Biggest Gaps in the Fitness Industry
I think you'll find this perspective interesting and helpful
Especially if you're really frustrated with your fitness.
There are 2 giant problems we don't talk enough about when it comes to helping people with getting fit.
1) Trainers and Nutrition coaches have more motivation than you.
Let me be clear - I'm not saying you don't have motivation.
I’m very certain you’re more motivated and committed in other areas of your life.
I’m talking about the motivation coaches get when they are incentivized by seeing it as being a part of their job.
This is a massive bias you can’t relate to.
So not only do the training and nutrition coaches have the knowledge of what to do but they also have the pay incentive to live up to practicing it.
Think about whenever a coach is meal prepping, working out, getting extra sleep, buying supplements, tracking calories, or doing any of the stuff you find hard to do…It’s their job to do it.
You know that responsibility you feel to show up to work in the morning? To do that extra task for your boss you hate doing but you have to?
This is the incentive coaches have for fitness.
Imagine if you were a mechanic and you didn't do oil changes on your car regularly.
Or you were a chef and you always ordered from McDonalds?
Don’t get me wrong. There are certainly coaches that DO NOT walk the walk, but there is a huge majority on social media getting the attention and people are listening to them simply because they are jacked and lean.
But these jacked and lean people have way more money incentives coming their way compared to you.
This is why we have a huge gap.
The people trying to get you to do things you need to do cannot totally relate to you.
How does this information help you?
Because this can help you guide yourself with what kind of person to learn from when it comes to social media.
There will be so many people trying to sell you one new idea in nutritional research, and there isn't much that's new.
If you hit the right protein and calorie intake, you will lose weight and get healthier.
But that "just hit this protein and calorie goal" isn't helpful either.
You need to listen to the tangible actions that make things easier and more realistic for you and your lifestyle.
Listen to people who are showing how to make meal prep easy.
How to shop for high protein ideas.
Look for more 'How to' that applies to your lifestyle.
Because you just need to apply things to your life for a long time.
Longer than you think.
And that leads me to the next problem.
2) It’s About Psychology, Less about Physiology
As mentioned we haven’t reinvented the wheel for awhile.
Certainly nutritional research has had some mixed opinions over the years and there is still a lot of debating in some details.
But VERY few people would debate the following.
- Hit your calorie goal
- Hit your protein goal (.7 to 1g per lbs of body weight)
- Eat 80-90% whole foods minimally processed
Even when it comes to Carnivore vs. Plant based, neither of those groups are advocating for ultra-processed food.
So we know the over arching direction.
The ability to take action is a whole other beast.
“Why can’t I do the things I said I’d do?”
“Why did I eat the WHOLE tub of Ben and Jerry’s? AGAIN!”
This falls in line with problem number 1 – you don’t have the same incentives that the coaches do.
This is a big problem to address but I think can be solved if you shift your perspective a bit on 2 things.
First off, if you know it’s psychological, that gives you power and opportunity.
Instead of saying ‘there is something wrong with my metabolism’ or thinking there is something wrong with your body physically doesn’t give you an opportunity to change.
If you can understand that if you follow those 3 big facts above (protein, calories, and whole foods), you can look at the problem differently.
Second, you think you need to train your body to do something physical but it’s actually just training the mind around the behaviour being normalized.
For fit people, eating their appropriate calorie intake, meal planning, working out, all the other stuff is routine and normal.
When you start a new diet, you feel excited maybe, and it lasts for 1-3 weeks.
VERY common to see a drop off after week 3.
This could be because
- You didn’t like your diet
- You had too few calories in your diet
- You didn’t see weight come off soon enough
- You simply missed your old food
The biggest challenge you have is in your mind.
How can you make the food, training and lifestyle habits all feel good and normal?
Think about what the new weight loss drug Ozempic does.
It makes you think you need less food. It’s simply works on your mind.
Now if you don’t want to go the pharmaceutical route, then see this as a psychological challenge.
You need to practice feeling comfortable with this routine.
How long?
The rest of your life ideally.
But that’s not saying you’re going to eat the exact same food and do the same training.
It’s saying you need to create a VERY similar structure of habits for the rest of your life.
The good news is that it helps you make your diet choices better.
When you make up your meal plan, make sure you’re willing to eat that breakfast for along time.
When you pick your exercise routine, find something that makes you excited to go to the gym.
And again remember this is a psychological problem.
Make yourself mentally comfortable with the process.
Instead of thinking “I can’t wait to be done this once of lost weight so I don’t have to do this anymore” you should focus on the highlights “I really enjoyed this meal” Or “I really feel great after that workout”
That’s waaaaaay easier said than done for sure.
But here’s another incentive.
If you do make this work, and you do get in the shape you want… This means you DO have better motivation and determination than ANY of the fitness coaches out there.
Because you changed your behaviour when you really didn’t have to.
It’s like learning a language when you don’t live in that country.
It takes a special kind of person to apply themselves to something so difficult when it’s all on your own personal time.
It may also help to maybe see it as your job too.
If you get more fit, what happens to the rest of your life?
How much more effective are you at your job?
How much more present and energetic are you with your family?
How much happier are you around other people?
Instead of thinking your 8-10 hour day ends when you leave your job, why not tag on another 1 hour of “Personal development work hours”
Here’s the thing, no one else is going to do that for you.
So you need to find a way to lever your motivation if you want long term change.
And remember, that makes you way more of a bad ass than I could ever be.
Keep being a bad ass, my friend,
RQ