“I’m Not Making progress”

It is so common for me to hear from people, my clients, my friends, and sometimes myself “I’m not making progress.” Progress looks, feels and acts different for everyone. Progress can be objective like numbers on a scale or tape measure, but most of the time progress is subjective. Progress comes in all shapes and forms and depending on the time and the individual it can be big or small. Sometimes progress is measurable for example, losing a bunch of weight or losing inches of body fat. Those are great when they happen but it’s important to keep in mind, big changes happen slowly. A person doesn’t just put on ten pounds in a month so they are most likely not to lose ten pounds in a month. So if the numbers on the scale aren’t moving and the inches aren’t falling off is progress still happening? 

No. You suck, you should quit. 

Just kidding. Even if the numbers aren’t changing, PROGRESS IS STILL HAPPENING!!! It can be so hard to see when you’re in it, but keep in mind patience and persistence are rewarded. It can be so difficult to be on point with your diet and gym routine for weeks or months and feel like nothing is happening. I hear from my clients all the time, “my weight hasn’t moved.” or “I don’t feel like this is working.” or “I’ve only lost a pound.” ooooh that last one is so frustrating, but i get it. You have your goals and you want them yesterday. A month of no weight change feels like a waste. But I assure you it is not. When this happens I like to reflect with my clients. I tend to ask lots of questions so my clients are the ones coming up with the answers. I encourage them to think through their problems and find the answers to the question “why am I not making progress?” 

A typical question I ask in this situation is, “How long has it been?…” How long has the person been consistent with their workouts? How long have they been consistent with their diet? How long have they been working with me? They usually have the answer to the problem, they just don’t see it. Sometimes the situation is they have a habit of skipping workouts and have only been consistent for two weeks. Sometimes the answer is they have been having trouble sticking to their diet plan and have been going on and off track. My clients will usually sheepishly answer their question with something like “oh yeah, I did have cake on Tuesday.” Which is totally okay, but it will make progress slower. And in the case of “I’ve only lost a pound” ONE POUND IS PROGRESS. Celebrate that success!!!! See that one lb as a step in the right direction, use that as encouragement to keep up the good work! 

Other things to look at are subjective progress. Sometimes progress is deciding to get out of bed and do that workout on a day you might have been likely to skip it. Sometimes progress looks like grabbing a piece of fruit to satisfy the sweet tooth, or having one brownie instead of two. It can be having wine three nights a week instead of five. Those examples may seem little, but just like one pound, it is a step in the right direction and deserves celebration. I want my clients to be able to look at their choices and be proud of all the little steps of progress that led to the big change. 

Sometimes, even if the long term goal is fat loss, progress isn’t even about body weight. There have been months during the time I have been “dieting” where my weight doesn’t change, or even increases. These times are very frustrating to look at the scale, but I always use my own questions on myself in these times. Growing up as a competitive swimmer I put my body through hell. In my adulthood my focus has shifted to being healthy and in the times where I need to focus on recovery, my food increases and my body weight stays the same or increases. I know that eventually I will get to my bodyweight goals. My overall health is most important. Some of my daily goals include listening to my body, resting when I need it, being nicer to myself, putting in work when I need to and not procrastinating. Some of my long term goals are to be consistent working with my diet coach and lifting coach, work toward minimizing my injuries, getting stronger and getting leaner. My daily goals play a huge role in ensuring my long term goals happen. Accomplishing my daily goals is progress, even if I can’t see it. So keep in mind that on most days, getting the workout in and eating consistently is progress. Especially on days when they are tired and it is cold out and staying in bed sounds wayyyy better than getting up and moving around. Just like in my last post, consistency is key. If something is working for you and making you feel good, keep it up!

Bodyweight Manipulation: Calories, Consistency and Individualization

When I tell people I am a personal trainer they usually respond by telling me their current workout regimen, or lack of one, or their current diet, or lack of one. I hear way too often “I need to workout” or “I really need to get my diet together.” My response is always “you should.” This response might be blunt or not what people want to hear but it is 100% what I believe. After I say this I am ALWAYS met with excuses. People are too busy to meal prep or don’t know how or don’t like the gym they used to go to and have not been back. I also hear from people who have tried diets like paleo, Whole30 and keto and now never want to diet again. Those responses make me the most sad. At one point this person had the motivation and drive to go all in and try to make huge changes and along the way something didn’t work for them so they gave up. The most cliche truth about dieting and progress is and always will be, consistency is key. 

Calories are King and Consistency is key. When it comes to weight loss or gain it is really a simple equation:

Calories in<calories expended=weight loss

Calories in> calories expended=weight gain

If someone eats more calories than they burn in a day they will gain weight. If a person burns more calories than they eat it will result in weight loss. Most of the time it’s that simple. But it’s not, weight loss is hard. Finding what works specifically for each individual is even harder. Trying fad diets can be great but it can also be detrimental to someone’s progress. So while the general rules for bodyweight manipulation are pretty much the same for everyone weight loss must be an extremely individual thing. 

While calories are king and consistency is key individualization is paramount. Individualization is the means to find consistency. When a client first comes to me we don’t make any diet changes initially. After a week or two of consistent work with me then we can begin to make small changes. I usually start with breakfast and we have a conversation about what is something they will be able to switch. For example if a person has juice every day with breakfast I ask if that is something they are willing to give up, or sugar in coffee, eggs instead of toast etc. By having the person choose what they are willing to change they are more likely to stick to the change. The next week I check in and see if that change has been made. If it has we find something else we can switch, if it hasn’t we reevaluate. We figure out why the change has not been made and see if there is something we can do better.

 As weeks go on more changes have been made and progress can be seen and felt. The first change is the hardest, but once the tiny habits are made  the rest isn’t so bad. Tiny habits over the course of a year result in huge changes that are sustainable which lead to impactful and lasting results.  In no way do I mean to bash any of the aforementioned diets, in fact I have tried most of them and have had great success. But, like most people I have found that they are not sustainable for long term results.

So to the person who tried and gave up, try again. Try something different. Get a coach, a nutritionist or a professional in the field to help you form tiny habits that are sustainable long term. There are so many different ways to approach diet and weight loss and it is so important to find the way that works for you. You do have the time to make these changes. There is no such thing as a diet not working, the fact is it just didn’t work for you. And that is okay, I understand. But the matter of fact is nothing will work for you unless you actively seek what does and stick to it. All of the tools are in your hands, you just have to figure out how to use them. 

WHEN to Start

It is human nature to want to strive for better in your life. Everyone is looking for advancement in their career, in their education, in relationships, in their homes and so on. The world is constantly advancing at what sometimes seems like an overwhelming pace. It always seems like bigger is better so we continue to want more. I am a person who feels I always need to be doing more. I need to get more certifications, train more people, further my education, spend more time with my family, redecorate my room, have meaningful conversations with my partner, rearrange my dresser, detail my car, meal prep, laundry… It Never Ends!!! On top of all the things I am constantly working towards daily, I frequently set personal goals for self improvement. One of my goals for 2020 was to get healthier. Many people can relate to this goal, but getting healthier can look extremely different from individual to individual. For me getting healthier meant prioritizing myself in many areas that “I don’t have time for.” So where do I start?

“Healthier” is such a broad and vague term that varies greatly from individual to individual, so to start I had to narrow it down. When I was a lifeguard we often talked about assessing the scene to figure out which situations were more critically in need of immediate care. If there is a person with a gunshot wound lying next to someone who scraped their knee, it is safe to say the lifeguard should care for the gunshot wound victim first. I looked at my health and figured out where the gunshot wound was. This was pretty easy because I had some residual effects from a brain injury I had gotten at the end of 2019. Obviously I needed to care for my brain right? Well, until the COVID-19 pandemic literally forced me to slow down I legitimately thought I did not have time to put in the effort to care for my brain. MY BRAIN. Thats crazy!!! My brain was functioning at like 50%, I was getting daily migraines, regular panic attacks, severe depression and I really, truly believed I didn’t have any time to care for my injury. After I was forced to sit with myself and face how just overall bad I felt, I reluctantly decided I would make the time to go to physical therapy. My physical therapist also recommended I see a neurologist and optometrist for some of my symptoms. 

The first couple weeks of physical therapy were both physically and mentally challenging, to put it mildly. It took me about three weeks to actually see and feel improvement. I also got a new glasses prescription (which I hadn’t done since 2015, whoops) and went on medication for my migraines. After about three months of PT along with the other doctors visits I regained function to operate at about 80% capacity. Looking back now it seems absolutely ridiculous that I spent so long being so miserable when I could have just sought treatment earlier. This experience showed me how important my own health is, how I need to prioritize myself. 

I hate the term “self-care” but essentially that’s what it is. I thought it was selfish of me to take time away from work, school, studying, relationships to take care of myself. I thought I was fine to suffer through it because I was getting my stuff done. Things I needed to do for myself were last on my to do list and often forgotten about. I thought it was better to give all of my time and energy to other people and other priorities and my health suffered for it.  It is not selfish to put yourself first, in fact, oftentimes it is the best thing you can do for the people around you. Even though I didn’t realize it at the time, operating at only 50% capacity meant I was not presenting my best self in my daily life. I was half assing my sessions with clients because I was tired, unmotivated and my head hurt. I was just getting by on my school work for the same reasons. My mood swings, fatigue as well as migraines and other symptoms were greatly affecting my relationships with friends, family and my partner. By not allowing myself to get my own needs met I was doing a huge disservice to the people I care about. Caring for yourself is not selfish. 

My big goal was to get healthier, and It still is. I think this is a goal that will constantly present itself in different ways that I will continuously need to work on. Getting healthier is a huge and continuous task that can easily fall by the wayside. It’s important to “find the bullet wound,” narrow down the goal and find an accessible starting point. Figure out where to start and get to work. You are important, your health is worth it, your best self will thank you. 

It is human nature to want to strive for better in your life. Everyone is looking for advancement in their career, in their education, in relationships, in their homes and so on. The world is constantly advancing at what sometimes seems like an overwhelming pace. It always seems like more and bigger is better so we always want more. I am definitely a person who feels I always need to be doing more. I need to get more certifications, train more people, ruther my education, spend more time with my family, redecorate my room, have meaningful conversation with my partner, rearrange my dresser, detail my car, meal prep, laundry… It Never Ends!!! On top of all the things I am constantly doing I am constantly setting personal goals for myself. One of my goals for 2020 was to get healthier. Many people can relate to this goal, but getting healthier can look extremely different from individual to individual. For me getting healthier meant prioritizing myself in many areas that “I don’t have time for.” So where do I start?

“Healthier” is such a broad and vague term that varies greatly from individual to individual, so to start I had to narrow it down. When I was a lifeguard we often talked about assessing the scene to figure out which situations were more critically in need of immediate care. If there is a person with a gunshot wound lying next to someone who scraped their knee, it is safe to say the lifeguard should care for the gunshot wound victim first. I looked at my health and figured out where the gunshot wound was. This was pretty easy because I had some residual effects from a brain injury I had gotten at the end of 2019. Obviously I needed to care for my brain right? Well, until the COVID-19 pandemic literally forced me to slow down I legitimately thought I did not have time to put in the effort to care for my brain. MY BRAIN. Thats crazy!!! My brain was functioning at like 50%, I was getting daily migraines, regular panic attacks, severe depression and I really, truly believed I didn’t have any time to care for my injury. After I was forced to sit with myself and face how just overall bad I felt, I reluctantly decided I would make the time to go to physical therapy. My physical therapist also recommended I see a neurologist and optometrist for some of my symptoms. 

The first couple weeks of physical therapy were both physically and mentally challenging, to put it mildly. It took me about three weeks to actually see and feel improvement. I also got a new glasses prescription (which I hadn’t done since 2015, whoops) and went on medication for my migraines. After about three months of PT along with the other doctors visits I regained function to operate at about 80% capacity. Looking back now it seems absolutely ridiculous that I spent so long being so miserable when I could have just sought treatment earlier. This experience showed me how important my own health is, how I need to prioritize myself. 

I hate the term “self-care” but essentially that’s what it is. I thought it was selfish of me to take time away from work, school, studying, relationships to take care of myself. I thought I was fine to suffer through it because I was getting my stuff done. Things I needed to do for myself were last on my to do list and often forgotten about. I thought it was better to give all of my time and energy to other people and other priorities and my health suffered for it.  It is not selfish to put yourself first, in fact, oftentimes it is the best thing you can do for the people around you. Even though I didn’t realize it at the time, operating at only 50% capacity meant I was not presenting my best self in my daily life. I was half assing my sessions with clients because I was tired, unmotivated and my head hurt. I was just getting by on my school work for the same reasons. My mood swings, fatigue as well as migraines and other symptoms were greatly affecting my relationships with friends, family and my partner. By not allowing myself to get my own needs met I was doing a huge disservice to the people I care about. Caring for yourself is not selfish. 

My big goal was to get healthier, and It still is. I think this is a goal that will constantly present itself in different ways that I will continuously need to work on. Getting healthier is a huge and continuous task that can easily fall by the wayside. It’s important to “find the bullet wound,” narrow down the goal and find an accessible starting point. Figure out where to start and get to work. You are important, your health is worth it, your best self will thank you.