There’s no secret workout routine or diet plan. There’s no hidden knowledge that, if discovered, would magically solve all your problems. The reason some fitness coaches or diet coaches work so well isn’t because they’ve unlocked some secret formula—it’s because they’re a coach. You paid them, and in doing so, you outsourced part of your motivation and willpower to another person. You don’t have to overthink things. You don’t have to make any decisions. The choice to eat this or that, or train this way or that, is made for you. All you have to do is the work: cook the food, buy the groceries, go to the gym, and do the workouts as prescribed. That’s the magic. That’s the “secret sauce.”
Some people might find this fact frustrating. A magical diet or workout routine that requires no effort and works 100% of the time for 100% of people sounds nice. But let me disabuse you of that idea—you don’t actually want that.
You don’t want the shortcut that requires zero effort. Effort is good. Effort is what made humans human. The willingness and ability to shoulder responsibility, to do hard things simply because you decided to, is what sets humans apart. That’s the real gift of training, eating well, and doing the hard work required to stay healthy in a world that seems designed to make you unhealthy at every turn. It’s a way to exercise our uniquely human ability to embrace discomfort—and to grow because of it. | 
