Some of the biggest things holding you back in your weight loss efforts and your dream of perfect abs are not named 'Protein','Fat' or 'Carbs'.

It's probably not even 'Calories'.

(...well actually it is Calories, but it's just a tiny bit more complex then that.)

No, today I'm talking about two non-calorie things.

Self-Confidence and Perfection.

So let's clear this up right away.

It is a misconception that you have to be 'special' to be successful at weight loss.

This misconception stems from the fact that we like to think that the people giving us diet advice are somehow 'perfect'.

Living perfect lives, with the perfect bodies with the perfect jobs etc.

This creates a situation where it becomes difficult to have confidence in ourselves because we simply do not measure up to these seemingly perfect people.

However, Nobody is perfect.

So here's the truth...

That diet guru with the awesome abs that everyone thinks eats 'perfectly'...He's a chocolate FEIND.

The 600 pound bench presser who constantly gives advice on training..He's had three shoulder surgeries and bone spurs removed from his elbows...as a direct result of his benching.

The Hollywood celebrity touting his super dedicated workout program he used to get in shape for "Kiss of Death 32"...He forgot to tell you he's on various anabolic steroids.

The Paleo Princess who thinks that HFCS is made directly form the essence of the devil...She secretly loves the occasional Coca Cola when at the movies.

The shredded diet guru...who is actually about 60 pounds overweight (the pictures you see on-line are from 2001)

The dozen or so magazine covers you see every month...They are a result of photoshop mastery.

The point is:

No one is perfect, so don't freak out when you discover that you're not perfect either.

The idea of having shredded abs 24/7 without even flexing is just as foreign to the professional fitness model as it is to you.

We need to realize that the illusion of perfection is really, really hurting us and our abilities to reach our goals..or even define them.

So here are some givens:

You are going to have off days of dieting.

You weight loss is going to plateau, or even go up occasionally.

You are going to love the way you look some days, and be less then impressed on other days...and you don't probably look any different on either day.

This doesn't make you a failure, it makes you human...keep at it.

You are going to break a fast early, eat more than you want to, miss a workout, eat a 'bad' food.

The idea of eating perfectly for 4 months worth of hardcore deiting is just plain silly, even for the most dedicated fitness proffesional.

So if you slip, don't worry about it, just keep moving towards your goals.

Remember: No one is perfect.

This makes it a little easier to ramp up the self-confidence.

It's an even playing feild.

Realizing this is a giant step into becoming awesome. Because once you realize that no one is perfect, then you have ZERO reason not to be self-confident.

We're all flawed in our own special way, which of course means we can all be awesome if we choose to be.

BP

As a note...this post was highly influenced by this blog post -->  http://bit.ly/b9DzcI