With fat loss, we all seek non-stop progress. Preferably lightning fast, too. Oh, and while we’re asleep, if at all possible.
Especially since there was — for many of us — a brief time, in the early days, when our progress might’ve actually felt that way.
Think back to when you first started lifting or got your diet in order. Maybe you dropped five pounds in the first week or added weight to the bar every workout.
It’s almost addicting, but it NEVER lasts, and after a while making near daily progress is just too much to ask.
In a way, it’s a good thing, since it’s a sign that you’re getting more experienced. But meager returns on a significant investment is still frustrating.
One thing that helps is focusing squarely on your PROCESS.
- diet (measuring, tracking honestly, not cheating)
- exercise (weights and cardio if prescribed)
- movement (daily steps)
- recovery (sleep)
If you’re doing as much as you can there, then you are doing all you can do, so… relax.
Sometimes results take time to appear and sometimes the plan needs a tweak — one is beyond your control, the other I will do for you. You just keep plugging away.
Also, if you’re doing “everything right” but not making visible or measurable progress, remember that you still ARE making progress — just not on the metrics we easily monitor or measure. (No, this isn’t always easy. I get that. But it’s still important.)
You’re getting healthier, fitter, and building confidence and competency. It sucks thats on the weekly tracker!
Finally, this time of year (late summer wind-down)? Many folks have been back-sliding big time. Erasing habits, forgetting goals, and gaining weight.
If you’re still doing all you can most every day then you are making progress. Regardless of what the scale says.
– Bryan