"Aren't You Bored?"

A client was telling me about a friend of his. Riddled with health issues and had just received a warning from his doctor that he needed to make significant lifestyle changes or he was going to die. This friend was asking about the diet and training my client was doing. The diet and training that has so far resulted in a 10kg weight loss, a 10% drop in body fat with almost 15kg of fat lost in under 4 months. The diet and training that is only 3 days per week with zero cardio and has been in a constant calorie surplus. The diet that includes the foods the client chose and doesn’t eliminate carbs or food groups.

They were at a BBQ together where my client and his wife had taken their own food and a couple of protein shakes so they could fully stick to their diet.

Did they need to? No. It was a BBQ so meat was being served. There would have been salads and vegetables available so they could have basically stuck to their diet with what was on offer.

But after having made so much progress and completely changing how he feels, sleeps, performs, fits clothes and generally functions throughout the day, leading to positive changes in his relationships with his family and colleagues, my client has no interest in eating other food. That’s the choice he is making.

The friend, who has high blood pressure, high cholesterol, is massively overweight and has heart issues looked at my clients meal, which was a combination of meat, rice and vegetables, and asked, “But aren’t you bored?”

My initial response to hearing this was, “Isn’t he bored of being fat and unhealthy?” But my client, who is more diplomatic than I am, simply responded with, “Not at all.”

You might think a structured diet and training program is nothing more than a ball and chain designed to take away all your fun and make life boring. 

I would argue that being fat, weak, unfit, constantly sick, always tired, always in a bad mood, uncomfortable in your clothes, embarrassed when you’re naked and being told you’re going to die if you continue on as you are is far worse. Sure it sounds exciting. Never knowing what illness will strike you down because of your weak immune system. The thrill of not knowing which vital organ or body part will fail due to bad nutrition or lack of use. But I could see no motivation, dragging your feet everywhere from never-ending fatigue, being followed around by a dark cloud of depressive thoughts and hormonal issues being somewhat tiresome and something of a drag. And all to say you get to consume a large variety of food and beverages?

A meal doesn’t have to be boring. First of all, what’s boring is subjective. I personally love steak or chicken with rice and nothing more than some salt. Many people will have just screwed their face up and made some over-exaggerated sighing noise while rolling their eyes at the very idea of eating something so plain. But every “exciting” meal is made up of regular boring ingredients. 

What’s in a burger? A bread roll. A piece of meat. Some veggies and usually a sauce. Want to have a burger every day? I’ll write the ingredients into your diet and all you have to do is make the burger. 

What’s in a pizza? A base, cheese, vegetables, cheese, maybe some meat, cheese and a sauce. Want to have a pizza every day? I’ll write the ingredients in and you can make a pizza.

What’s in spaghetti? Pasta, mince, tomato, cheese, oil, salt, pepper and seasonings. Want spaghetti? Do you see where this is going?

See how this works?

And what if you don’t want to make those things every day? Don’t! Use those ingredients to make something else. The world is your oyster. Be as creative as you want with those ingredients. It makes no difference once it’s inside you. It all gets broken down the same. If you need to hard boil your eggs instead of scrambling or frying them, then do so! It’s a freakin egg!

Following a diet doesn’t need to be boring. A house is nothing more than steel, wood, concrete and stone. On their own, boring and unexciting. But put those materials together in the right way and you have stunning architectural wizardry that can blow your mind. 

So while yes, following a diet may deprive you of some of the fun things that have you really “living life” while being overweight, unmotivated, depressed, on the brink of collapse and potentially destroying not only your life but the lives of everyone close to you. It’s all about interpretation and how you choose to prepare the ingredients that determine if you end up with fries or a baked potato.

And if you’re being told by your doctor that what you’re doing literally has you knocking on death’s door, maybe excitement isn’t what you need. Maybe some plain chicken and rice is exactly what the doctor ordered.