Embrace Patience in Your Fat Loss Efforts

Everyone is looking for the instant fix or the ‘magic pill’, ‘magic exercise tool’ or next fad diet.  Why?  Because we all, whether we like it or not, want instant gratification.  We want it all yesterday.  Whether its right or wrong, I’m not going to get into that, but I do want to shed a little light on the desire for instant success with a fat loss program, because there is a very fine line we are dealing with when trying to lose fat fast and using the principles that are effective for losing fat.  Of course the best part of achieving results is being able to maintain the results.  However when trying to lose fast then maintain the loss, we run into challenges that cause many people to become frustrated, and ultimately revert right back to where they started.

There are many ways which you can lose weight.  There are much fewer ways which you can lose fat, and there is even less ways which you can lose fat and keep it off.  It all revolves around one word and one act that involves several components; consistency.  Being consistent is measured in weeks and months rather than days and hours.  Checking the scale daily will not tell you anything and losing or gaining 3 pounds from one day to the next doesn’t tell you anything either.  Being consistent will give you the real results and the real results you won’t need to measure, you will feel.  Sure numerical results are important and can be very motivational, but where we get caught up in the numbers is when we step on the scale and it says you gained 1 pound but have been consistent for a couple of days.  In truth, that 1 pound doesn’t mean anything, but it can put you into a tailspin of second guessing everything you have done and will make you question your actions when you know very well what you are doing will work if you give it a little time.

If we just relax and stop relying on one single measure, (ie the scale) and take the entire picture into account, we can get a full picture of your results rather than just part of the story.  Once we have the entire story we can make an educated assessment of what’s working and/or what we need to change to see continued progress toward your goals. 

Now, that fine line I was referring to is wanting to see results fast, but also keeping the results we achieve.  Unfortunately the two do not work well together.  What you need to do is utilize the lifestyle tools and make them habit (which you do by being consistent with them for at least 8 weeks), before any type of accelerated program or ‘fad diet’ can be used.  Eating supportively (lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables) and exercising 5-6 times per week are tools you need to have in place.  If you do that 90% of the time you will have success.  The results will be gradual, but during that time you will be implementing new habits that will stay with you a lifetime.  So the results you achieve you will keep off.  Once those tools are in place, you can increase your intensity with exercise (add a day, twice a day twice a week) and with your nutrition (100% compliance- no cheat meals), for a short time to see faster results.  As long as you have the necessary tools to fall back on when your short term accelerated plan is complete, your results will stay with you as long as your new habits do.

Real successful fat loss takes time, more or less depending upon how much you have to lose, but if you are consistent with your efforts (consistency being weeks and months) the more you guarantee your results to stay with you for a lifetime.