Losing weight and getting fit is hard for a variety of reasons.
One of the reasons is that there is a cost to reaching your goal.
Choices have to be made, and while I don’t believe you have to deny yourself any fun, there will be times where you have to make the right decision and not the decision you’d like to make.
But, there is also a cost to NOT staying fit and lean.
I like to think of health and fitness as a bank balance. There’s no need to eat a perfect diet 100% of the time, but you need to put in enough credit in order that the off-track times don’t deplete your savings.
We humans find it difficult to choose long term reward over short term pleasure, but by constantly choosing the short term pleasure, we’re also taking credit out of our accounts, and making the task harder for the future.
There are actual costs associated with making these choices too, like:
Eating good quality food comes at a cost – but so does feeling rubbish.
Making what are sometimes difficult decisions can come at a cost – but so does wishing you felt / looked different.
Improving your fitness costs time – but losing it costs pain and injuries.
Prioritising sleep costs sofa-flopping time – but relying on caffeine to get you through the day also comes at a cost.
You’re always paying in some way. You’re either increasing your health and fitness savings, or spending them. Pay the price now, so you can withdraw the savings later.