I spoke with someone recently who went to a personal trainer. The trainer put together a thorough plan that looked like the following:
- Eat 6 times a day
- Each meal: 25g protein, 25g carbs, 10g fat
- Drink a gallon of water
- Take vitamins and creatine
- Walk 10,000 steps
- Lift weights 5 days a week- broken up into different muscle groups each day
- 30 minutes of cardio after every workout
- Extra cardio on “rest” days
On top of that, she was told to meal prep 42 meals every week.
Brown rice, veggies, and chicken/turkey/steak/fish in every container.
To say this was a big life change is an understatement. 🤯
Here’s the crazy part:
If she did even 10% of that plan, she probably would have seen great results.
What really happened?
She tried it for 4 days.
The meal prep felt nuts.
She fell off with that… and then felt like the whole plan was a failure.
So she didn’t just stop meal prep.
She stopped everything.
This happens a lot.
People are shown the “perfect” fitness life that only trainers or bodybuilders live.
Then when a normal person with a job, kids, and stress can’t keep up, they think:
“I guess I’m just not that kind of person.”
But the problem isn’t you.
The problem is the plan.
A better start for her would have been things like:
- 1 “better” meal each day, not 6 perfect ones
- 3 normal meals instead of 6 tiny ones
- 2–3 strength workouts per week, not 5 plus cardio every day
Think of it like school.
If college said, “You only graduate if you get a 4.0 for 10 years straight,” most of us would never even sign up.
Instead, you get freshman year, then sophomore year, broken down into semesters.
Small chunks.
Fitness should work the same way. 💪
You shouldn’t feel like you need to become a full-time athlete.
The goal is to:
- Find 1–2 small changes that fit your life
- Help you stay consistent
- Build from there
You don’t need 42 Tupperwares.
You don’t need two hours a day in the gym.
You just need a smart plan you can actually stick to.
If you’ve ever felt like “I’m not that person,” please know:
It wasn’t you.
The plan was too much.
It’s our job as fitness professionals to adapt to what YOU are ready for, and not blindly promote the hardest behaviors to change.
– James Pratt