There's a Sucker Born Every...Hey, New Fat Loss Pills!

7 Tips to Help You NOT be a Sucker When it Comes to Your Health, Fitness, and Quality of Life

I’d REALLY like to think that there aren’t that many suckers out there, but…

There are people out there who still believe that margarine is healthier than butter.
There are people out there who still spend more on supplements than they do on real food.
There are people out there who still think they can lose 7 lbs in a week or 30 lbs in a month…and keep it off.
There are people out there who still believe that saturated fat will give them heart disease.
There are people out there who still think they can get six pack abs in minutes a day.
There are people out there who still buy exercise gadgets from late-night TV.
There are people out there who still believe that diet soda is “healthier” and that red wine is practically a miracle elixir.
There are people out there who still read supplement ads, err…bodybuilding magazines.
There are people out there who still spend more time wishing, dreaming, thinking, and planning their fitness goals than doing much of anything else.
There are people out there who still think they “don’t have enough time” to get fit and healthy.

Shall I go on?

No wonder our health and fitness is a mess. Suckers are everywhere. And it makes sense, too. With all of the myths, misinformation, lies, half-truths, and gray areas perpetuated by a massive industry, it’s no wonder so many people are misinformed, confused, or ignorant. I mean, there are still doctors and “experts” out there claiming that butter will kill you. And so, I really can’t blame people. And heck, I’ve been a sucker before, too, and probably will be again!

The good news is that we can learn a lot from suckers – like how not to be one.

Here are some ideas…

How to NOT be a Sucker

Don’t get your health and fitness advice from TV Ads (and beware of anyone trying to sell you something).
Be wary of anything that is trendy, popular, faddish, in vogue, or otherwise mainstream.
Always be questioning conventional wisdom.
Don’t believe anyone who tells you that achieving excellent health and fitness is easy, or can be done with minimal time and/or effort.
Raise your red flag whenever someone claims that something new is the next big solution (like acai berries, red wine, fat loss pills, a diet, workout, etc.).
Be very skeptical of people and ideas that are complicated or just hard to understand.
Think twice before listening to someone who tells you “it’s not your fault” that you’re unhealthy, overweight, etc.

Those are just a handful of lessons we can learn from suckers, and there’s a lot more where that came from. But basically, you just need a really good BS-detector.

The Bottom Line

Now, the people who succeed in their health and fitness pursuits over the long term definitely aren’t suckers. They stick with the basics. They focus their attention, time, and energy on the big issues, instead of fixating on the trivial issues. They think, plan, and act with the long-term in mind instead of trying to “get ahead” with a short-term, quick-fix solution. They try to improve a little bit each day instead of making drastic changes all at once.

In other words, they do what works – what has always worked – and they do it well.

You and I could go a long way by following their example.

Food for thought: is there something you’ve been trying to achieve all the wrong way? And if so, what can you learn from the people who have achieved a similar goal?