tosabarbell

One thing I love about travel in Europe is how direct Europeans are in comparison to most Mid-western ‘Mericans. You can give a curt, short answer to a question and not have people look at you like you are a grade A bitch. Here, we need to pretty up our words. Yes, we all need to use our manners. You say please and thank you, even in the drive through line. But in Europe, it’s un-necessary to ask a question like this, ” Do you think it’s possible, maybe, if you could maybe make my hamburger, ummmmmm,  this way? Or is that just a total pain in the ass, cuz then it’s ok, no worries.” I think they call it Minnesota Nice or something like that. (I don’t know what it’s called in Wisconsin other than fucking annoying.)

Let’s get real. Use real words. Sometimes real words appear to be unkind, does that make them less true? You want to lift more weight, you may need to gain more weight. Is that prospect frightening for you? Then don’t ask me questions cuz you’ll get more where that came from. You want to look toned and fit? It doesn’t exist. It’s called low body fat, not toned. You need to change up your diet and maybe your training but diet first. And fitness? Define it first, then I’ll let you know if you’re on the right track. If that follows with, ‘I knowwwww, but I just really like my _______ and I just can’t give that up’ and I reply with, ‘Then you really don’t want to lose weight. Next subject.”  If you think I’m harsh, you asked the wrong person.

There’s no conscious uncoupling here. We use real words in the real world.

There’s no fantasy land in strength and conditioning and fitness. If you want to lift heavy, you spend time (lot’s of it) under the bar with a solid program and fuel for your body as you do it. It won’t happen in a matter of months, even if your mommy told you that you were destined for greatness. You weren’t by the way, that’s Emperor speak. If you’re born with natural talents then your hard work will pay off larger than mine, but we both will still need to work hard. If you’re strong and want to be better conditioned, you need to start pushing the prowler or hitting some hills (for those of you whose hills are not snow covered.)

Now, yes, there are ways into easing into a better lifestyle. No one expects folks to change overnight and if you’ve found a trainer who does, move on. They’re full of shit and know that you won’t be sticking around for the long haul. They’re telling you what you want to hear to get your money, not what you NEED to hear for long term “results.” (We call “results” a lifestyle, you’ll understand that in time.) If you are someone who is completely powerless over food, go get help beyond the gym. You don’t pay your  trainer/strength coach enough to deal with all your issues. (But if you want them too, pay them more and I guess maybe they will.) There are many programs out there that can help you figure out why you’re eating yourself into an early grave even WITH a strength training program.

At the end of the day, it’s you. You deciding that you’ve had enough of feeling like crap; dealing with a lowered self-esteem, or dealing with the fact that you’ve eaten yourself into disease. You’re fat. We can fix that. Surrounding yourself in a fantasy world? That’s harder. It’s not complicated. Keep it simple. Just fix it. There are lots who can help. But over here? We use real words.

I love the English way, which is not as capitalistic as it is in America. People don’t talk about work and money; they talk about interesting things at dinner parties. I like living here because I don’t tap into the bad side of American psychology, which is ‘I’m not achieving enough, I’m not making enough, I’m not at the top of the pile.’ It’s just kind of like, I am.

Gwyneth Paltrow

I am who I am. I can’t pretend to be somebody who makes $25,000 a year.

also Gwyneth Paltrow

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