Are you tempted to buy that crazy fat burner?

If you’re tempted to buy that crazy fat burner, herb or pill you’ve seen on late night tv, then you need to read this article first. 

I worry about those whose approach their diets with the mentality that there can be no extraneous activity in it, you are setting yourself up for failure.  I see a lot of this, especially around this time of year.  It is a rare thing to adorn a diet and have it stick the very first time you attempt it.  As long as you approach your diet as trying to do it better than you did yesterday and think of yourself as always trying to improve it, then you’re not in a bad spot.  The best approach is to consistently keep getting better, not only eat raw foods, or any other realistic crap you find yourself doing because you want to lose 20 pounds in the next 2 weeks that you know you spent the last year or so packing on.

And don’t kid yourself with this “I don’t diet” nonsense.   Lifestyle change is also a “diet”.  If it makes you feel better not to call it that, then by all means, call it a lifestyle change, but try not to get caught up in the media bombardment of the lingo and terms they throw around to get you to respond the way they want you to.  Lifestyle change is still a diet.  I think when the whole “I don’t diet” nonsense came about it was because people referring to ‘going on a diet’ to crazy diets like the watermelon diet, the cabbage soup diet,  the water,  lemon and maple syrup cleanse etc.

Here are some tips to keep the good going in your diet forever and not let  the hype make you into a crazy person:

Avoid any media hype about any types of “diets”.  Particularly the ones you see the celebrities hype and promote.  Nothing good can ever come of it.  I never understood why anyone would think that any celebrity would follow Weight Watchers,  Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig or any other overly-hyped program that celebrities get big money to promote.  Something else I find more disturbing than confusing is why anyone would think that a celebrity would use store bought hair color or shampoo (for criminy sake) to make them look the way they do.  Really?    I’m sorry if you believe that these celebs are actually following that diet they are getting paid to convince you to join.  It’s hogwash.

2. Avoid any magic pills, hens, plants,  formulas, or fat burners etc.  Ok so the story with these “magical” products generally goes like this: There is a magic __________(insert miracle product here) that can only be collected in some remote place that actually exists, but no one has ever heard of let alone been to.….and wouldn’t you know it,  there was also a certain type of people who happen to live around this magical product (the natives) that they ingested and lived to be billions of years old, slim and without a wrinkle to be seen.

This is a forced exaggeration, but do you get the irony here?   Who wouldn’t want that?  There is never any such truth to the story.  You aren’t going to find many people investigating this inflated story, but they will readily believe it because the alternative (eat clean and less processed food, and exercise more) seems not very appealing or sexy.  So since the place where the miracle product is from is so remote and the natives never seem to suffer any weight or age issues because the miracle product is too good to be true, unfortunately, most people will believe it anyway and invest in the hype.

Not only that, why give all of your hard work or credit to some stinking pill or herb that does not, or ever did exist?

3. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.  This simply means that you should not expect to do one mode of exercise and expect it to change your life.  I mean it could, but putting that expectation on that one thing is bound to disappoint you.  “This is it, this is going to solve all my problems I’ve been suffering through all this time”.  It’s exercise, not therapy (although both together could do you some good).  Don’t expect to glean from that one exercise everything you felt you’ve been missing all of your life to give you the body you want.  It’s becomes a hopeless scenario.  You’re looking in the wrong place.  The answer lies within YOU.  Exercise is only part of that equation.

4. Don’t only plan to look good for just one day out of the year.   That trip to Maui, that wedding day, that class reunion are all set ups to FAIL if you’re not planning beyond it.  You work, and work and work and work for that one day you’ve been wanting to look extra special for and as soon as that day comes and goes, well all that planning and dedication seems to go with it.  It will take the wind out of your sails and you will revert back to your old ways.  You will then find yourself right back where you started and what seemed like a small task before will now turn monumental.   I know this pattern well because I’ve lived it.  Eventually, your pendulum will begin to hang closer to the center and you won’t suffer such severe gains or losses, it will just kind of stabilize itself in the center, but you can’t stop trying and you have to be able to identify when you are ready to incorporate change and stay consistent.

Turn off all the media hype because there is too much of it.  You may not realize it, but it’s all geared toward making you feel terrible about yourself so that you become vulnerable to buying what you may believe will get you to the point of “beauty”.    Set your own standards and follow those.  Companies spend billions on studying things that will make you respond in their favor.  You are doing it even without realizing it.  We all have our weak moments and dream of where we’d like to be.  Do yourself a favor and TUNE.IT.OUT.

Velma Garnes is a Personal Trainer and fitness expert with the Arena District Athletic Club.  You can contact Velma at velma@arenaathletic.com

The Arena District Athletic Club is more than just a gym, it’s a premier fitness facility located in the heart of the Arena District in downtown Columbus. We provide convenience and quality, featuring top-of-the-line equipment, top-notch personal trainers, spa-like locker rooms and a wide variety of free group fitness classes daily including Cardio, Spinning, Barre Fusion, Yoga, Boot Camp and more. We offer free 2-hour parking and convenient contract-free memberships, to fit your healthy lifestyle needs. Don’t just join, belong