Why do we have yo-yo diets? Why do we let gyms charge our banks for a service we stopped using months ago?
You want lasting change. There is no quick fix, flash solutions or sexy answers. Changes take time and constant effort. If you want to transform, get ready for your lifestyle to change.
Interested? You could also read why rapid weight loss is a bad idea.
Video transcript
Why is it difficult to change your lifestyle? Why do people make choices about their diet, and then go back on them, even a matter of a days after making the decision? Why is it difficult to change your physique?
People like to be where they are. We all like comfort, and the body has a set state it likes to be in. Your body is going to try and keep you there. It’s going to fight to keep you at what we call homeostasis, meaning a steady point.
We want to deviate from that to cause fat loss, muscle growth, or whatever it is. It is going to be stressful, and it is going to be difficult. It is going to take time.
This is what most people are not willing to accept. They want results now. They want to look in the mirror and go, “Wahey! Fantastic!” The truth is, most changes to physique and fitness are gradual over time, to a degree where people don’t even notice them in themselves.
I’ve had clients, just this morning in fact, say to me “Yes, I’ve lost weight when I step on the scales. Yes, when you measure me I have reduced by at least several inches, but I feel the same. I look in the mirror and I see the same person.”
I point out to them that other people don’t see them every single day. It is a bit like expecting to see the difference in a tree’s growth every single day that you look at it. It’s growing, but slowly. So slowly in fact that you can’t notice.
You need to accept that you are not going to see massive changes in yourself. Instead it is going to be gradual. It takes time.
The best way to track changes is to take a photograph of yourself every couple of days, or once a week or perhaps even once a month. You can look back over those photos and see how you’ve changed.
Even better is to keep a diary. Write down how you are feeling. Whether you feel stronger, more energised, whether you feel like you are moving around better. You might notice these differences, but they will become normal to you in no time.
I’ll give you a great example. One of my clients found it very difficult to squat down. She enjoyed gardening, but found she’d get a bad back from hinging over while gardening. We worked on her squat gradually over a couple of months.
Now she can squat down whenever she likes, reaching a nice low depth. She now squats while she gardens and no longer has a bad back. Two months later, she’s completely forgotten what it was like to have a bad back.
She said to me “I don’t really feel like I’m progressing. Is it really worth me continuing to exercise?”
I asked her if she would like a bad back again. But she’s forgotten what that felt like. It’s so easy to slip back to the way you were two months ago, simply because this is your new normal.
It’s important to continually work through the process, and learn to enjoy the process, in order to see the results. If you are constantly looking to feel 100% better every single day, it is not going to work.
