So recently I've been having conversations with some people regarding exercise and nutrition. It came up because one person in particular is having a great amount of stress at work and at home, and their fading physical health. Naturally I talked about crossfit and the paleolithic diet because heck, that's what we crossfitters do no matter how douche (spelling?) we sound. I explained what crossfit is and the idea behind it but somehow it progressed quickly to the price of becoming a member.
Obviously I talked about the higher membership fee of a crossfit gym compared to the globo gym that this person currently has. I made a point that a globo gym can only take you so far especially when you don't get the knowledge and support of an actual trainer on a regular basis like you would at a crossfit gym. Pay more now and get results OR keep paying the low membership fees and see absolutely nothing? Plus I think it's more fun to do workouts together with other people, creating a competitive and intense environment, than having to half-ass curls and treadmill runs alone. This person didn't budge, not even a bit. Price is important and I certainly understood that because of our current economic state.
Ok, fine. Crossfit is expensive and there is no money for it. Got it.
Maybe I could help this person out by talking about going paleo in their diet. I'm not the most knowledgeable person in the world regarding this subject, but I was able to point out bread and sugar = bad, meat and vegetables = good. To help my cause, I even emailed them some literarture and links to websites (i.e. robbwolf.com). I asked them to try it for 30 days, heck, even try it for 3 weeks because I'm sure they'll be able to see some results that it will work. This person responded with one excuse after another. A couple, in particular was "I know, I know...but it's too hard" and "(grains) is like a drug and I need it". Mind you, this is the person who knows the problem, wants a solution to the problem, gets a fire-proof solution to the problem, but can't muster up a little sacrifice to fix it.
Luckily that's how the conversation ended and this person walked away because I was just getting annoyed. I might have said things that I would regret so in a way that was a fine. It did make me realize something about some people...not everybody, just some. There are 2 kinds of people, the "go-getters" and the "pity me" type. Given the same problems, the "go-getters" will take the initiative to seek for help, seriously take up sound advice, and then try to fix it asap while the "pity me" type will wait 'til someone pities them enough to fix the problem for them. Unfortunately for the "pity me" type, there aren't that many willing to help as that's not how the world is.
(I know I probably didn't deliver this as well as I could but I was really bugged about this today)
That's interesting and I have run into the same problem with some people at my work. A lot of the women complain about being overweight and tired. I have tried to tell them about the paleo diet I am on, and they don't seem too open minded about it. They think their Healthy Choice, preservative-filled dinners are better. I have come to the realization that they just "aren't there yet", just like in high school if someone was preaching to me about the caveman diet I probably wouldn't have listened either. It is really frustrating when you become passionate about something and want to share, but others can't seem to grasp the idea.
ReplyDeleteSometimes people don't see that change is good especially when it comes from eating crappy to healthy...or maybe they do see it but are too freakin' lazy to do anything about it! Anyway, I'll just take it easy on the health talk at the workplace because I don't want to turn into "that guy" nobody wants to talk to anymore.
ReplyDeleteWhat seems to get people is when it is already too late. What made me change my thoughts about my diet and lifestyle was because of my fathers death. It WILL take something like this for the "pity me" type to finally make a difference for themselves.
ReplyDeleteI really hope you're wrong about the WILL part. I'd like to think that more people will take the proactive approach.
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