Don't Let Bodybuilders Fool You!

Here are the questions I have been asked many times.

Why do some people eat what they want and still not gain an ounce but I only think about certain foods and weight? I have close friends who eat everything she wants and always look trim and fit and it just drives me crazy.

That's a very good question and requires a lot of things for me to say here. First of all joining the club because I was in the weight loss / fat category just by thinking of crunchy cream donuts. I also have a friend of 37 years who always eats what he wants and still looks good and trim.

This issue raises the question of what looks good and is actually healthy, genetic, and so on: I'll deal with genetics first because I'm not an expert in genetic science. But it's easy and easy for some people to gain weight or lose weight more easily than others. It's no different than how some people can run 100 meters in less than 11 seconds, ride a basketball or hit a 500-foot baseball ball. Some people have it and some don't. So, are you destined for failure? Not at all! As I said before I was in the category you gain body fat just by thinking of snacks but that doesn't stop me from achieving my goals and the many people I work with. The key is not making excuses for yourself and finding what works best for you. If your friend can eat what he or she wants then it's good for him but you have to follow different rules. Yes, you have to work harder but that's life. You may also find (as I have) that as you get older people easily (eating whatever they want and not exercising) find it harder as they get older.

What makes it more difficult for them is the bad habits they develop from not having to do the right things for the rest of their lives. Here are some examples:

I trained a 38-year-old woman who never used and ate whatever she wanted until she was 34 or 35 years old. She looks amazing and always has incredible figure. His life drastically changed when he was hit by a car. From his injuries and depression after the accident, he gained a lot of weight and is now in a position where he is unable to do what he wants. In working with her, I discovered that her biggest obstacle was changing her habit of eating whatever she wanted and not exercising to being disciplined with diet and exercise. He would talk to me about the days when he could go into two parts and never worry about what he was eating and whether he was exercising or not. She told me her favorite workout was going to get her favorite chocolate. It wasn't until he became disciplined that he started making progress but it was difficult because the skin and trim were always easy for him.

Another example is my friend who always eats what she wants and has never done but is still an amazing athlete and always looks slim and trim. Although he was still trimming he began to develop small bowels and health and conditioning was not uncommon. Because he's so talented I like to challenge him for 400 meters every day and then become a stick to myself. The last race we had he won again but after that he curled up on the floor and felt like throwing. And even though he looks healthy, his air conditioning is terrible and his cholesterol and triglycerides are very high. I always talk to her about what a wonderful specimen she would be if she followed a good diet and exercised. I can almost guarantee she won't have high cholesterol and triglycerides and certainly won't have the pot belly.

My last example was a friend I grew up with who played professional baseball for the Twins, Mariners and Reds. He loved to grow up but kept a dizzy diet even though he was a pro baseball player. One day I got a call from him who wanted to hire me as a personal trainer. When I meet him, he'll put in over 30 pounds instead of all the muscles. She explained that she couldn't lose weight because she didn't know where to start and only used to eat fast food her whole life. Thankfully we built him up with good nutritionists and he was able to bring down the unwanted pounds. The hardest part is breaking this old habit.

So, the moral of the story just because it looks good doesn't mean it. There is a huge list of people out there who look good but not healthy. Just look at many professional bodybuilders. Yeah they have all the prominent muscles and low body fat but if you look at some of the lab results they have cancer, heart attack, liver disease and more just waiting to happen from all the steroid abuse.

The sad thing is that we live in a society where many appearances are all that matters.

World-renowned personal trainer Juan Carlos Santana of IHPFIT.com says it best: "95% of people I work with just want to look good in red or swimwear. They'll even feel crap if it means they look good. "Sad but true man ... Sad but true.

I challenge you to target more men. The goal for health because wealth is best is health. So let your friends follow their path and keep you on the path to health and well-being that will help you look good too.

------------------