Are you living for the weekend?
I read an interesting article recently saying that many people's version of the 5:2 diet - i.e. eat in a fairly controlled manner for 5 days then eat and drink everything in sight over the weekend meant they were missing out on 30% of their potential progress: 2/7 = 28.5%.
Now, we all know it's not realistic to eat, drink and train like an Olympic Athlete all of the time - nor would most of us want to - and at Motus that's not our message at all
But the maths did get me thinking...
Many people do have a different pattern of eating and drinking during the week vs the weekend
The reality is that most people's “weekends” stretch to 3 days
3 x 52 (weeks) = 156
I'm reliably informed there are 8 Bank Holidays each year (in the UK - about 27 in France!)...
156 + 8 = 164
Then let's assume we take 4 weeks holiday...
4 x 5 = 20 (weekends already counted)
164 + 20 = 184
Let's assume another 12 days per year for birthdays and special occasions like weddings etc.
Plus another 12 for those days when “stuff” happens…
184 + 12 + 12 = 208
208/365 = 0.57
That's 57% of the time when our lifestyle choices are not aligned with our goals
That number was a shock to me.
And let's face it: some of the estimates above are conservative.
Add in the “f*** it” days the “I'll start next week / next month /after my holiday / when I'm not so busy days” and it really hits home as a demonstration of why an on-off / all-or-nothing / living for the weekend approach to your health won't work in the long-term.
What's required are some fundamental changes to your lifestyle and how you approach health each and every day:
:
Get clear on your long-term objectives for your health and lifestyle
Be brutally honest with yourself about why it's important to you (your REAL motivation): how will life be better with a healthier lifestyle and body, what are the downsides of how you feel at the moment, and what might happen if you don't change things…
A realistic plan (most people already know >80% of what to do)
Some support and accountability to make it happen
