22% as a healthy range, and we've read that when it goes over 25%, you are supposedly obese. I can promise you that I never did look obese, so it worried me when I discovered my 30% body fat after hydrostatic weighing (measurement of body fat by being submersed underwater, and the most accurate measurement of body composition). I was alarmed! I thought I was eating right and I was exercising regularly! So what was I doing wrong?

Let's take a look at my pattern:

1. Did I exercise regularly? Actually, when I took an honest look at my exercise patterns, I realized that I was very sporadic with my exercise program. I did not stick to an exercise schedule although I was a group exercise instructor. During college, I had "some good weeks and some bad weeks." My body maintained a weight range, but I never realized my long-term goals, which were: a) getting rid of my layer of subcutaneous fat; and b) toning up my muscles so they were visible. I was not becoming FIT on the inside either.
   
   
2. Did I eat healthy? Let's be honest here…sure I did not gorge myself, but I ate a large percentage of carbohydrates (mostly sugars) because I focused so much on eating FAT FREE sweets. I would always opt for the "healthy" item when dining out or eating at a fast food place, but I would frequently skip meals so that I could have my "fat free frozen yogurt." My snacking really added up to "empty calories" and a lot of them by the end of the day. I had to find out what my fitness formula was for my body. I had to create my own diet that would work for me.
   
   
3. Did I follow a controlled diet? NO! I never tried any formal diets because I "did not believe in dieting." I would always tell my clients not to try a specific diet because they all made promises that would never come true. But… the fatal flaw in my thinking was that I began to live by taking no action! Since diets don't work, don't make any changes. WRONG! That is not the message I wanted to give my clients-or myself-but that is exactly what I was doing every day. By taking no action to control my diet and eat balanced and nutritious meals, I was becoming an unhealthy eater! Sure, the really strict diets do not work for the long-term, but if you find your formula that you can live with for life, then the diet will work.

Practicing What We Preach
So-the Personal Trainers who preach, should practice what they preach, right? So I did, and I have achieved amazing results by following my own advice! Here is what I recommend to you if you want to achieve life-long health, realize your fitness goals, and ultimately live a longer and healthier life.

Follow these principles and pay attention to your body's responses as you progress. This will insure that you will find your fitness formula!

(Ironically, you will find that I DO use some of those principles that I subconsciously tried to avoid all those years! Even the fad diets use these principles, but what they fail to teach is how to find the right balance for your unique person)

1. SET GOALS - Just like the advice you get for achieving good grades, realizing financial success and completing a project…you must set fitness goals if you truly want to reach them. I follow a simple method for goal setting, called SMART goal setting. You may have seen before, but think of it in terms of your health and fitness now.
   
   Specific - How many pounds? What percentage of body fat? Which measurement do you want to reduce and by how much? What size dress or pants? What shape? What muscle do you want to define?
   
   Measurable - How will you know that you reached your goal if you cannot measure the progress? Be sure that the specific goals you set can be measured in some way (even if the way you measure is with your own eyes and judgment)
   
   Attainable - Let's be honest here… not everyone can be as strong as Arnold, live as long as Jack, or exercise as much as Jane. All of these individuals achieved their goals and became modern day icons in our fitness society, but what are YOUR GOALS that you truly believe you can reach? If you are 5'7", you can never be 6,1" without platform shoes… get the picture?
   
   Realistic - Similar to the principle above…let's be honest! If you set unrealistic goals for yourself, then you are setting up yourself for failure! That's right…you will fail if your goals are unrealistic because you will know in your heart and mind that you can never achieve your goal, so your plan is sabotaged from the beginning. Now-that's not the way you want to start your lifelong fitness plan, do you?
   
   Timed - Yes, that's right… you have to set up a "due date" for your goal to be reached! If you do not TIME yourself, then you could dilly-dally for months and years without ever getting closer to your goal. This is an important step in MEASURING your progress! So, go ahead, give yourself a "due date" and when that date arrives, check your progress. You'll be surprised to see how much closer you are to your goal!
   
   
2. JUST DO IT…RIGHT - I like to elaborate on Nike's slogan by adding the "RIGHT" because anyone can "just do it," but it takes the right frame of mind to JUST DO IT RIGHT! What do I mean? Well, for years I was "doing it," but I came to realize that I was not doing what was right for my body. It will take some time for you to discover what is right for you, but by following the goal setting and moving forward, you WILL find the right formula for your body. Some may need more protein, some can handle more carbohydrates, and some may be able to eat a high percentage of fat and still never gain weight or have high cholesterol. But HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR FORMULA? Answer: By JUST DOING IT… AND FINDING OUT WHAT IS RIGHT for you! Yes-trial and error is the answer, but don't be discouraged. What is the alternative? Do what I did for years and make no changes? Only if you want to never realize your goals! Finding out how to DO IT RIGHT will take time, patience, determination, and a pure desire to realize your goals. Do you have the desire?
   
   
3. BECOME A CREATURE OF HABIT - I know that this advice may sound bad, but if you think about it, that is exactly what you have to do! My sporadic routines were not helping me achieve my goals (of course back then, they weren't SMART goals)! The answer is GOOD HABITS. Start forming those good habits once you find your RIGHT formula. You will notice that your GOOD habits will begin to replace your BAD habits naturally! Believe it or not, it is much easier to start a good habit than it is to stop a bad one. Make a note of all of your bad habits. Now, select a couple good habits to start (preferably ones that will bring you closer to your SMART GOALS), then after one month…look at your bad habit list and see how many you've stopped or lessened. You'll see…good habits take the place of bad habits!

WISHING YOU GOOD LUCK…

Well, I hope you can learn from my life's lesson. I know that we all have to learn lessons on our own, but if you recognize the same pattern of living day-to-day without getting closer to your fitness goals, then maybe-just maybe-the principles here will help you to take action. There's no better time to start but the present, so go out there and find your fitness formula!