The A, B, C's Never Change!

When we are young, everything around us is new, exciting, bright, and loud. And from the first breath we take, we begin learning. From birth to about junior high, everything we do and see is pretty much new; then we start recognizing things and learning that some things have an order. Then it's just a matter of learning new things and how do do them day after day. You follow me? Maybe not.

I began to train with weights and become interested in bodybuilding in about 1992. With this interest naturally came diet and learning about the three macronutrients: protein, fats, and carbohydrates. I also began to learn about things like sodium, potassium, and fiber, and about all the different things that come inside these the types of foods the macros are stored in. It makes sense to go from point A to point B, learn about the basics of dieting and training one at a time, right? I, however, was impatient, and wanted to get to point Z as fast as possible. Along the way, I may have skipped some really important steps, so once I got to point Z and realized something was wrong, I had to go back and begin all over again to see what I had missed. I did this again and again until I discovered which steps I had overlooked.

Jenifer Hudson is a perfect example of someone who took control!

Then I realized most people are like me: they want to get to point Z without doing all the work, or they want a Cliff's notes version to make it easier. For example, let's say you buy the Atkins Diet book. You skim through it, jump right to the meal plans, and then start planning right away. Well, you just went from step K to step T! Your plan either won't work at all, or it may work for a while, but when you need the information from step C and don't have it, things will fall apart. Make sense?

So in order to take control, you need to start at point A and go to point Z, one step at a time and learn all you can about your body. It takes time. If you're 36 years old and have been 25% body fat for the last 20 years, no diet is going to give you ripped abs in 4 weeks, no matter how many steps you skip. You need to learn how to undo what you have done to your body, and that takes time, patience, and the willpower to make the change. YOU CAN DO it!! It's not a question of IF but WHEN you decide to do it. Do the work and you will accomplish your goal.

Many times people tell me they want to look like someone and then show me a picture. What they fail to realize is that the person in the picture is living a totally different lifestyle. Their body is a BYPRODUCT of how they live - a product of their environment. Good food in = good energy out. Hit the gym and you'll feel good and look good. Most people who are out of shape have many complaints and reasons why they can't do this or that. Part A is learning that to look like the person in the picture, you have to do something different! No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Your body doesn't care how many kids you have or how much you sleep. Your body is a machine and its main thing to do is to function. CONTROL or more like SELF-CONTROL is one of the A, B, C's too. Perhaps the MOST important thing you'll learn is that you have to control yourself and not get lazy or give in just because you want to.

Raven Simone Has been studying her A,B,C's of her body!

The bottom line is you need to learn for YOU how YOUR body works to gain control over the way YOU look. Like most things in life, there are no shortcuts. You get what you put into it.

Once you have learned the basics, they don't change. You will forever have that knowledge. And knowledge is power. Now please excuse me, I'm working on getting back to point Z as A, B, and C (The basics of nutrition and training) have still not changed!

In future blogs I will talk about these basics such as: nutrition, training, self-control, willpower, and growing physically and mentally as an individual.