What's Right for Aunt Sally Might Not be Right for You

Copyright (c) 2006 Ainsley Laing

If you have ever been through hard times (haven't we all),
you were probably given advice by so many different people.
For many life situations, there often seems to be as many
opinions as people giving advice!

We are all products of our experiences. Emotions and
judgments are really the result of "where we were when".
The values we were taught as kids, the life experiences
that we have had as well as current situations all come
together to form our perceptions of reality.

Fitness and nutrition are no exceptions. Take any cross
section of people, say 100, and ask their opinion on a
particular fitness idea, and you will probably get 100
different opinions. This is the dilemma I see often with
clients. Many, before I see them, have spent a period of
time "trying out" this diet or that workout plan because it
worked for their friend or their sister gave it to them and
so on.

My favorite example of this is my last long term partner
(spouse) used to be asked for fitness advice because he was
fit and married to a fitness instructor! He had some good
ideas. He knew what worked…. for HIM.

What works for one person may not work for another. Why?
Physiologically, the science is pretty much the same. For
optimum fitness and health, we all need a combination of
resistance exercise (muscles and bones), aerobic exercise
(cardiovascular, lungs), stretching (joint health) good
nutrition (fuel) and enough sleep (rebuild). The trick of
all this is the how to get these things and enjoy
it.…because enjoyment leads to motivation.

Let's say that Aunt Sally walks with a group 4miles, 3
times per week. She eats a healthy diet of lean protein,
veggies and fruit and goes to yoga class 2 times per week.
She loves her "program" which works for her because she
loves it. Aunt Sally gets a lot of social time from her
workouts, which keeps her going. The time she spends is
more valuable to her than just fitness. She rarely misses
her sessions.

Aunt Sally eventually convinces her niece Elizabeth, who
thinks fitness is a necessary evil, to join her. Elizabeth
begins with enthusiasm, but after a month she doesn't feel
like she is getting results and starts missing sessions.
Why?

If we asked Elizabeth, she would probably say that fitness
is "just not her thing and she doesn't enjoy it". But,
maybe Elizabeth hasn't found the activities that give her
what she really needs beyond fitness. In this case, Aunt
Sally meant well, but her "mentoring" was actually
counterproductive to Elizabeth's fitness success. Elizabeth
has now reinforced her feeling that she doesn't like
physical activity.

The same thing holds with "diets" (I personally don't like
the term). Let's bring up Aunt Sally again. One day
Elizabeth who now thinks that a diet is what she needs
since exercise is out, asks Aunt Sally if she could help
her lose weight with a diet. Aunt Sally gives her the diet
book that got her started on the road to healthy eating.

When Aunt Sally read the book, she knew that the diet was
very strict with types of food and timing of meals. For
her, it was great to have a structure to follow. It was
all so organized, as she liked all things in her life.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, tried to follow the diet
exactly as recommended. Within a few days, she was very
frustrated because she felt that dieting is just too
difficult and inflexible. She decided that dieting doesn't
work and she just needs to "cut way back" on the amount of
food she was eating. This is good – except that most of
the food she is eating is nutritionally empty to begin
with! Now she's hungry and inadequately nourished.

Elizabeth would be better served by learning about and
following sound nutritional principles rather than
following a rigid diet plan. It's just not her style.

Are you having trouble starting or sticking with your
fitness plan? Here's an approach to get you thinking….

1. Look inside.

What drives you? What makes you happy? Why do you want to
be fit? Why do you want to eat right? What activities do
you enjoy doing (both physical activities and other
hobbies)? Are you a social person or do you prefer to be
alone? What are the limiting factors in your lifestyle? How
much time do you want to devote to fitness? What type of
job do you have? Do you like changing your activities often
or do you prefer a more predictable routine?

2. Look outside.

What resources are available? Do you have sports
activities you might enjoy available? Is there a gym close
by? Is there a dance studio close by? Are there organized
events like fun runs you could train for? Can you find
books on the subject of fitness and nutrition? Do you know
any fitness trainers or coaches?

3. Put it together.

A good fitness plan includes the elements of: muscle
strength, joint flexibility, aerobic (heart, lungs)
training, sound nutrition and rest. So, pick out the
activities available to you that you like and see if the
combination gives you all the elements in this list.

Elizabeth, when she goes through this process, is surprised
to figure out that there are some fitness activities
available she would enjoy. She knows she is social, wants
to keep generally fit and healthy, has time after work,
needs organized activities and likes variety (why Aunt
Sally's program didn't appeal to her)

Elizabeth's program looks like this: 1 day per week, join
a football (soccer) league (aerobic) 1 day per week, yoga
class or Tai Chi (flexibility, muscle, mental focus) 1
day per week salsa dancing class (aerobic) 1 day weight
training (muscle) Some weeks: social dancing on the
weekends (aerobic, relaxation)

She's got a good plan….. FOR HER!

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About the Author:
Ainsley Laing, MSc. has been a Fitness Trainer for 25 years
and writes exclusively Body for Mind eZine. She holds
certifications in Group Exercise, Sports Nutrition and
Personal Fitness Training. To see more articles by Ainsley
visit http://www.bodyformind.com