Will You Be Fit or Fat? Know Your Choices !

Do you let life's roadblocks get in the way of your fitness goals? Learn to think at a fitness crossroads and make the healthiest decision!!

Choices. Our days are full of them.

Choosing to get out of bed.
Choosing what clothes to wear.
Choosing what to have for breakfast.
Choosing what mood to be in.

Each day (almost hourly) we're faced with crossroads in our lives, including our fitness and nutrition plans. The path you choose is what dictates your waist size!

Crossroad #1: 

The sound of the alarm penetrates your dream. You've overslept, and you rush to get out the door to go to work, forget the clean-eating lunch you made for yourself the night before.

You'll have to decide what to do about lunch later. Right now, your focus is on beating the boss to the time clock!

You barely make it to work, the phone starts ringing before your butt hits the chair at your desk, and you're off - the day almost started without you!

Before you know it, it's time for lunch. Your co-worker casually mentions, "Hey, we're going to the local Greasy Spoon around the corner. You want anything?" 

Do You:

• A. Yell "Supersize me!" and order two of everything on the menu?


• B. Scream "Get thee behind me!" make the sign of the crucifix and run screaming down the hall?


• Or C. Order something clean-ER than a Quarter Pounder and fries, enjoying the ONE TIME ONLY meal, knowing that you'll be back on track by dinner that night?

RELATED POLL

When Someone Invites You To A Fast Food Restaurant Do You: Yell "Supersize me!" and order two of everything on the menu? Scream "Get thee behind me!" - make the sign of the crucifix and run screaming down the hall? Order something clean-ER than a Quarter Pounder and fries - enjoying the ONE TIME ONLY meal - knowing that you'll be back on track by dinner that night?

Crossroad #2: 

The sun hits you in the eyes as you wake up. No alarm this morning - it's the weekend, baby! The smell of coffee greets you at the bedroom door. You sip your java as the morning turns to noon.

You haven't eaten anything yet, but you aren't really hungry so it doesn't matter.

Noon becomes 2 p.m. and suddenly you realize you're hungry. In fact, you're ravenous! Realizing that you haven't eaten all day, you delight in the fact that you can:

• A. Have an extra large meal at dinner because you missed both breakfast and lunch.


• B. Imagine all the weight you've lost by not consuming any calories.


• Or C. Take that second to pick up where you left off and create a plan to ensure you don't miss any more meals on the weekend, regardless of your schedule!

RELATED POLL

If You've Realized That You've Skipped Both Breakfast And Lunch - Do You:  Have an extra large meal at dinner because you missed both breakfast and lunch. Imagine all the weight you've lost by not consuming any calories. Take that very second to pick up where you left off and create a plan to ensure you don't miss any more meals on the weekend, regardless of your schedule!

Decision Time! 

We aren't always given easy decisions when it comes to our fitness and nutrition routines. If it were easy to lose (and maintain) weight, 300 MILLION PEOPLE worldwide wouldn't be classified as obese! (Source: American Medical Association)

There Are Multiple Factors That Contribute To Our Excuses!

• Sometimes you forget your lunch at home and have to decide between not eating a meal or eating junk instead.
• Sometimes you have a flat tire and can't make it to the gym that day.
• Sometimes you don't get enough sleep and make poor eating decisions all day long.
• Sometimes, you just gotta take an extra second to think before you eat!

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Sometimes, you just gotta take an extra second to think before you eat.

Think Before You Eat! 

In the examples above, what would you ultimately decide to eat for lunch at the Greasy Spoon? Would you skip lunch in favor of eating a larger (and cleaner) dinner?

Here's the thing: your daily caloric intake isn't like a checking account. You can't put in and take out as you please. Sure, it's "calories in, calories out," but only to a point!

It's not possible to "save up your calories" for a large dinner by missing meals or eating smaller portions. Your body can only process food at a specific rate. Having one large meal to digest takes longer, less nutrients are absorbed, and the higher amount of insulin needed to process whatever you've eaten take its toll on your body's shape!

You can't make up for a missed workout by hitting the gym twice as hard the following day. Your muscles are not built and your fat is not melted by one super-hard workout. It's training those muscles OVER TIME that creates the physique of champions. Your muscle mass is built during the time you're resting AFTER the gym, not while you're there!

Your body needs time to process what you do to it, and it's not instantaneous!

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Your daily caloric intake isn't like a checking account.
You can't put in and take out as you please.

We Aren't Technology 

In an interview with author Dr. Keith Ayoob, Associate Professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Dr. Ayoob said:

"In this day and age of technology, we've gotten to where we want everything done instantly. The microwave, the television, everything gives us immediate results. We've come to depend on technology to give us instant gratification. But we've got to realize that our bodies are not technology. We are not evolved to see instant results in what we do to our physical forms."

This Ain't Las Vegas! 

Someone once said, "The time to second guess a bet isn't once the roulette wheel starts spinning. It's before you place the bet!"

The time to second guess what you're going to eat is BEFORE you eat it. Not feeling guilty afterward and vowing to punish yourself in the gym!

Take a tip from those who frequent the poker table. Think twice before you even place your order and you'll save yourself a mental beating later!

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The time to second guess what you're going to eat is before you eat it.
Not feeling guilty afterward and vowing to punish yourself in the gym.

Pick Your Poison! 

Then the question becomes, "What DO you do if you find yourself having to eat fast food?"

The obvious (and most annoying) answer is to not forget your clean-eating lunch at home. But if you're faced with choosing between famine or eating at a fast food joint, take a second to think twice.

But let's be honest. If you're going to a greasy burger joint, sometimes you just don't wanna be the one picky eater at the table YET AGAIN. Keep in mind; this is a lifestyle choice you've made. It's not always fun at the time, but the results are fantastic!

Take a second before you leave the house or office to look online at your favorite fast food joints. They've all got their own version of a nutritional breakdown of the foods offered. You can plan ahead and have one "better-than-average but not-quite-clean-eating" meal that you keep in your mental Rolodex for times when you just can't get away from the fast food.

Planning ahead to make the right choices when the crossroads are presented ensures that you stay on the path to healthy eating and fitness, regardless of the temptations you may face throughout the day!