You are not going to get it all in one day. That said, you might get it all one day.
For example, if you are 50-100lbs overweight, you didn’t put that weight on overnight. You aren’t dropping that weight by tomorrow either. Let’s set some realistic expectations. If you can drop ½ a pound to a full pound in a week in a healthy way, you are maybe a year, two, or more away from your goal. (1% or less of your bodyweight per week should be your goal) We could talk about more drastic ways for dropping bodyweight, flushing water, crash dieting, etc. but I am talking about genuine healthy body re-composition. A similar analysis can be made on adding muscle mass. The point is that; focus, consistency, patience and persistence are required to make legitimate lasting healthy changes.
Persistance
I addressed setting your focus in Winning the Mind Game (Part 1). Consistency, patience, and persistence are all about maintaining your focus. When you make a misstep, it’s not over. If you fall off the wagon by missing a workout or violating your diet plan, you haven’t failed. You haven’t lost your war in one day or by missing one workout. Maybe you didn’t even lose a battle. A single event is not a trend. Don’t use it as a reason to despair or to abandon your plan. Take it in the aggregate. Maybe your body needed some more rest before your next workout. Maybe your needed to feed your body more. Maybe you just got lazy and weak-minded,… temporarily. Get back on or stay on your path.
Sustainability
The diet, and the workouts should be sustainable and satisfying. If you are taking extreme measures, that may be counterproductive in a number of ways. First, you may be taking it too far and yielding unhealthy results. Second, you should consider that you are modifying your behavior and you need to do it in a way that is sustainable. If you go back to your old ways, you will go back to your former body and your former health. Set up a lifestyle and diet that are sustainable and desirable.
Durability
In response to an opponent’s plan to defeat him, Mike Tyson famously said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” There is also the famous military maxim, “No plan survives first contact with the enemy.” Similarly, your plan needs to adjust to its encounter with the enemy or when it gets metaphorically punched in the mouth. Don’t be unrealistically attached to the specifics of your plan but rather with the intended results. Maybe you are losing weight too fast. For example, if you are dropping 5lbs a week and feeling week and sickly, you may need to increase your calorie intake. In another case, maybe you are gaining weight but you are getting leaner. That can happen for a variety of reasons. One is that if you are creatine loading, it typically has a cell volumizing effect with your muscles. That means you are carrying more water in your muscles, this is a good thing. Although the scale might not reflect improvements, the mirror and your overall well-being may tell another story.
Keep your focus on the purpose and your goals. Listen to your body and adjust as needed. Live the way you want to look and you may indeed get it all one day.
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