Prepare for frustration


Starting a new diet and exercise plan is easy; sticking with it is tough.

One of the big things that makes it so tough is the fact that those fast results from the first and possibly second week are going to slow down. This will happen to everyone and if you know this going in, it can help you maintain your focus and stick to your game plan when times get tough.

You need to go in with realistic expectations if you want to succeed.

In the beginning, your body is going to drop a lot of water weight and a few pounds of fat. While it is nice to see those first 3, 5, or even 10 pounds fall off those first few weeks, it can suddenly get discouraging when you only lose 1 pound the following week or worse when you go up a pound or two.

Your body is designed to survive when food is scarce. It's not just going to burn through all its fat stores in a week so that it can die of starvation the next week. When your body thinks food has suddenly become scarce it starts rationing (lowering metabolism). It does everything it can to keep from losing its fat reserves too quickly, but as long as you keep doing the right things, your body has no choice but to release stored fat to survive.

I have had many clients who stuck with their diet and exercise plan despite weeks (sometimes months) of frustration as their weight stayed maddeningly the same. They kept asking me why it wasn't working and I assured them that as long as they weren't cheating behind the scenes, it was working just fine. All those that truly stuck to the game plan would eventually come back to me and excitedly tell me about another sudden drop on the scale. You're body tries it's best to hold on to it's precious fat stores but it just can't help it if you consistently run a calorie deficit. The same water weight that pleasantly drops off in the beginning often holds on later in the diet giving you false plateaus to frustrate you. Often times, people are actually gaining muscle while shedding fat which keeps the scale locked on the same number even though they are progressing quite nicely. 

Don't let that little number on the scale derail your motivation. Just be consistent, stick with your plan, and know that even after a quick start, 1 pound a week (or even a temporary plateau) is not failure.  

Leave a comment

Log in to post a comment

201920182017201620152014
Welcome Diet weight loss Supplements Food Food Tips Tracking Exercise HIIT App Focus lolo Connect Meal Plan Fun Fact Stretching Rehab Truth About Diets Workout Health Sugar Cardio Strength Training Walking Running Treadmill Elliptical Cycling Removing Obstacles meal tracking Paleo Primal Crossfit Hydration Fueling Workouts Muscle Building Event Training Nutrition self-defense Immune System New Year's Success Clean Protein weather Calorie Counting Artificial Sweeteners Sugar Free music motivation deep house new music wednesday Tabata medical conditions diabetes workout music electro anthems fitness workouts stadium jamz bpm pace songs beat-sync Tempo run lolo run house music edm pop High-Fructose Corn Syrup hardstyle Packaging Salt High Blood Pressure Hypertension Scale Protein Muscle Weight Obesity Soybean Oil Coconut Oil Fructose Soda energy boost fat burner Nausea High Intensity Counting Calories Fat Shaming Meals GO Sitting Weight Gain Alcohol Low Carb Salad Fat Fat-Burning Glycogen Athletic Performance Ketogenic Diet Holiday Tips Stubborn Fat Thermogenesis Brown Fat Diet Tips Vegetables Fruit Healthy Fats Quick Start Endurance Psychology Healthy Eating Whole Foods Saturated Fat Calories Fish Omega 3 Healthy Bacteria Microbiome Disease Cholesterol Sleep Meal Plans Cleanse Sport Race Training Performance Late Night Biggest Loser Leptin Weight Regain Lactate Brain Injury High Intensity Interval Training Rest Recovery weight lifting Calcium Magnesium Vitamin K2 omega-3 corn syrup Fish Oil Bryan Haycock Antibiotics micronutrients muscle cramps Fasting Eating at Night Autophagy Glycemic Index Breakfast Fiber BeatBurn Warm Up Cool Down Soreness Foam Roller Metabolism Jeff Galloway Race Meal Planning Insulin Healthy Food Knee Pain Rehab Knees Rehab Injury Healthy Bacteria Good Bacteria Appetite Overeating Cruciferous Vegetables Sulforaphane Cancer Heart Disease Cold Thermogenesis Appetite Supressing Energy Mitochondria Fasted Training Sleep Low Epigenetics Water Pain Adenosine Caffeine time restricted eating intermittent fasting aerobic fitness Boosters Heat training hormesis aerobic Sunburns UV Protection DNA Repair Depression Anxiety Stride Length Injury Safety Walnut Pain Relief NSAID Curcumin Willpower Fad Fast Food Time-Restricted Eating Addiction Night Eating Alkaline Water Acidosis Bone Osteoporosis Arthritis Cruciferous Grilling Carcinogen Brain Tryptophan 7 Minute Workout Interval Training Carnivore Diet Meat Smell Olfactory Reward