The question is WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY?
why do you go to the gym? Is it really so you slow down getting fatter, unhealthier and less able?
It’s OK if that’s the truth. That’s YOUR truth. That might explain to you why you don’t want to put things into a training journal or log your food or be patient with training. If that’s the end goal, those things aren’t really necessary. If the “why” is so you only gain 5 pounds instead of 10 year after year, if it is to have a sense of “hey, at least I’m doing something”, if it is to justify food choices we normally wouldn’t consider healthy, or if it is to “think you look ok” for whatever age you are, you don’t need to do the discipline stuff.
BUT… if your goal is to be HEALTHIER than you have been, increase your muscle mass a few pounds this year, lower your blood pressure, get off your medications, not end up like your parents health wise, lose the fluff around the middle, be happier about who you are all around, or change your lifestyle, the discipline matters.
“WHY” is a pretty damn important question and we definitely gloss over it in our lives AND our health. Why are we doing squats? That answer will help us determine HOW we do our squats, won’t it? But if we just chip away at exercises like we do life, you’ll roll through sets and sets and sets without ANYTHING to show for it. WHY do we eat? If it is for pleasure, you’ll eat whatever, if it is for fueling your body, HOW you eat changes dramatically.
Don’t shy away from the root of why you do anything, especially in the with your health. You could either change your life, or just eventually quit something you “tried and it didn’t work for you”.
And both of those things on the surface look like the same exact thing.