January is a time when, though it may be cliché, a lot of us hit the gym in an effort to fulfill our new year’s resolutions. While we may make our resolutions out of habit, I am still an advocate of them, since, even when done quickly, they are a representation of our hopes and goals.
The biggest thing to remember is to make resolutions or goals with intention, and to make them about the long game. Intention carries more weight than “want” and it promotes focus and attention. The long game with goals is all about planning out the little steps to get to the big reward.
Most of what we usually desire from the gym takes more than a few months to cultivate. There are a lot of people out there who will take short-term advantage of your long-term dreams. Because we have access to so much information, we often defer responsibility to others when we ourselves don’t have the knowledge, or are unable to do the research. And when those others show us something that seems reasonable or plausible and offer big rewards in the short term, we often believe it, whether it is true or not. So, when it comes to fitness, here are a few things to watch out for when playing the long game, so you don’t get taken for a short-term ride.
Leave detoxing out of your diet. You don’t need to detox your body with juices or cleanses, or anything else for that matter. Your body is already designed to do that for you, via your liver, kidneys, lungs, and even your skin. These organs process, breakdown and excrete any “toxins” that may be present. The claim that toxins build up (what these toxins are is always vague at best) is a way to build fear over the “uncleanness” of your body.
This concept of “clean” runs rampant through the fitness industry, and what better way to get people to jump onboard than with a claim of internal impurities that cannot be seen. Most of the time detoxes work (I’m using the term loosely here) because you are lowering your caloric intake, or removing or reducing some less healthful foods in your diet. Once you stop cleansing, whatever loss or gain you made will quickly return.
You cannot spot treat your body. Sadly, no matter how many crunches you do, or how many biceps curls you do, your body doesn’t recognize fat that way. It’s a little bit like last one on, first one off.
By strength training you can make areas of your body stronger, but it won’t necessarily mobilize fat loss there. Your best bet is a healthful diet. The gym can only do so much, and in reality most of the work of weight loss, gain, or maintenance is done at home in the kitchen.
Don’t take that the wrong way, though. The more muscle you have the better your body is at burning fat. And regular exercise still has a host of unbeatable benefits like longevity, reduced incidence of disease, and the like.
Fasting or intermittent fasting is under researched, and overrated. Fasting will generally net you the same benefit as wholesale calorie reduction.
Losing weight is a numbers game, literally. Your basal metabolic rate is the number of calories needed to keep your body functioning for your activity level. Any drop in calories will promote weight loss, whether it is done through fasting or not. 500 calories less per day for seven days equals one pound lost. A pound per week is relatively safe for most of us. If you are eating 2,000 calories a day, and you drop to 1,500, you are going to notice. So if someone is promising more pounds lost in less time, it’s probably either untrue or unsafe.
There will always be the newest, next best thing out there. Because many of us struggle, and putting in the day-to-day work at home and at the gym can be difficult, we look outward to get what we want with little output. And there will always be someone ready to swoop in and take advantage of that.
At the end of the day, nothing beats a healthful, sustainable diet that is colourful (think lots of fruit and vegetables), varied and takes your lifestyle into consideration. Pair that with regular physical activity that is designed to meet and exceed your goals, and your long-game resolution is sure to be reached. When it comes to fitness goals, it’s consistency and commitment.
Do what you can with what you have where you are, and always prioritize the positive.
Melissa Sloos is a certified group fitness instructor, spin instructor and co-owner at Coast Fitness.
