You wouldn’t know it by looking at me now, but I tried to be a bodybuilder. I had a few buddies that seemed to bulk up doing little more than milling around a gym and drinking protein shakes. And I was always a bit more of the scrawny kid that occasionally became chubby, then scrawny again. And I hated it. So I got a subscription to Muscle and Fitness, bought some home gym equipment and started a bodybuilding plan. Easy as that. Right? I wish. After more than 5 years of constantly battling to gain muscle, specifically in my upper body, and failing miserably, I reluctantly gave up. Not on exercise of course. Just on the hope of having the chiseled chest and 20 inch biceps.
The problem wasn’t my workout or my diet. It wasn’t lack of dedication or determination or focus. I put in the time. I played the game. But I was fighting a battle that genetically could not be won. So was it all for not? Was it all a waste of time? Not at all. I learned to love the gym, develop a consistent workout schedule, and eventually parlay this into a fitness career. But it was a frustrating process that could have been avoided.
But enough about me. How does any of this help you?
In the battle for weight-loss our approach tends to lean towards the negative. Find our weakness and attack. If we don’t exercise, then we join a gym and workout 5 days a week. If we overeat then we choose an extreme, low calorie diet or some crazy lemon juice cleanse. If we love sweets we swear off sugar. And it all works for a week or maybe a few months. But our weaknesses are our weaknesses for a reason. It’s because they usually stronger than we are. No one starts a boxing career with their first bout against Mike Tyson. Strong beats weak 99% of the time.
Losing the battle to our weaknesses
It’s almost as if our weakness has a mind of its own. It ‘spars’ with us for a few rounds, letting us think we are winning, then delivers that single knockout blow that hurts so bad we give up completely.
But what if you turn the tables on your weakness? What if you dare to change the rules? After all, this is your fight, so it should be your rules. Instead of challenging Mike Tyson to a head-to-head boxing match, you challenge him to play a game you’re good at. One you know you can win. Everyone, everything, has a weakness that can be exploited. And guaranteed, you have a strength he does not possess.
So what strength do you have that can outdo your weakness? What battle can you choose that you are sure to win?
I have clients that enjoy exercise but keep losing the battle to food. It’s not that they have terrible diets. But they have just enough of a struggle that they feel like giving up the fight. They only see the losses when they give in to the occasional overindulgence. Imagine letting go of this fight. Step out of the ring. Then challenge your weakness to a battle in the gym. Or on a bike. Or for a run. 20 minutes of a home workout video. A hike up the hillside. Beat the weakness at a game you choose.
Exercise may not be your strength. But I know for a fact that if you are ready to win the weight-loss battle, we can find a strength to play to. One that is stronger than your weakness. A strength that will allow you to feel daily victories instead of losses. That will motivate you to do more instead of compel you to give up.
Step out of the ring where a loss is a guaranteed and create a game where success is assured. Play to your strength and be empowered by winning.
