Steps – Part 6 – Accept that setbacks are part of the journey

Here are the steps I believe is needed to start your body transformation….

1)     Get your mind ready

2)     Start tracking your food

3)     Work on your mindset

4)     Make it a habit

5)     Integrate exercise

6)     Accept that set backs are a part of the journey 

7)     Stay consistent

 Continuing on this series – we will address set backs -

I think unrealistic expectations is the downfall to us sticking with our programs.

We expect the scale to show us a certain number. 

We expect to be perfect on our diets. 

We expect to never get injured, or sick, or anything to get in the way of a workout. 

We expect immediate results. 

We expect dieting to always be easy. 

We expect constant progress and never plateaus. 

We expect that we can have things go as planned.

We expect our motivation to last forever.

When our expectations are not met we feel discouraged, disappointed, and/or frustrated.  Which in turn. Leads to slips, quitting, looking for quick fixes, program jumping, not giving our all.  Does any of this sound familiar?

What if you change your expectations – instead of solely expecting a certain number on the scale to determine progress, why not change your expectations to something you have control over?

What if you spent your energy working on the habits that are standing in your way and create new habits that align to a fitter you? 

What if you have compassion and understanding that things won’t always go as planned and have a plan B when you encounter a road block versus throwing in the towel?

This journey will not go smoothly and progress to always be ideal…..so prepare yourself by managing your expectations of this journey.  Remember this is a marathon – a lifetime journey versus a sprint or temporary change just until you lose X amount of pounds.  So go into it, expecting to pace yourself, expecting that some weeks you may actually go up a pound even when you did every right, and expecting some days your mind, body, or health will not let you put in your all.