By Mike Mahler
Every January, millions of people make New Year’s resolutions to lose fat and get healthier. They start off with extreme enthusiasm, telling themselves this is the year they’ll finish what they start; this is the year they’ll finally divorce that unwanted fat that’s been their companion these lo, too many, years. This is the year they’ll get healthy, energetic, and reclaim their sex drive that’s has been dormant since the Clinton administration. A few weeks later, frustrated by their body’s inadequate, less-than-magical transformation, they return to spending their time on those ever-productive activities: eating junk food and watching late-night television. Why work hard to make meaningful changes when instant gratification is ever-available? Many people start with the best intentions, but few people follow through. There are many reasons people flake out, and in this article I’ll focus on five major reasons people fail to achieve their fat-loss goals and how you can avoid these common pitfalls. Let’s get started.
1. Expecting Miraculous Changes Overnight
It’s laughable how people who’ve been fat for years will expect miraculous changes in mere weeks. I’ve had online training clients whining because they don’t notice any big difference after two weeks training! You didn’t get fat overnight, nor will you get fit and in shape overnight. Did you get fat in only a few weeks? No, it happened gradually, over the course of several months, or even years and it’s unreasonable to expect total physical transformation in a few weeks. Worse, if you’ve spent several years fat, your body has created a set point to keep you at that weight and it takes months of consistent training and healthy nutrition to overcome that tipping point, then push the body into the desired direction. Most trainees give up long before they hit this tipping point, which is a real shame. Why do people give up so easily? One, we’re a quick-fix society, lacking patience and perseverance, we want changes now! Marketers are aware of this trait and feed us the lies we want to hear. How many advertisements have you seen wherein fat people acquire their dream physiques in twelve weeks–or less? What about ads for diet pills promising a thirty-pound fat loss in thirty days? The part the shady marketers leave out is that people who’ve been in great shape can let themselves go, then shape up in twelve-weeks. It’s far easier to get back into shape then to get into good shape for the first time.
The reality (that which people don’t want to hear and unscrupulous marketers don’t want you to know) is that it takes many months–and even years–of dedication to transform your body and your health. This is why you must make it a part of your lifestyle, not a thirty-day distraction. Your commitment to the long haul of acquiring desirable levels of health and vitality (and maintaining them)means you’ll have to eat right, and work out consistently, for the rest of your life. This is reality: accept it and overcome your “instant results” addiction. Your only goal for your first month of training is making proper diet and exercise an effective part of your lifestyle. Note your starting weight, and take some measurements for a baseline (but neither weigh yourself every week or nor check your measurements) then shift your focus to regular training and healthy eating.
