Fitness Is a Journey and It Doesn’t Have to Suck
With every weight loss success story, it is difficult to avoid over-focusing on someone’s visual change or the amount of pounds lost. Unfortunately, if you focus all your energy on the ultimate goal, the process of improving your health and fitness will feel cheesy, making it less likely that you will stay with it and succeed.
This is certainly not surprising. “This man has lost over 350 pounds!” sounds much sexier than “This man has found that with consistency and hard work, he can consistently lose weight, but not as dramatically as many think!” But that means most people will become short-sighted, causing their numbers to rise or fall as if that were the only way to measure progress.
Here’s the problem: what counts as “progress” in health and fitness needs to be more than just looking at numbers. Of course, numbers can quantify progress or “fitness gains” and in some ways even seem more “real” and rewarding. Unfortunately, the more we focus only on numbers and visual progress, the more we get too lighthearted about other equally important forms of progress, such as personal growth and mental growth (or worse, even ignore them altogether).
Progress made by others should not affect your own
A while ago I worked for a company where the jingle of a protein shaker bottle could be heard literally around every corner, towers of carefully prepared food in plastic containers stood in every corner of the refrigerator, and many people looked like they had just walked out of a photo shoot. Hell, it was hard not to compare yourself to others, even though everyone had their own individual goals.
We all seemed to work hard and were dedicated. So if people in general were getting better or improving strength more than I was, I couldn’t help but wonder about the adequacy of my own efforts and efforts. I wonder if I worked hard enough? These doubts plagued me for a long time and inevitably created hidden stressors that harmed my thinking and motivation.
However, gradually, thanks to the compelling arguments of friends, I began to clearly understand that it does not even make sense to compare my successes with others. It’s like comparing apples and oranges. On the one hand, I am me with my own characteristics, lifestyle, genetics, metabolism, dietary habits, exercise, and so on. On the other hand, Jane Doe, who has her own set of the aforementioned qualities and circumstances, which are probably all different from my own. Plus, who knows what extra activities or activities other people need to do to look the way they do or achieve their goals?
So comparing yourself to others is a waste of mental energy (not to mention distracting from more important goals) that you can better spend on your own goals and yourself.
Do what works for you (and only you)
Once you stop comparing yourself to others, you will be less tempted to try another person’s exercise program or dietary protocol. As the saying goes: what works for someone else may not work for you.
Obviously this is an appeal to try out her friend’s latest workout, who got her in the best shape of her life in just four weeks (damn, sign me up!). But if the program ends up taking you three hours a day for exercise, being asked to do exercise, or eating foods you really hate, and spending tons of money on unnecessary things, then you really won’t have fun.
It’s okay if the program or something else doesn’t fit your lifestyle, your budget, your philosophy, or your personal preference. It’s also okay to hate what someone else likes and vice versa.
Ultimately, if you stick to what you like and make something work for you, you can stick to your routine and make progress. Period.
Realize that there are different forms of progress
The cycle of immersion in numbers and negativity often turns something good, like wanting to feel and look your best, into an unhealthy obsession.
For example, the goal to lose weight is inherently tied to a number. If the number drops, progress is evident! Sounds easy so far, except as you probably already know, the path to successful weight loss is less like a straight line and more like following a drunken chimpanzee with ADHD.
When progress is measured solely in numbers, such as what you see on a scale, it’s easy to get frustrated. It may even prompt you to give up or do something drastic (and potentially dangerous). When this happens, instead of throwing up your hands, look at these other forms of progress to keep your confidence and motivation high:
- Physical: In addition to the number on the scale and the size of your jeans, consider training improvements. Have you set a new personal best at the gym? How about walking a mile faster, or even running a full mile for the first time without stopping? This is all progress! If your workout used to exhaust you for a few days, but you find yourself getting back to the gym faster now, that’s progress too! If you feel less painful or can do more work in the gym in less time, yes, this is all progress and all good indicators of self-improvement.
- Mindset: Here, your mindset refers to the way you think about fitness, health, and yourself. Confidence is becoming one of the most common and important forms of thinking development. With it, you know that you are capable of achieving success – it’s overwhelming . You may have been shy about talking to someone you like before, but now you can easily muster the courage to ask that person out on a coffee date. In my opinion, this is one of the most important forms of progress that needs to be recognized and truly celebrated.
- Emotional: Emotions often win us over. We feel frustrated and overwhelmed when the scale doesn’t budge, or we are a ray of pride when someone notices our arms look a little more muscular than before (“Why, yes, I was lifting weights!”) You make emotional progress when you admit it, hey, maybe you feel less anxiety in public; you feel less guilty about eating this ice cream; or – which is very important – you simply accept yourself more and stop comparing yourself to others.
- Habits: What you do day in and day out is just a combination of all your habits – big and small. “You are your habits,” a friend once told me. Earlier we wrote that fitness is a skill and a set of habits . You can cultivate them with conscious effort and smart strategies , but remember that habits are formed gradually. For example, continually cooking a few more homemade meals over the course of a month is a habit-based progress. Or maybe you’ve switched from 15 minutes of walking three times a week to 30 minutes of walking five times a week – that’s incredible progress!
- Knowledge: Of course, you will continue to build your knowledge base and learn from mistakes. Whether you’ve learned a new training technique, a new exercise, a new recipe, or something new, you’ve made progress in your knowledge!
I can go on and on and repeat many variations of progress , but you get the idea. If you look beyond the numbers, or at least dive into the forms of progress above in addition to the numbers, you can fully appreciate that your hard work, time, effort, and dedication has been (and continues to be) worthwhile. You will have motivation and positive reinforcement to keep going!
Respect all progress and flag mistakes
When we try to achieve certain health or fitness goals, we tend to stick to incredible standards of perfectionism . I often see this happening: people who go on a diet and massacre all over the city; people who stop going to the gym because they missed one workout; and others who sometimes want to sleep rather than get up for their morning run and call themselves lazy.
Instead of constantly berating yourself for being human, have a little confidence in compassion and admitting what you have done and how far you have come.
Like everything in life, fitness is a process of growth, constant self-improvement, admitting mistakes and respect for any progress. Remember that progress can take all forms, such as overcoming your fear of the gym, or simply feeling less guilty about skipping a workout or breaking your diet.
If you only focus on physical, tangible results, you may never enjoy the journey, or even when you reach your “ultimate goal.” Instead of focusing on numbers as the main barometer of progress, start appreciating every positive shift in your attitude and mindset, as well as every little victory. Because if you are only waiting for “big successes” to celebrate, it’s just easier to fall, get frustrated, and maybe not even finish what you started.