You get out what you put in. That’s usually the case, especially when it comes to things like diet and exercise. The effort you put into them, will directly correlate with your results. The more effort, the greater your results will be, and the quicker you’ll achieve them. I mean, it kind of makes sense, right? So, before you embark on your fitness journey, you should probably set a timeframe for things, and then assess how much effort and commitment you can or are willing to put into that. If your honest answer is, ‘Not much,’ then I wouldn’t expect things to happen too quickly, if at all.
It’s very likely your diet will require a lot of effort and commitment, and it’s very likely it will require it for a long time. Generally, I find progress and results to come much slower with a diet, than with any exercise goals. Firstly, it’s easier to measure your progress with exercise. You’ll notice how you increase the weights over time, so that’s obvious. Diet is trickier, because you’ll usually be maintaining a similar number of calories throughout the diet period, so that might play on your mind. It doesn’t change, so nothing’s changing?
Secondly, it’s funny how people seem to notice size increases, or changes in definition, more so than they do decreases in body fat. It’s possible that’s a psychological effect, and we see what we want to see, or what we think is happening. I know a lot of people who lose weight, yet they’re convinced their body hasn’t changed, and it almost certainly has. So, bear in mind that nutritional changes are harder to stick with. They might require more effort.
Exercise is all about consistency. The phrase ‘Use it, or lose it’ perfectly sums up your body’s relationship with your muscles. If you’re not using them, your body will. And it usually does this by breaking them down to use as energy. So, bye bye muscle mass. And if you’re not consistently exercising, you can kiss your cardio goodbye as well. Anyone who’s taken a holiday, a break, or has had an injury that prevents them from working out, will attest to the fact that it doesn’t really take long off for your strength or cardio levels to drop considerably. Now, we have muscle memory, so you can get back to your previous level, but the longer you leave it, the worse the effects will be.
If you have a goal, if you want to achieve something, you’re going to have to put the effort in. And generally, the more effort you put in, the faster you’ll achieve that target. Commitment is key. But then again, you probably already know that, because this probably isn’t the first time you’ve tried to reach this goal. Stick to it this time, and I promise you’ll see the difference. Until next week, seeya.
Dan Miller
Body Fuel Personal Fitness Trainer