What it Takes

by Johnny Nguyen

Robert Atkins, Barry Sears, Nathan Pritikin and all the rest of the diet gurus have their ideas. Over the years I've learned a thing or two from them, but the dietary advice that I value the most is the one my mom gave me: Eat lots fresh fruit and vegetables to keep you vibrant, and eat nuts and meats to make you strong. This advice is so simple that it sounds boring in the face of cutting-edge science.

So how can scientific literature support diet plans that virtually contradict each other? The Atkins Diet, for example, goes toe-to-toe with the Pritikin Diet, the first beating the carbs out the second while the second strangling the fats out the first. The answer, it seems, is that almost every dietary plan works, but the caveat is that you must be consistent and committed.

The thing is, almost everyone with average intelligence can read a book about a diet, understand its philosophy and decipher its strategy. Unfortunately, in a culture of plentiful and endless choices, committing to and following one thing isn’t easy.

To turn a diet plan into a dietary habit (which is the essence for success), one must work hard; as such, many people claim this intensive work is not congruent with a “normal” lifestyle, complaining that it’s not ideal and isn’t worth it. And so for these same people a decade goes by and many are still searching for something “ideal.”

It hasn’t escaped me that people often do not have the luxury of time to devote entirely to a fitness or dietary program. Work, family, and all those life events can leave barely room for a breath, much less a detailed grocery list, effort in preparation, cooking and following healthy recipes, and a hawk-eye attention to what goes into the mouth. And some are lucky to fit two workouts in per week; six days per week would be nearly impossible, twice a day a damn fantasy.

The bottom line is, health and fitness require work. The faster you want to see the result, the greater the work. To lose an appreciable amount of body fat and acquire a physique that the body hasn't seen in years, if ever, will take A LOT of work. Twice a day workouts is not unheard of, nor is it insane. For those who continue to say that the immense work involved in losing 40 pounds (or 30, 20 or the last 5 pounds) doesn’t work into their lifestyle, I hope that science will soon discover something more “ideal.” Perhaps this discovery won’t take a decade. Personally, I’m not willing to wait, nor will I bank my health and fitness on a pill.

I am happy to have something that works for me: Fresh fruits and lots of vegetables. Meats of all kinds and healthy nuts and seeds. But I haven’t always followed my mother’s dietary advice. I grew up a fat kid, and I still have a picture of me at the steps of a swimming pool with a belly that was a result of Wonder Bread smeared thick with Miracle Whip and loaded with candy corn. You’ll never see this picture, but you’ll also never know how hard it was for me to create a long-term habit. Of course, the struggle initially was not of change but rather of fitting in and blending with peers so that you don’t stick out like the softness of an underbelly.

But I’ve gotten past that stage of my life. Maintaining a healthful dietary habit, however, is still hard work. Mom’s advice might sound simple, but consistently eating fresh fruits and lots of vegetables with a variety of meats, seeds and nuts is not easy. It requires diligence. When I’m out with a group of friends and I order a salad instead of Penne Strascicate (ok, except for on New Year’s Eve), a comment invariably falls on me that I don’t need to eat like this because I’m already lean enough. I have learned the grace of biting my tongue instead of retorting with “How the hell do you think I got this way?”

Whether you go with Atkins, Pritikin, Sears or Mom, the success lies not in their recipes but in your ability to stick it out for life. This is not easy. No one says that losing weight, getting fit, becoming strong, or doing anything else worth doing in life is easy. Or everyone would be doing it and 60% of the population would not be overweight or obese.

In the past couple of months, I have personally heard from many of you the comments, compliments and questions about the physical change that Analisa has achieved. I asked her to tell us about it, and so she sat down and started typing. In this month’s newsletter, her article reveals in detail her experience in the journey. As you’ll find out, none of it was simple. But, as she proves, it was entirely possible.

I believe that a lot of health and fitness is based on an attitude, a mentality that can dictate success or failure. Scott will shoot straight from the hip in his article this month about this aspect of health, fitness and weight loss.

If you believe that health and fitness is worth the work, I’m with you. I hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter, and keep up the hard work. It pays.