Not making Progress? Don’t quit!
So, we are well into the new year of 2017 and most people would have made the pledge to make 2017 the year to hit their fitness goals, most of those goals being to lose weight. However, it is also this time of year where people start to quit as they feel they are not seeing the results they had hoped for. If you’re one of these people, don’t throw in the towel just yet, read on and consider some of these factors first.
- Be very honest with yourself, have you stuck to your training routine? It is easy to start falling into the habit of just missing one training session a week, but then maybe it’s two? Before you know it you aren’t putting in the work you should be to create the deficit needed to lose weight, therefore you stop making progress. Start to be more mindful, instead of making excuses to skip sessions, think about how you can fit them in and start to prioritise your training again. Perhaps mark down on a calendar training sessions you actually did do to hold yourself accountable or even consider having a PT or attending group training if you’re starting to lack motivation.
- Ok so your training might be spot on but how about your nutrition? As I have pointed out in a previous blog, it is ok to enjoy the odd piece of chocolate or even the odd off plan meal once in a while, as long as you have been consistent with your nutrition for the majority of the time. You can surprisingly counterbalance all that hard work training with eating badly, and the result of counterbalancing this hard with unmindful eating? A halt in weight loss. If this is the case, then it is simply a matter of refocusing and sticking to your nutrition plan, batching cooking and planning what you are going to eat ahead will help you achieve this.
- On the other hand, maybe you are going too hard too fast? Sometimes we can get into the mind set of more is better, so slash the calories down a lot and up the exercise to pushing your limits will make you lose weight right? Well yes, but not for long! Whilst this approach will make you lose A LOT of weight to begin with, it is not sustainable to dive into the deep end and your body will adapt quickly to make sure you don’t continue to lose weight so drastically. In a nut shell, go too hard too soon you will mentally and physically burn out and your body will start to slow down meaning weight loss will stall. Although it may be attempting to eat a little less and do more than your PT or coach suggests, slow and steady will always win the race (I have a blog explaining this in more detail). By suggesting that you take things slow and steady, your PT/coach is actually looking after your health optimally.
- Speaking of slow and steady this leads into my next point. You ARE making progress, but not quick enough, so you feel like quitting. If I had an actual pound for every time someone said “…but I’ve only lost a pound this week” I’ll be booking a luxury holiday right now! One pound IS PROGRESS, in fact 1 pound a week is great progress as it is at a healthy and steady rate. Sometimes we are not patient enough and although you might not see one pound difference straight away, 3 months later that is a 12 pound difference, almost a stone! So, do have the mind set of progress is progress, no matter how big or small it is.
- Lastly, you may need to consider different ways to track your progress other than the scales. Although using scales can be a great indication at first, building lean muscle tissue whilst loosing fat can start to stall the number on the scales, the solution? Take weekly photos, measurements with a tape and even see how your clothes are starting to fit. You’ll be surprised looking back at old photos when you think you haven’t made progress.
So don’t quit! Reflect and re-adjust. It may be that you aren’t consistent as you thought you were with your training and nutrition or you have built some lean muscle mass which is why the scales haven’t changed but your physique is actually looking leaner. If you are feeling like all hope is lost then don’t hesitate to reach for help from a professional who can help.