The voluntary con
![The voluntary con](/content/images/size/w1200/2024/06/1719485508532.jpeg)
Most people are just aching to be conned and/or overpay for shortcuts that don’t exist.‘Smart’ devices and supplements top the list of things people will overpay for hoping it is some vague proxy for portion control or a calorie deficit. It is not.
You are never going to lose more than a few kgs. And even if that happens by some inadvertent portion control, your body composition will not improve unless you do some form of resistance training to improve your muscle mass. Yoga, pilates, stretching, walking, running, Zumba, aerobics don’t count. There is not enough resistance being worked against nor is there enough force being produced.
There are a million ways to feel like you are doing a lot for your health. Most of those try and make you spend money on things that are neither impactful enough nor essential.
The things that are essential need your time, attention and effort. Those are things money can’t buy. Those being challenging training, adequate sleep, time/attention management and portion control.
Takeaway
Optimising your health solely for longevity is not the same as optimising your habits for quality of life. One involves embracing your life as finite and doing the best that you can with the time you have. As for the other, only you can gauge the value of spending the time you have worrying about how little time you have.