Is It Really Worth It?

"Oh my God! Have you seen his body?"

Almost every guy's dream is for women to shower them with compliments. Making them feel like Casanova or Hugh Hefner (minus the wrinkles)(RIP Hugh). Same thing goes for women too. In the end, we all just want to be noticed.

And I'll admit, you can't help but admire a dude with some big ass arms. Like bro, you look like the Hulk. Teach me your ways!

But hold on just a minute. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself, is any of this worth it? Sure, getting that perfect physique will get you all those likes on Instagram, but what's the cost of all this?

Women too! Are you really sure you want to look like these Instagram girls?

Now, I'm going to show you why bodybuilding, CrossFit, and any other 'sure-fire way to get GAINS! and lose weight' are really not as cracked up as it seems to be.

1. Think you had a positive image about yourself? Not anymore!

With bodybuilding or weightlifting, it's primary focus is to completely change who you are. A total 180. You like eating that occasional Cheeto? Well, too bad. That Cheeto is now a carrot stick. You're more of a night owl? Not anymore, you're going to bed at 9 pm. But I--- I said GO THE F--K TO SLEEP! Bottom line, you're transforming. The thing about that though is you won't be looking like Dwayne Johnson with the snap of a finger. It takes a lot of work, and a lot of consistency. Most days, you will feel like utter & complete shit. Especially if you're trying to gain muscle. To gain a muscle, you will have to eat A LOT! And what happens when you eat more food? You get fat af! I remember when I was trying to be a bodybuilder, I was eating close to 4000 calories a day! I'd look myself in the mirror, and no joke, I couldn't see myself. I saw what looked like a blubbery walrus 😂 And that's the thing, during this period of bodybuilding, I was the most depressed I have ever been. When I saw that I was getting fat, I upped the ante with weights & cardio. When that didn't work, I cut back my calories, but I only lost any gains I made. You could imagine my frustration! I went through every fitness blog & crash diet but still nothing. "Why am I not looking like these guys?!" I finally did though, but it took me forever & there was so much pain involved. It felt great after, then something else happened. I started to slip back into this depression. Why you ask? It's because I wanted more! Pretty soon, I wasn't happy with my 6 pack, I wanted that guy's 8 pack. Then I wanted more veiny arms. Tighter glutes too. And each time, I'd become more miserable than the last. Then I had to ask myself. "Why the hell am I putting myself through all this pain & anguish?" You should start asking this question too.

2. Time!

Like I said, all these fitness movements have one thing in common. And that's time! It will take you a ridiculous amount of time to get that 'Greek-god statue' body. Many fitness sites & blogs will say it doesn't take that long; 2-3 months at the most. Nope! Well, results do vary, but personally I didn't see any significant results till 8-9 months in. That's how long it takes to form a literal human! But let's talk about time in the gym. Most of these bodybuilders spend upwards of 3 hours in the gym! Now let's say you just came home from work. It was your first day on the job, so you're especially tired. Do you really want to spend 3 hours in the gym? God no! You rather take a nap and see some of your friends. When you do decide to take up the physique building route, are you prepared to give up time with your friends & family to spend it with a bunch of sweaty people in a gym? Are you prepared to give up things you actually enjoy? I'm guessing probably not and that's perfectly ok!

3. Giving up the good stuff

Eating healthy & nutrition are both extremely important. I think we can all agree on this. But you know what's equally as important? Your mental health. If you constantly eat healthy, day in and day out, 24/7, 2 things are going to happen. 1. Your body will get healthier 2. But when you see other people eating "junk" food, you will start to want that even more. But you can't because you're too focused on your physique. Also what happens when you've been off junk food for a while, but you finally get a little taste of it? You start to binge eat! And that goes down a whole other rabbit hole. Now I'm not saying eat junk food constantly (unless you want to get obese). What I'm saying is it's ok to treat yourself. Are you craving that slick of pizza? Then you eat those delicious carbs! But you work harder the next day. Will following this way make you ripped & veiny beyond belief? No, but why would you want to? The amount of sadness & dissatisfaction these guys & girls must feel is something you shouldn't be envious about. So you have to ask yourself, what's more important? Crafting a body that's visually pleasing to other people? or Being healthy, both physically and mentally? Maintaining a healthy level of fitness is a much better way to stay fit than being obsessive about. That's the whole motto of casual fitness, and actually the purpose of this blog is to spread that message to everyone, so they too can enjoy the casual life