When talking to new members and potential training clients at the gym, one of the things I look at is past workout and goal setting history. I ask questions like:
“How long have you been working towards your goals?”
“How many times have you started and stopped a fitness routine or diet before?”
“What would help keep you motivated to stay on track?”
The answers to these important questions helps me understand where the person is coming from, and is key to future success. One of the most common statements that I hear is that people give up when they don’t see the results they were hoping for, and that making some progress would ensure that they were motivated and encouraged to keep up the hard work.
While there are many, many reasons why people may have trouble achieving their fitness and weight loss goals, there are often two main components that contribute to not seeing the results that people need to keep going. The first is knowledge about exercise and diet. Misconceptions about cardio being the best way to lose fat or that heavy weight training will make women ‘bulky’ abound, and similarly healthy eating confusion leads to crash dieting and then binge eating, which does nothing to help your body lose fat and keep it off.
However if those were the only problems, someone could easily do a few web searches and find the information they need, or hire a personal trainer for a few sessions and learn the basics.
Patience is essential, and often the missing link. Patience is becoming something of a lost art in our society, with everything that we could possibly want available at our fingertips. Food, entertainment, and online shopping is all available 24/7 and if you’re willing to shell out, you can get it express delivered so that you don’t even have to wait the old 7-10 business days. We live in a time of instant gratification.
The trouble is that when you want to apply that same mentality to your body, it simply doesn’t work. Sure, you can severely restrict calories for a couple of weeks and you will absolutely lose weight, but the reality is that most of the time those lifestyle changes are not maintainable and you will rebound, possibly putting on even more weight than before. Then the routine becomes crash diet, relapse, repeat, and 10 years later you’re no closer to where you want to be – this is referred to as yo-yo dieting.
To break the cycle, you need a few things – a solid plan that includes a clearly defined goal, some knowledge about how to work out and eat well, and a lot of patience. Your body did not become deconditioned in one month and will not magically transform itself in one month either. Be committed to changing your lifestyle by cutting out the bad things and adding in the good a little at a time so that it can be maintained, if you try to do everything at once you will almost certainly become overwhelmed!
Take a before picture and measurements, then put them away and focus on taking it one step at a time. Resist weighing yourself every day or standing in front of the mirror with judgmental eyes, and be ok with having days where you feel like you’re not making any progress, no one feels 100% confident all the time! The easiest way to remedy a case of the blues is to get off your butt and do something that will help you move forward, even if it’s just a few squats in your living room.
If you really are lost and hopeless and haven’t a clue what to do, find someone who can help you. Never be afraid to seek the help of a professional, whether it be a personal trainer, dietitian, counselor or doctor.
I could (and will) write an entire post on finding ‘your person’, but in short don’t go for the first trainer who promises you the maximum amount of results in the minimum amount of time, that old adage of ‘too good to be true’ can apply to people too! Take time, research, and lots of conversations to find someone who you truly feel has your best interests at heart and the education to make it happen.
Be kind to yourself, be patient, and remember that even a little bit of progress is better than giving up and not going forward at all! Even small steps in the right direction add up over time.
Resilience In Motion by Meagan Walker 