Why Your Efforts Are Not Enough When Trying To Reach Your Fitness Goal

So many times in my life I have been so focused on reaching my health and fitness goals that I sabotage myself.  I become fixated and obsessed on what I am working on that in the end, I crash and "fail".

How many times has his happened to you?  You want to lose 15lbs so you watch every morsel of food and only eat 1,500 calories per day.  You are starving, but you push through and don't eat.  You are tired, but you go and workout anyway.  You are miserable and snap at people (because you are not getting enough nutrients).  You stare at the scale every day.  You count your calories.  You drink water.  You blah blah blah blah blah. . . . .

But on Friday when it really matters what the scale says (because you deemed that day the "weigh in day"), the numbers don't move.  You then get angry, you cry, you give up.  That night you go out with your significant other or friends and have a couple drinks, eat a couple wings and then have someone's fries that are just sitting there on the plate looking conveniently yummy.  BECAUSE WHO CARES! NOTHING YOU ARE DOING IS WORKING  ANYWAY!  Right?  That is probably what you are screaming in your head.

Let me ask you something.  Have you ever strived for a different goal?  I know you have.  Wether it be with work, saving money to buy a house, raising awareness to an organization, etc.  Think about your behaviors towards THAT goal.  Did you think about it all the time?  Probably not.  Did you count every dollar you are saving in that mason jar every day when saving for your house?  Probably not.  Did you stop thinking about everything else in your life just to reach that goal?  Probably not.  You probably thought about that goal when it was necessary and it probably didn't affect your life in the lengths that your weight loss goals do.  You most likely succeeded in your personal goal because you placed your energy towards it when necessary, you wanted it to happen and you made it happen.  If you couldn't put money in your jar that week, then you didn't.  And I'm sure it wasn't the end of the world.

Stop freaking out about every single thing you eat.  Stop ignoring your hunger signals your body is telling you.  Stop stepping on the scale 5 times a day.  Stop over training.  When you focus on results, nothing changes.  When you focus on change, results happen!  

Make little shifts in your life.  Little changes add up to one big change!