Working hard on your fat loss only to struggle with a plateau that seems never ending? Frustrating much?
This is a tough one because we’re all conditioned to want instant results. “I’ve been good today/this week/this month we cry – why aren’t I seeing results!”.
And off you go to comfort yourself with a nutella donutL And the yo-yo begins again.
Just wait right there!
Who says nothing is happening? What, are you now a molecular biologist? Sure the scales look like someone super-glued them and you could scream with frustration but it’s really important to tell yourself to “stay the course”.
Your body is a really complicated organism and while for years we were told that weight loss was a simple calories in vs calories out issue; that’s not actually correct.
Quantity of food generally dictates the weight on the scale and quality of food dictates things like general health, cellulite, the quality of your skin and your body composition.
Let me clarify both those points because I don’t want you cutting your calories down to starvation levels to see the scales shift – that’s a short term solution that will rebound on you big time. Likewise, you can eat clean and consume the best quality of food but if you overeat you still won’t lose weight.
You know how we always joke that the first place you lose body fat (your breasts) is usually the last place we want to lose it from? Well that’s part and parcel of how your body functions during the weight loss process. You might be concentrating on your thighs and failing to see that in fact, you’re steadily losing from all over your body – the frustration is that it’s not where you wanted to see it first.
Your body may well be healing digestive issues, a stressed liver, and improving quality in your hair and nails. There may well be many indicators of your improving health but you’re there focusing on your thighs and why they don’t look any smaller. Changes in body composition can be slow and subtle but ultimately body composition is what counts when it comes to your overall physique and fit of your jeans.
Shawna’s got a short and powerful video below talking about this very issue.
To use Shawna’s analogy it’s a lot like the coming of spring after a long and bleak winter. It doesn’t look like anything’s happening but deep down a new and vibrant you is developing, you just need to stay the course to see that “spring” come to fruition.
Visiting Shawna last year in late March, I was struck by the flowering blossoms that struggled through the Canadian snow. You had to look closely to see them but they were there, working away towards the sunlight, promising spring was on it’s way. It wasn’t obvious, the rest of the park was covered in ice with deep pools of snow beneath the trees – but the blossoms were there all the same.
What’s your alternative after all? You can give up because progress is slow and sabotage all your good work – you’re guaranteed to never get results that way.
But keep on plugging away and “stay the course” and you’re equally guaranteed to feel and look better. It may take a little longer than you like, but it WILL happen.
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