STOP THE LIES SERIES: "Everyone can do it."

The following post is part of a series STOP THE LIES! aiming at deconstructing the hundreds (thousands?) of lies being told by the diet industry in an effort to shame people (usually women, but they are broadening their scope to men more and more...how very inclusive <eye roll>) into having unhealthy relationships with their bodies in an effort to sell them products. Enough is enough. It's time to expose these lies for what they are. 

You've heard it before: "If I can do it, you can do it."









Or, in a similar vein, "What's your excuse?", "No excuses" or the ever popular myth "Excuses are for people who don't want it bad enough."




All of these catch-phrases amount to the same thing: If one person is able to achieve a specific physical ideal- whether it be a sleek, trim body or bulging muscles and a six-pack- then everyone can.

Here's the truth: It's a lie.

Let's be clear about something. Every human body is completely unique. Every person's physiology works in individualized ways, each acclimated to that person's particular existence. The human body is amazing in the way it adapts and transform itself, to the point that no two human bodies will ever be exactly the same.

Which means, quite simply: What my body can do is not the same as what your body can do.

Even if we train in exactly the same ways, at exactly the same intensity, frequency, and for the same amount of time, our bodies will never be exactly the same.

For that simple reason, the idea that you can do whatever I can do is a load of crap.

But most fitness-proselytizers will acknowledge that, and respond by saying: "Sure, but you can do something. It may not be exactly like me...but you can always aim to try your best to do as much as you can..."

But, implied in that line of reasoning is the belief that "doing as much as you can" and "doing your best" are clearly defined concepts that the fitness industry gets to outline. And ultimately, that's just a load more bs.

Here's the deal- just as every body is unique, every life is unique. Which means that not everyone has the time, effort, money, energy, knowledge, or physical capacity to undertake the project of totally renovating their physical appearance. Beyond that, not everyone wants to. And they should not be made to feel like they should.

And, even if they do want to look/feel a certain way, not every body will respond in ways that allow this virtual reality to come to life.

As a formerly very fat woman, I can tell you that my fat cells sure haven't gone away. And my loose skin...it's still there. So unless I want a very expensive date with a scapel, there is LITERALLY no way that I can look like those after models that they keep shoving in your face. And this is coming from a person who spends upwards of 15 hours at the gym every single week.

Here's the truth: If you have the desire to make changes to your life that include more activity, exercise, nutritional adjustments, or any other number of things, then I believe that there are ways for these changes to be made accessible and possible to you. But they will need to be tailored to you, to your body, to your goals and to your life.

Text, on a yellow background, reads: "Surround yourself with others who are more interested in helping
become a better you than they are in telling you that you should be like them.
- Coach Zita, Shame Free Wellness"

Don't define what you can and can't do based on someone else's achievements. Define them by how you feel in your own skin, and how you live in your life. And surround yourself by others who are more interested in helping you be a better you than they are in telling you that you should be like them.

Anyone who tells you to base your personal goals on their personal achievements is nothing better than a #fitnessfraud.

Discover your own action potential,

Coach Zita