You can't compare yourself...

It must be obvious to you, from all I've posted on this good ole' blog, that I'm pretty darn fit. I enjoy intense physical challenges, and I spend a lot of time with people who enjoy them as well.

But, honestly, I haven't always been so motivated to be active to this extreme degree. I have let myself become lazy in the past... I've overindulged consistently enough to see my physique regress... I've been severely unmotivated and uninspired toward fitness...

I've been at different ends of the spectrum when it comes to satisfaction with personal health and fitness levels. I've needed to lose fat in order to get back to a content place AND I've been so fit that my metabolism speeds forward like a sports car on the Autobahn!

I know from my own personal experience that you need different strategies when you're in different phases of fitness. Which leads me to today's message...

When you are uber-fit and spending lotsa time being active, you have more leeway to "cheat" on your diet. You definitely need to keep up the healthy choices most of the time... but more "cheats" can be taken, and nothing will really change about your physique or performance. (of course, consistently bad nutritional choices WILL affect even the fittest of the fit!)

Anyway, to continue -
If you are trying to lose fat (which so many people are)... you NEED to realize that you have different goals than those "fit" persons do. Sorry to say it - but if you're in need of a body transformation, you cannot compare yourself to someone who's in great shape. That person can be less worried about nutritional perfection (I know, it's not fair...); and you MUST be more stringent with your eating choices if you really want to consistently lose fat and get to that high level of fitness.

There's no way around it.
In order to lose fat, you must be in some sort of caloric deficit.
You must have less errors in your diet... otherwise, you'll be in maintenance mode. And you won't change one bit.

So, if you were to ask me how I eat... I could definitely get you in better shape if you were to follow me around and mimic my nutritional rules. Because I do walk the talk with optimal nutrition.

But - compared to the way I've eaten in order to get to this point, I'm more lenient right now than you would need to be. Especially because it's very likely that I get WAY more exercise than you do. (And if I'm wrong about that... good for you!) But, that's okay for me right now. However, if I would want to take my fitness/physique to the next level, I would have to be super compliant with my ultimate nutritional habits. As would you!

Final thought:

If you're trying to change - find a person with a high level of fitness, and use them as a motivator, mentor, and goal. But if that person is not actively training for something and is simply maintaining... don't follow what they do.

Instead, find other people who are on the same pathway as you, and use each other as support to get to that goal. Do what it takes to get there... then you can sway a little bit when you arrive!

Good luck!