It seems that every fifth post on my social media feed these days is offering a quick fix.
Drink this tummy tea for a flat belly in a week!
Take this magic pill to lose weight in days!
Join this exercise program for six pack abs in 30 days!
Let me tell you…it doesn’t happen that quickly.
There is no quick fix. Just get it out of your head.
Results. Take. Time.
So what do you do?
Embrace the wait.
This is a hard one, but try to embrace the fact that it will take time. This is a marathon, not a sprint.
Look at some people who have met the goals you’re trying to reach. Talk to them about how long it took. Talk to them about their journey. Learn from those who have been there. Maybe ask them to help you as an accountability partner and someone to talk to when it gets really hard.
Set realistic expectations.
Take before pictures, but then wait at least a month (preferably 3 or more) to do comparisons. You can’t expect immediate results, and if you’re expecting the scale to go down every single day, then you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.
You need to see your own success, so you have to set a reasonable amount of time to expect that success.
Set “checkpoint” goals.
Maybe your goal is to lose 50 lbs. That is going to take a long time. So don’t wait to reach that goal – set some in between goals as checkpoints!
Maybe your first goal is to lose 10 lbs. Or to fit in a size smaller pants.
It’s important to see your success as a motivation to keep going, so set yourself smaller goals along the way.
Don’t quit!
This is the most important one. Do. Not. Quit.
It’s not going to be easy, but you have to stick with it.
You will see results, but it takes time. Make yourself keep going.
Ask your friends and family to hold you accountable.
Get a coach or community to help keep you motivated.
Find a competition or challenge to help motivate you.
Just make sure you don’t quit!