The #1 mistake people make with their fitness isn’t likely what you’re thinking.

It’s NOT trying to do too much too soon… though that certainly happens.

It’s NOT restrictive dieting… though that happens quite a lot also.

It’s NOT avoiding carbs, eating carbs, running when they should be doing HIIT, doing HIIT when they should be strength training, avoiding fats, eating late at night, not getting enough sleep, eating Paleo, not finding accountability, eating too much sugar, gluten or Mexican.

It’s much easier than that… and it’s much harder than that.

I’ll tell you the #1 mistake people make with their fitness, but before I do, I want you to promise to keep an open mind. Promise me you won’t dismiss me because it doesn’t seem like a quick-fix, magic pill kind of answer. Promise me you’ll listen to what I’m saying, carefully consider my words, and see if they don’t apply to any fitness struggles you or someone you know is facing.

PROMISE?

Good.

The #1 mistake people make with their fitness is a lack of honesty with themselves.

Remember, you promised to hear me out. If you can’t be honest about following through, you’re proving my point.

Honesty with ourselves, our internal integrity, will make or break our fitness results.

Take “dieting” for example, any diet will do. You want to know the truth about dieting, the truth you NEVER hear anywhere else because it results in a loss of book sales, workout program purchases, TV appearances, equipment sales, _________.

The truth is that most diets work for most people… they just don’t all work equally well.

The truth is that most diets work for most people… they just don’t all work equally well.

And that makes perfect sense, as we are all created differently. We are unique. There’s no two of us identical in every regard… even identical twins have different fingerprints.

That means you are special. One of a kind. Priceless.

Now all of us certainly have a lot in common, which is why most diets work for most people, just not at the same pace of progress.

This is why your friend who went low-carb dropped a ton of weight in a short time and you only dropped some weight in a longer period of time. Low-carb worked, it just didn’t give you the same bang for your buck that it gave your friend.

What does this have to do with honesty?

It wasn’t that low-carb “didn’t work” for you. The truth is that low-carb didn’t work as fast as you would have liked.

The flip side is that if you had stuck with low-carb, you would have eventually lost the weight you were looking to lose.

Yes, I realize some people have genetic conditions or health disorders that makes getting fitness results harder. But those same people can use those issues as their excuse. These excuses become a crutch, then a struggle, and that struggle becomes their identity.

See how this works? If you’re honest enough with yourself, you can get to the root of these fitness issues.

Let’s say you’re exercising… are you going through the motions or are you giving it your all? That’s an honesty issue only you can answer.

Are you committed to establishing a sustainably healthy lifestyle or are you trying to get a quick-fix for bathing suit season? Honesty will answer that too.

Are you really making fitness a priority, incorporating it into the fabric of your life? Or are you being selfish about your fitness, only giving it the attention when the mood strikes?

Perhaps you’re constantly injured or have chronic fatigue because exercise is too much of a priority.

It’s time to be honest about it. To take stock. To measure the inventory of your life’s values and decide if fitness belongs.

If you come to the conclusion that yes, fitness belongs in your life, then your actions should reflect that value. If they don’t, you’re not being honest about it. You’re compromising your internal integrity.

The more you don’t stay true to your self-proclaimed core beliefs, the more you will make a liar of yourself.

And the more you make a liar out of yourself, the more you’ll start to believe those lies. Lies that tell you you’ll never get it right, you won’t ever measure up, and you don’t deserve it any way.

For what it’s worth, I believe you can get it right. I believe you do measure up. But until you start proving yourself right, you’ll buy into the lies.

You prove yourself right by being honest with yourself. Decide what you want and what you’re willing to do to get there. Then do it.

By the way, it’s okay if having a six-pack is not your goal. A clean bill of health and being able to keep up with the kids is just as admirable of a goal.

If you want a six-pack, that’s fine too. Just don’t be disappointed if you don’t get one because you haven’t been honest about what it takes to get there. Don’t make the fitness mistake that so, so many people are making.

Honesty is your guide and it’s your barometer.

There is no greater predictor of fitness success than the honesty we have with ourselves.

By being honest with ourselves, not only will we get better fitness results, we will start enjoying our fitness infinitely more… and that’s where we find the real magic.

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