I used to follow quite a strict diet and exercise routine in my Mid 20s and always tried to ensure I put up the numbers (Calorie deficit, Cardio) on a consistent basis. For a while this worked out pretty well as I achieved both my lightest recorded weight and fastest times around that period.
Since it sounded so beneficial, you might be wondering why anyone would not want to sustain such a routine. Well, as with everything we plan as Adults, life can sometimes happen to the best of plans. For me things took a turn when some of the more unprecedented challenges started to hit.
Momentum is very important and once it disappears, it's very difficult to rebuild. We quickly appreciate the discipline it requires to sustain momentum once we embark on any venture. For most of us, the discipline to follow thorough simply isn't available, because it involves more than sheer desire.
Coaches and speakers tell people to go past their limits so they can grow. Yet even they tell you just how complex achieving such a feat can be. Many sensible advisors recommend gradually and consistently going past our limits over an extended time period. What isn't told to us is how devastating being overstretched can be without warning.
Yet That is the curveball life so often throws us. Sometimes it pushes us so far that it shakes the foundation of whatever we are trying to build. Kudos to those who manage to hold steady in the eye of the storm, but not all of us were built with such resistance.
I think that all things in life need some sort of balance. There is this guy I know that doesn't drink, eats very clean, and is constantly exercising always in the pursuit of having the perfect body. He accomplishes this goal to a certain degree but he is also not very happy. I think we need to let loose every now and then but also with balance. I try to live my life that way, even if it does mean i miss out on a party here and there.