What’s It Worth?

Steve Pfiester asks: “Is it worth it?”

I don’t know that anyone is inherently just drawn to enjoy dragging their “out of shape lazy butt” into a gym, or basement for that matter, and really enjoy the euphoria of that “warm and nauseous feeling”.  What makes someone finally sell out to a fit lifestyle and not “restart” every Monday, or have 365 “do-overs” for their new years resolution to lose that 20-50 pounds that they have had since their 3^rd child (yes, you guys too), but really, really do it.

After 25 years of trudging through the emotional and psychological trenches of this beautifully simple question, I have narrowed it down to 3 sobering and motivating life-changing reasons some people make permanent changes to our physique and physiology:

1. We, or someone we care for, has been told they will die if we don’t make some very real dietary changes and increase our all over fitness.
2. The realization that entropy (degrading energy) is a very real result of life. Every day we have less and less energy, yet we are eating more and more, finally becoming sick of being sick
3. Aesthetics… there I said it.  Many of us are tired of buying clothes that we don’t even like just because they are the best choice to hide 5 or more of our 2000 parts.

Many of us fall into a little of all three of these reasons, but others of us can definitely say, “I want to live longer, healthier or just look better.”

IT’S WORTH THE REWARD
I am the latter.  I definitely want to live longer. Not only that, but I want to live longer AND healthier.  I don’t care to live even another year if I was completely dependent on others and had a poor quality of life.  Even knowing exercise can produce that type of amazing benefit, I am so vain that I still wouldn’t be completely sold out for a fit lifestyle if it did nothing for the way I look.  I probably would still eat ‘ok’ and have an ‘ok’ workout.., but no freak’n way would I ever train this hard, or eat this clean, if it wasn’t gonna see abs or tone up my bottom.

SIDE NOTE –> YES, us 40 year old men still want our wives to think we have firm derrières’ also.  Not an obsession but a definite concern.  We just don’t sit around the office with each other and compare, “Hey Bob, what have you been doin, your ass looks really amazing lately”. Bob says, “Welp’ Stevo, I’ve been doing some lunges and eating steamers”.  Nope, not a conversation we’re gonna have – but still concerned all the same.

IS IT WORTH IT to go to bed a little hungry? 
What is it worth to not only work in your training 5 or 6 days a week but also, do that extra 5 or 6 reps?  I’m here to tell you I’ve seen it happen to the most unexpected of people.  You know, the ones who come back in the office after the summer, or the ones you haven’t seen in a while, drop lots of weight and toned up? You want SO bad to believe they got sick or had Lipo, but then the nasty truth is they just set their mind to what they wanted to do… (and listen).. AND DID IT!!!!!  

IT’S WORTH IT TO STICK WITH IT
The only difference is they stuck to their commitment, held onto it, got fixated into it, got addicted to it, AND DID IT.  You may have to start over 100 times before it sticks… so what!? It’s just science guys.  Losing weight can be reduced to the same type of physical laws as gravity, friction, death, and taxes. Some things are just going to happen.  Losing weight is definitely that way, and it hurts way less than paying taxes.

Try this: Lock your self in your closet for three or four weeks with nothing but water.  When the paramedics find you I promise you will be lighter. (OK, seriously, don’t do that) Maybe the “Olson twin approach” is a tad hardcore, but you get my point, yes?

Before you take that next bite, before you miss that next workout, before you settle for the way things have ‘just been’, ask yourself, “WHAT IS IT WORTH!?”