I hear this a lot.  People who write to me (here on my blog and directly) and start out their contact with “I want results as good as yours but…”

1. I don’t really want to do all the exercises.
2. I don’t really want to follow your diet recommendations (or at least not all of them)
3. I don’t want to buy any supplements

The simple fact is that if you want results as good (or better) than mine then you have to do what I do.

Big change requires a real commitment.  If you are struggling to get to that commitment level you may be letting immediate gratification issues get in the way.  For example, I was recently asked by someone on Facebook how I was able to consistently workout every day.  I responded by saying that I focused on my long term objectives.  She came back and said ‘yes but what do you say to yourself?”

At first I found this odd.  But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that things that are obvious to me are not always obvious to others.  In fact, not only are something obvious to me, they are things that now run as part of my core values – so much a part of me that I don’t pay concious thought to ‘what I say to myself’ in the morning when even I get temped to take a pass on a workout.

For me the question that gets asked and successfully answered is simple:

“What do I really want and is the price for that (what I need to do) reasonable?”

OK that’s probably 2 questions!  But if I really want a slim, sexy body is taking an hour a day 5 days a week consistently to workout hard a reasonable price to pay?  I always end up saying “yes!”  And I if I want to be slim, sexy and healthy, to look younger than my chronological age, is eating clean 6 days a week to hard?  I always say no.  I mean with 1 total cheat day a week, my diet is actually easy to stick to.  And I map out foods I like that are good on my diet to eat during my 6 days.

Case in point, I love hard boiled eggs.  I don’t know why but I do (my boys do too).  Until recently I rarely made them but now I buy a dozen organic free range eggs and boil the whole dozen and clearly mark that carton as hard boiled.  That way noone gets confused as I generally have another carton of fresh, uncooked eggs.

Now I’ve got hard boiled eggs on demand.  I can have a great snack of 2 HB eggs and add a quick ‘greens’ drink to it for a very healthy snack.  And it’s one I enjoy.    I love fresh salads so I make one for lunch most days.

There are some protein bars I really like so I keep those around for when I need snacks on the go.  I keep organic raw almonds and walnuts on hand which I can mix with some organic plan greek yogurt which when I also mix in some TruVia (stevia sweetner) and some vanilla extract I have a creamy, crunchy snack full of protein and good fats and fiber but low on simple carbs that I love and is good for me.

So commit fully.  Take the time to figure out what you like to eat and how you can include some of that during your 6 clean days of eating and then eat all the ‘bad’ stuff on your cheat day and you’ll quickly realize this can easily become a lifestyle.

Show up for each workout – even when you don’t feel like it.  Tell yourself that you’ll at least do the workout even if it’s not your best work.  Often you’ll find that 5 – 10 minutes in your blood is flowing better though your body, you are breathing deeply and your body wakes up and is ready to work harder than you thought possible.

In the end as Tony likes to say ‘give it your best and forget the rest’.  Really if you commit to do your very best, you’ll see great rewards.  I guarantee it!