People are obsessed with secrets: The secret to long life, the secret to popularity and always, always, always, the secret to staying thin.
A friend who is a personal trainer told me she is approached frequently by women who say, "You're so thin. What's your secret?" My friend said, "I think they're really waiting for me to say, 'I drink eight cups of scalding hot green tea in the morning and eat a Brazil nut without chewing, and that way nothing I eat for the rest of the day gets absorbed.' "
I know exactly what she means - like there's some secret ingredient. We all know, as members of the fitness industry, that the way to weight loss is to eat less and move more. We know that maintaining a healthy weight and fitness level is to continue making those good choices, and balancing smart food choices with regular exercise.
So many people say they're willing to do those things - but what they really want is something that works like a "Get Out Of Jail Free" card, only for their health regimen. You know, so that when they want to skip the gym because they aren't in the mood, or when they're faced with the bacon cheeseburger or the banana split, they can pull out the card and swipe it, canceling the calories and the need to work out.
Wow - where do I get one of those? Sign me up.
The secret to staying fit is no secret. It's a commitment. It's not making excuses. It's not following fad diets that cut out basic food groups, and it's not expecting overnight results. Most important, it's not giving up on the regimen.
Now the big question: How do we disseminate that answer to a world that is still looking for a secret?
