The other day my wife was out of coffee creamer, so I decided to run to the local Walmart to grab some. I’m familiar with the layout of the store and the creamer is all the way in the back. To get there I have to pass every end-of-aisle display, and every single one of them was filled with sweet drinks, cookies, bagged chips, or sugary breakfast cereals.

I’m aware enough to understand the grocery store’s strategy to sell those items, so I put my blinders on and went straight to my destination. Walmart is always busy—every single hour of the day. On the way back to the checkout, I passed numerous people in the ride-along carts with their baskets filled to the top with those sugary, processed items.

Many of these people cannot even walk the aisles due to chronic illness, disability, or simply poor health. Yet they are constantly marketed the worst possible foods for their long-term well-being. Not to mention the price of those items. Without being exact, a box of sugary cereal costs around $6, compared to a pound of 90/10 grass-fed beef for about $7.67.

Guess what these folks did not have in their baskets?

Exactly—hardly any real sources of protein.

This trip to Walmart sparked my curiosity. When I got home, I looked up how many people in Arkansas are obese and what the average consumption of fast food is. The results showed roughly 39–45% of Arkansans are obese, and about 45% eat out for lunch or dinner on any given day. I also looked up how many drinks coffee chains sell per day. The average location sells roughly 1,000 drinks per day, and busy stores can sell even more. With the average drink costing around $6, that’s about $6,000 in revenue per day from drinks alone.

Then I had one more thought.

With the popularity of GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, I looked up the price. Without insurance, these medications can cost $1,000–$1,500 per month.

As a fitness coach, my primary concern is building better health for longevity. Longevity means a long life—the opposite of quick. In a fast-food society, how do we as coaches sell longevity when we’re competing against quick-fix weight-loss drugs, fast food, and constant grocery store temptations that feed the “I want it now” mentality?

Let me share a quick story.

I have a personal training client I work with once per week. I’ve been training her for about three months. She is in her mid-50s and had no previous history of working out. She already ate fairly well, and I haven’t changed her diet at all.

Her body is responding. She has gotten noticeably stronger and her confidence is growing. She truly is improving her health and beginning to see the results.

This process hasn’t been quick—but it also hasn’t required a massive time commitment. Just 60 minutes of exercise per week has produced huge improvements in her strength and fitness level. My client doesn’t eat fast food or expensive coffee drinks every day, but she also isn’t eating like a bodybuilder. She simply puts in consistent effort—and that effort produces results. My hourly rate isn’t cheap, but I make sure that the time we spend together provides real value.

You or someone you know has probably considered joining a gym but decided, “not right now,” because the membership seemed expensive. Meanwhile, many people unknowingly spend hundreds of dollars each month on fast food and specialty coffee drinks.

Maybe it’s time to start playing the longevity game instead. Investing in your health can give you back a part of yourself that you may have forgotten existed—your strength, your energy, and your confidence.

The first step simply requires courage.

If you feel overwhelmed, give me a call. I’ll walk you through the process and help you get started. After all, helping people build a stronger, healthier life is exactly what I do. I am a fitness coach for a reason.