My wonderful daughter, Lily, has become a fan of board games over the last few months. Although I’ve never been much into games, I too have become a fan of Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders. You kinda have to, right?? I can’t let my daughter down!
But one thing I realize about those two games (because those are the only two we currently play) is that success is not linear.
Unless you’re name is Lily and you always win..
There have been several times where I progress to the very end of the game only to be knocked back down to the beginning. And then I get beat by a 3 year old. Again. It’s very frustrating.
So what does this have to do with fitness and nutrition?
Everything actually!
Here’s the deal.. If progress in the gym or on the scale was linear, wouldn’t we all be deadlifting 500+ pounds and losing weight every week on the scale?
We aren’t doing that though. It’s not that easy.
No matter what we do, there will ALWAYS be ebbs and flows when it comes to our goals.
If you are trying to lose weight, you might see a good amount of loss the first few weeks.
Then you might gain a pound.
Then you lose half a pound.
Up two pounds.
Down 4 pounds.
You see, just like with that dang Chutes and Ladders game, you will get knocked down that chute a time or two. But then you climb the ladder to a better spot than you were before.
But we, as humans, don’t see that. All we see is “I gained weight. I’m a huge ball of fail.”
What we don’t realize is that THIS IS PROGRESS. As long as we continue to do the things that work, we will meet our ultimate goal. Even if it isn’t what we want it to be.
So how does one go about obtaining a goal without focusing on the goal itself?
Focus on tangible, process goals. If you are focusing on things you really don’t control (weight loss), you will likely fail. But if you focus on things you can control (strength training 2-3 days a week, doing some cardio, eating in a calorie deficit, drinking your water, getting enough sleep), you will see success. I guarantee it!
But here’s the thing.. A LOT of people ARE able to do these things for a short period of time. But then they temporarily stop seeing progress. And they quit.
The hard part is consistently doing these habits for no less than 66 days.
Ya know..because that’s what research shows to be the amount of time it takes to create a habit.
So what can you take away from this?
Stop focusing on the goal.
Focus on things you can control.
Do it consistently for at least 66 days.
Then realize that success is and never will be linear. You will have good days and bad. The most important thing is to keep moving forward!
If you find that you struggle doing the things within your control, I’d love to hop on a call to discuss some ways Foundation Fitness could be right for you.