10 REASONS WHY YOU MAY NOT BE HITTING YOUR HEALTH & FITNESS GOALS

The New Year is right around the corner. Time to start thinking about your New Year's Resolutions. But wait. You do this every year and it doesn't work. Why?

You're feeling pretty confident right now. You're feeling like this coming year is going to be your year. You're thinking you're going to finally reach your health and fitness goals.

You know that you start the year really motivated. But then something comes up to throw you off track. You lose your motivation. You get frustrated. Your good intentions go out the window. You start thinking 'why do all this work, the results never come'.
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Let's take a few minutes to think about why you were not successful in the past. And, figure out a way for this coming year to be different. To make your journey to reaching your goals a success. 

I want to help change that for you. I want next year to be the year you finally reach your health and fitness goals. And, even more so, I want you to be able to sustain those results for the rest of your life.

Here are 10 reasons why it's hard for you to reach your health and fitness goals.
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If you understand these barriers, you'll be in great position to take control. With a few tweaks here and there, you'll be able to stay on track. And, you'll maintain momentum to creating that healthiest and fittest version of yourself.

1. YOU AREN'T CONSISTENT

Ask yourself this question.

Are you consistent with your workouts and nutritional choices?

Progress and ultimately success comes through a series of small steps. It comes from your small daily efforts, that you repeat every day.

It’s that consistency in everything you do. I like to tell my clients that the first habit to focus on is “showing up”. That's showing up for the workout, the meal prep or whatever. The next habit to focus on is to “keep showing up”.

Success comes from those small actions done consistently.

It’s rare that success comes from a big effort only done occasionally.

You're not going to hit your goals if you only exercise once a week or follow your nutritional plan 50% of the time.
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You need to be consistent day in and day out. That goes for both your workout effort and your nutrition effort. 

2. YOU UNCONSCIOUSLY CHEAT YOURSELF

Everything adds up. Maybe you think you're following your plan closely. But, those little shortcuts you take can add up negatively pretty quickly.

What do I mean by that?

Let take your workouts for example.

You’re in a hurry so you rush through your exercises. You do your bodyweight squats as if you were a jumping jack.

To get strong and fit, you need to keep your muscles under tension and stress for as long as possible. That’s why your movement should be slow and controlled.

If you’re rushing, your movement tendency will be fast and uncontrolled. You won’t have kept your muscles under tension very long.

You may be thinking you got your workout in doing it that way. In actuality, the benefits you’ll have derived will be inconsequential.

Same goes for your nutrition.

You know a portion size of peanut butter is about equal to the size of your thumb. But you slather the peanut butter on your whole grain toast because you’re hungry.

The amount of fat you will consume from that extra peanut butter just skyrocketed. You will be consuming more calories and fat grams than you think.

All those little extras add up. Whether that’s extra cream in your coffee or that extra olive oil on your salad. Those are all excess calories that negate the nutrition plan you are following.

Now think about doing that every day. That’s a lot of excess calories you’d be consuming over the course of a week, a month, a year.
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Those extra calories cancel out all those other positive actions you’re taking.

And, I’m sure you don’t even realize this is happening. But you’re left wondering why you’re not seeing progress.
 
Think about all those little bits of this or that you consume. Even if they’re healthy and nutritious, they add up and end up impacting your progress!
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Focus on being mindful and aware about your exercises and your daily consumption of food. It will help tremendously. 

3. YOU'RE STUCK IN A RUT

The human body is a highly intelligent machine. It is constantly adapting to outside stresses.

Because of that, you can’t keep doing the same exercises with the same weights each time you workout.

You need to make sure your body continues to progress and respond to what you’re doing. To do that, you need a strategic plan that manipulates training variables. One way to do that is by varying your volume and intensity over a specific period of time.

In essence, your training has to encompass different phases. One way to do this is to have different training phases. In one phase, you might increase volume and intensity. In another phase, you might decrease volume and intensity. (volume is number of reps multiplied by number of sets and intensity could be the weight you lift).

Since you’re not a trained professional, you shouldn’t be expected to know this. But if you copy your workouts based on some social media influencer, odds are you have no training plan. So, don’t be surprised if you’re not seeing results.

For fun and variety, you should also switch up your exercise environment. For example, change up your routine and instead of walking on the treadmill, go for a walk outside. Or check out a yoga or pilates class. Or go swimming.
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Adding variety to your workouts keep your body responding. It also keeps your mind sharp and motivated. Plus it’s fun to try new things! 

4. YOU FOCUS ON THE NUMBER ON THE SCALE

Do you obsess over your scale weight?

Stop letting the scale determine your mood. It’s only one measure of success.

Getting frustrated by the number on the scale causes unnecessary stress. And, stress increases cortisol levels.

Cortisol is known as the stress hormone. It is associated with increased fat around the abdominal area. And, it also increases your appetite. That can have a domino effect that will definitely sabotage your weight loss efforts.

Instead of focusing solely on the scale, here are some other ways to measure progress.

Are your clothes starting to feel baggier?

Are you feeling confident when you look in the mirror?

Are you feeling good about yourself?

Do you have more energy?

Are people noticing you look different?

Remember, just because the scale is not moving does not mean you are not moving in the right direction. The scale is not a true indicator of your progress.

Use your eyes and your instincts to sense how your body feels and moves. Listen to the signs your body gives you.
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If you are following your plan and being consistent with your efforts, your hard work is going to pay off.

5. YOU SPEND TOO MANY HOURS DOING CARDIO

There is this whole myth built up around cardio being the solution to losing weight. For some reason, it seems to be more common with women. On top of that is the myth that women should shy away from lifting heavy weight.

It makes me cringe every time I see a female weight loss class. You know those classes where the women are jumping around holding 3 pound weights. Give me a break!

Weight training helps shape your body. It will give you the toning you are looking for. It will also add lean muscle and get you stronger. And, don’t worry, you’re not going to bulk up like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The good thing is...

The more lean muscle you can add to your body, the faster you’ll burn body fat because you’ll have sped up your metabolism.

If you want to tone up and add that important lean muscle tissue to your body...

You have to be consistent with weight training. And you need to partake of a healthy, nutritious diet.

You can add a small amount of cardio to the mix, if you'd like. However, I prefer my clients add a good dose of daily walking into their routines.

Why am I not a fan of cardio? Because doing endless amounts of cardio will work against you. It will break down muscle tissue.

When muscle tissue is broken down, your metabolism slows. A slow metabolism, in turn, slows down fat loss.
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Focus on your weight training, nutrition and getting your daily steps in. That combination is going to get you the results you are looking for! 

6. YOU HAVE A NEGATIVE MINDSET

If you don’t maintain a positive mindset, you’ll never achieve long term results!

This is a critical variable that most coaches and trainers as well as most people forget about.

With a positive mindset, you’ll have 100% belief in yourself, your abilities and you’ll trust the process.

This is especially true with weight loss and fitness programs. The problem is in today’s world we want instant gratification. We want quick results from minimal effort.

But, that’s not reality.

Unfortunately, when people don’t see results, they give up. They also lose their momentum and desire to keep pushing forward.

Weight loss and fitness takes time and patience. To live with that, you need to keep a positive mindset in the process. If you lose that positive mindset, your results will slow down and eventually stop.

The minute you give up on yourself or start to think that your efforts aren’t working...

You've put yourself into a negative mindset. And, then the negative cycle spins out of control. All those negative thoughts turn into reality.

Work on staying positive and trusting that what you are doing is working. If you are putting in the effort and being consistent with your actions, you will get results. I promise!

Think positively. Think you’re a winner. Think you can accomplish anything you put your mind to.

Avoid being hard on yourself. Wipe away those negative thoughts.
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Trust the process and keep pushing forward!

7. YOU DON'T HAVE THE PROPER ACCOUNTABILITY & SUPPORT IN PLACE

Do you have a tribe, a community of like-minded spirits that supports you?

Do you have a coach who holds you accountable and supports you? Even world class athletes rely on coaches for support, guidance, reassurance, help, accountability!

If you want to reach your goals and keep the flames of your desire burning...

You need to surround yourself with people who are supportive of you and believe in you! They’ll be there to help push you or pick you up when you fall. They will make all the difference in getting you to your goals.

When you have the accountability and support in place, anything is possible. Knowing you are not alone is another critical component of what will keep you going.

We all encounter struggles along the way. We all need the extra TLC from others to help us dig deeper.

Whether you are a beginner starting your health and fitness journey...

Or, have been on your journey for some time...
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Surround yourself with people who understand you and are there for you. They will keep you going and inspire you to dig deeper than you ever knew possible.

8. YOU ACTUALLY DO TOO MUCH

I was like this when I first started my journey to improving my health and fitness. I thought I had to work out twice a day every day of the week plus dial back my calorie intake to next to nothing.

I mistakenly thought I'd lose the weight faster if I did an excessive amount of exercise and ate less.

WRONG!!

You don’t have to go crazy or go to the extremes to reach your goals. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

In actuality, doing too much can hold you back. It can put a halt to any progress you make with your fitness and your weight.

Rest, sleep and recovery are critically important to your progress. Plus it definitely helps your mind as well.
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While it might sound counter-intuitive...

Doing less can be more beneficial than going to the extreme.

Your focus should be on quality over quantity, both in your workouts and your diet.
 
When you lift weights, don't focus on how much weight you are lifting. Focus more on the quality (your form, your speed, your intensity) of your lift.

The old adage “no pain, no gain” is FALSE!

Pain is a sign there is something wrong. Now don’t get me wrong. It may be hard, it may be challenging, it may feel uncomfortable when you lift. But if you feel pain, stop. Your body is trying to tell you something.

Change your mindset! If you only have 10 minutes to workout, make it the best 10 minutes of the day and get in 1 or 2 quality-focused exercises. 

9. YOU'RE NOT HAVING FUN

If you aren’t having fun, it isn’t worth doing.

If your workouts aren’t fun, if your diet isn’t fun, odds are you will burn out and lose your motivation.

Make sure your workouts are fun. Laugh, listen to your favorite music, take your time. Get excited about getting your workout in and give it your all.

Restrictive diets aren’t fun. It doesn’t matter whether you’re restricting the amount of food you eat so you walk around hungry all the time. Or you cut out the foods you love so you resent what you are doing. In either case, you’re not going to enjoy what you’re doing. And, the result will be you’ll be back bingeing on your favorite cakes and sweets in no time flat.

When something stops being fun, it’s time to change it up and try something new. Come up with fun ways to challenge yourself and keep it light.

There are so many ways to make fitness fun. And you'll be able to participate in even more fun activities as you get fitter and healthier.

If it isn’t fun, it won’t last. You can have fun with your workouts. You can continue to eat the foods you love.
And, you can still challenge yourself in new ways to keep your goals fresh and exciting.
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At the end of the day, you’ll be in great position to achieve all your health and fitness goals.

10. YOU'RE NOT REALISTIC

This is a big one.

Your life, your situation, your environment, your body all change over time. And, so should your goals and your efforts.
 
What may have been realistic at one time in your life may not be realistic anymore.

Stop trying to make a square peg fit into a round hole. Change things up and find new ways that work with your life.

Rather than trying to fight where you are in life, adjust and be flexible.

You can still reach your goals by changing your methods. So, take a step back be honest with yourself. How much time can you really devote to reaching your goals? Is the approach you’re thinking about really going to work with the demands of your life and your body?
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Maybe you need to adjust for those changes so they fit your lifestyle? 

TO SUM IT ALL UP

Progress isn't made in one gigantic step. It's the culmination of many small steps.

It's easy to get discouraged when you don't see the progress you've made.

You need to celebrate all the small wins along the way.

The focus should be on taking small steps in the right direction.

Success does not happen overnight, even though it may appear that way.

Think about the new singer who bursts on the scene with a hit record. How many music lessons did that singer take as a child? How many small bars did that singer perform in over the years with only a few patrons in the crowd?

You get my point.

Take it easy on yourself and appreciate the progress you make along the way. Don’t worry about being perfect. Focus on moving forward in the right direction and continuing to grow.

I hope I’ve been able to get you thinking about your goals. And, how to reach them.

Maybe you’ve figured out some areas that may need some more attention. Or, maybe you now understand why you haven’t been able to reach your goals in the past. Or, maybe you realize you need some help.
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I want you to be successful going forward. Take these tips to heart. If you do, you will find that this coming year will truly be your year to reach your goals and maintain them for life!