How to get 6-pack abs AND enjoy life?
Since I hired my fitness coach and am waiting to start the program, I decided to "enjoy life."
I've gone to the gym once in the last 11 days, and I haven't been tracking my food or eating "on plan" like I usually do.
I've gone to two hockey games to watch my home team, the Calgary Flames, playing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
(Both times, I drank a lot of beer)
I also got out golfing for the first time this season and ate whatever I felt like eating on the course.
And although it's been a lot of fun.
I haven't been enjoying as much as I do when I'm "on plan" - going to the gym 5-7 days a week, tracking my food, following a plan, and making progress.
Often when I'm talking to someone interested in starting their physique transformation journey, they express concern that they will not be able to "enjoy life" as much while having to follow a plan.
See, most people perceive "enjoyment" as being able to let loose - eat and drink whatever they want, not have to work out when they don't feel like it, and do whatever they feel like when they feel like it, etc...
And I usually take periods to live like this about 2-3 times a year.
And the outcome is ALWAYS the same.
I'm just reminded that this idea of enjoyment is just surface-level bullshit.
Sure, it's fun and pleasurable to drink alcohol, eat as much tasty food as possible, go out and have fun, sleep in, etc.
But the pleasure only lasts for the moment.
And that type of surface-level enjoyment makes you worse, fatter, less healthy, and more depressed over time when the short periods of pleasure are over.
And the truth is, you can still enjoy most of these surface-level "enjoyable" activities without letting loose, which negatively affects you.
For example, I go to hockey games and hang out with friends and family all the time, but I practice discipline and don't drink, stay out late and stuff my face with food.
I still thoroughly enjoy myself.
And then, when it's over, I go home, feeling fabulous because I'm still on track, making progress toward my goals, eating well, sleeping well, etc.
See, there's no downside to living with discipline.
On the other hand, when you "enjoy" these activities without discipline - stuffing your face with food, drinking alcohol, getting to sleep late, sleeping in, etc...
You feel guilt (and honestly, you should)
You put the brakes on your progress
You sleep like shit
You feel like shit
This leads to you pursuing more surface-level pleasure because you need it to feel good.
So it's all downside.
And here's the part most people don't get about this type of behavior.
Ironically it robs you of the most pleasurable thing of all.
Fulfillment.
I've never had much of a hard time going to social gatherings and dealing with friends and family members asking why I'm not eating the food or drinking alcohol.
Because I know it's a choice between short-term, temporary, surface-level pleasure and a long-term fulfillment.
Ready to decide to quit giving in to short-term, surface-level, self-destructive short-term pleasure and get on the path to fulfillment?
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