18/01/2021
What does realistic progress look like?
It’s been a long week, your first week, you step on the scales and you’ve lost 4lbs
It’s worked!
The next week comes a long, you step on the scales and the weight is the same
Or
It’s moved only ½ lb or even a 1lb this time…
You’re annoyed and try even harder the next week
The next time the scales don’t seemed to have moved much at all...
You ask yourself:
“Why can I lose 4lbs again this week!?”
Everything goes to pot and you fall off the wagon. Until you feel motivated to try again.
In reality though? the first week will tend be your biggest loss because of water
After that, you should expect to lose around a 1lb a week (depending on where your starting point is)
Real progress when trying to lose lbs happens over time
It’s not LINEAR either, you'll go up and down and there are other factors involved (whether you exercise, drink lots of water, salt content etc.) and weighing yourself once a week doesn’t always show the whole picture.
It takes time to lose fat just as it takes time to gain it. (No one gains weight from a day of overeating or eating some ‘junk food’)
One week or a few weeks progress and expecting to be where you want isn’t realistic
Small changes over time in the right direction show that what you are doing is working.
It’s like expecting to take 3 steps and have walked a mile
Or
walking up the steps in this picture, it takes quite a few of them, you can’t just take one and expect to be at the top…
No, it’s probably not what you wanted to hear.
BUT
Take each day as it comes, focus on hitting the small goal of eating slightly less than you’re burning and as time goes by, you’ll get results, that’s all that really matters.
