A Little Mistake That Wasted 3 Years of My Life

No one likes to admit that they made a mistake. They worry about what people might think, how it will make them look and of course, they worry about the consequences associated with their mistake. I'm a big believer that mistakes aren't always a bad thing. You learn from your mistakes and that's how you grow mentally and physically. When it comes to health and fitness, you can safely assume that most people learn by trial and error. This is also not a bad thing. You find out what works for you and more importantly, you realize what doesn't work for you. This leads into me sharing a quick story with you, which turned out to be a little mistake I made that wasted 3 years of my life.

When I was in my third year of post-secondary education, I decided that I wanted to get in better shape. Like a fool, I focused 99 percent of my attention on the gym and exercising. The other 1 percent, which is nutrition, never really got my attention. Has that ever happened to you? I was gung-ho on the thought of getting "ripped/shredded/any other word you can think of" that the thought of nutrition never even crossed my mind. I was so excited about trying a new fitness program that the thought of "dieting" never really occurred to me. So I went to the gym for three years (from 2010-2013), and noticed the progress I had made was not that significant. I was paying $45/month for a gym membership and was going 3-4 times a week, and was very unhappy about my lack of progress. In those 3 years, I invested (approximately) $1,620 and 546 hours of my time trying to get in shape -- and I had failed. I couldn't believe that I had just wasted 3 years of my life.

Turns out this "little" mistake wasn't so little, right? Imagine giving it your all (for a hobby you have) and after 3 years of investing your time and money, you were only slightly better off. So what did I do? Like most of you would probably do, I wanted to figure out how to bounce back from this mistake.

After speaking with countless fitness professionals, the mistake was so obvious -- my nutrition. Have you ever heard the phrase "abs are made in the kitchen"? Nothing can be more true than this statement. From that moment in 2013 until today, I have focused on my nutrition and my physique as drastically changed. I no longer look like the clueless student that I once was just a few short year earlier.

What does this mean for you?

If you are trying to get in shape (or in better shape), I can't stress the importance and the role that nutrition has on your journey. If you want to totally transform your body, your should focus 90 percent of your efforts on nutrition, and 10 percent on exercise -- that's just my advice.

It's very easy for most people to go to the gym or exercise at home. Want me to tell you what's not so easy? Turning down that happy hour drink with your friends or saying no to your favorite dessert. The exercise is the easy part. The nutrition takes dedication.

Before I go, let me ask you -- WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO ACCOMPLISH IN THE NEXT 3 YEARS?

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