Unpopular & Totally Normal Things to Happen in Fat Loss
Expectations are game-changing.
Having appropriate expectations will change your experience for everything entirely.
Most people decide to start losing weight & expect the scale to never go up, to get stronger every single week, never plateau, be motivated all the time, & never have a bad day.
But that’s not how this game works.
To be honest, if I were promised all of that in the beginning I’d be upset too.
So let’s get your expectations in check real quick :)
Here’s a list of totally normal things that are 100% going to happen…
THE SCALE WILL GO UP & DOWN
The scale is an awesome tool if used correctly but most people don’t understand it or take it’s data completely out of context.
It will fluctuate even if you’re losing weight.
It will never not be on a rollercoaster.
This is why you can’t freak out at every little fluctuation.
It’s simply just data that shows context.
YOU’LL LOSE MOTIVATION
It’d be awesome if we all woke up feeling like the Rock before his workouts but that’s not always going to happen—I would bet even the Rock isn’t motivated all the time.
Appreciate motivation when it’s there but don’t let it be a make or break thing for you.
I don’t know you but I would assume a few things…
- You aren’t always motivated to go to work
- You aren’t always motivated to pay your bills
- You aren’t always motivated to be a parent
- You aren’t always motivated to be a productive member of society
But you show up anyway.
This game is no different.
You need to make the decision now to show up for yourself even when you don’t feel like it.
YOU WON’T LOSE WEIGHT EVERY SINGLE WEEK
This game is not linear whatsoever.
If you expect to start this journey and assume you’re going to lose weight every single week you’re in for an unfortunate wake up call.
Because the scale fluctuates so much of non-fat reasons you have to look at the overall trend of everything like THIS.
You’re looking for overall trends.
YOU WON’T GET STRONGER EVERY SINGLE WEEK
Again, this is not a linear game.
Just like with losing weight, gaining strength isn’t a straight line either.
There will be lots of ups, downs, stalls, & even regresses.
Keep showing up regardless.
YOU WILL PLATEAU
We as humans are designed to plateau.
So instead of thinking the world is ending when it happens, expect it & keep being consistent.
Then before you know the plateau is over.
Think about it, if you kept losing weight perfectly you’d eventually be in the negatives which makes zero sense.
Plateaus are supposed to happen.
YOU WILL HAVE BAD DAYS
Welcome to being human.
Just like in normal life, fitness life isn’t different.
You’re going to have bad days.
What most people do when they have bad day is 1) get emotional 2) take it as a sign from God they aren’t supposed to have their goal, and 3) quit.
Don’t do that.
Just get back up, dust yourself off, & get back at it.
YOU WILL MESS UP
This one is my favorite.
It’s about what your do the majority of the time that matters, not what you do some of the time.
If you mess up don’t worry about it.
Just get back to normal like nothing happened.
Treat it like forgetting to brush your teeth.
You wouldn’t start over Monday, you wouldn’t beat yourself up, you’d just go brush your teeth and be back on track without thinking twice about it.
YOU WILL WANT TO QUIT
This game gets hard & your inner bitch will want to throw in the white flag.
That means you’re changing.
Which is the entire point.
Just don’t quit.
Quitting will never get you closer to your goal.
I would suggest taking it off the table as an option right now.
I know some of these expectations may be arguably discouraging but I understand this–if you have proper expectations you can predict, anticipate, and handle everything and the situations that come your way.
Now you know exactly what to expect.
Love you,
Jared
