Today I want to talk about progress.
When we think of our fitness goals, we usually get caught up in all the ways we track progress: photos, measurements, scale, strength gains, endurance gains.
But the thing that trips us up most in acknowledging our own progress: Comparison
We tend to get caught up in other people’s progress on social media. And if you get lost in the rabbit hole of extreme weight loss transformations, hi! My name’s Nikki and I have been exactly where you are. 😂 When I started my fitness journey back in 2015 the only reason I did was because I saw this intense and awesome transformation picture. I followed this insanely popular workout program on instagram and discovered this mom who had literally had a six pack and I was like oh my gosh. If she can do this, I can totally do this!
This is how I became obsessed with making sure I was working out everyday- regardless of how busy I was, if I needed a rest day, or even if I was sick! Throughout the entirety of this program I had her transformation photos in my mind. That is what kept me going. I get through 8 weeks and I think: Have I seen changes? Yes! Has my cardio improved? Yes! Do I love what I’m doing? No! Am I gonna keep going? Yes! So, I keep going and I get to the 10th week. I definitely don’t have a 6 pack or a 4 pack… I maybe have a 2 pack? Maybe? I hang my hat on the hope that there’s still time! I can do this! And you know what?
It didn’t happen for me.
I showed up for every single workout and I never got those abs that this transformation picture promised me. I thought, “What am I doing wrong?”
Different people get different results:
I want you to remember, you doing EXACTLY the same thing as someone else is NOT going to give you exactly the same results. We are different people with different genetics. We eat different things, come from different diet backgrounds, and so our results will be different.
Newbie gains used to really peak my jealousy! The rate at which they progress is much faster than when you’ve been at this for a while. When someone who wasn’t doing anything healthy is now eating whole foods and working out 3-4 days a week, pounds will shed and gains will be made. It definitely takes those of us who already work out occasionally and are mindful(ish) of our diet a lot longer to see results.
If you’re really struggling with progress, ask yourself if you’ve really been consistent in your practice. Be honest with yourself. How are you doing with your diet? Nutrition is 70-80% of the difference you see in physique changes. If you are training really hard and not seeing changes, take a look at what you’re eating. But start small! Don’t think you have to overhaul everything at once. This will only cause you to give up! Find small but impactful ways to create healthy habits.