Giving Up on the 'Ideal'

Now you know the truth: The goal to get flat abs may:

• Require more exercise than your schedule will allow and more than you can mentally handle
• Require more attention to your diet than you're willing/able to expend
• Require more strict adherence to diet/and exercise than you have the time or energy to spare
• Not be in your genetic cards

If that's the case, maybe it's time to get rid of that goal. It may seem foreign to imagine an exercise life without it, but it's possible and tossing that goal may actually be a relief, allowing you to focus on what you CAN change.

Now's the time to ask yourself:

• Do I really want flat abs?
• Am I willing to work as hard as I need to to get them?
• If I will work that hard, am I willing to accept that it still may not happen, even if I do everything right?
• If I did get six-pack abs, what will that change in my life? What will flat abs actually do for me?
• What would happen if I let go of this ideal and focused on other goals?

Accepting that your body works as a whole and not in pieces and parts is the first step towards releasing that ideal body that lurks in your mind and embracing the one you have now--belly flab and all. Maybe it's time to finally let that goal go and realize you aren't a failure for not reaching it.