Seeing results and getting to sculpt the body of your dreams is an amazing feeling. I love seeing results, who doesn’t? In fact, all of my Challenges are designed to help you get better results than you’ve ever experienced.
But getting impatient and frustrated with your body or your scale isn’t going to help you progress any faster. That’s why it’s so important for you to LOVE YOUR FITNESS JOURNEY!
I talk about loving the process a lot, but today I want to discuss exactly what that means, why it’s important, and how you can learn to love the journey.
What It Means to Love the Process
When it comes to losing weight, getting fit, or pretty much any other goal or hobby, you need to want it. Nobody can want it for you. Maybe your doctor said so or your friend wants a workout buddy or your significant other thinks it would be fun, but if you don’t want to make the change then none of that really matters.
You’ve heard the saying, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink.” If you don’t have a personal and compelling reason that’s driving you to reach your goals, then your results probably aren’t going to stick. But if you want it for you, don’t let anything or anyone stop you.
The other half of loving the fitness journey is actually enjoying how you achieve your results!
As a national level figure competitor I’m really meticulous about my macros and exercise. I weigh my food, I’m careful about avoiding BLTs (bites, licks, and tastes), I don’t skip workouts, and I do what my coaches tell me.
I don’t do all of this because I have to, I do it because I want to! Even after my competition ends I don’t run out to the nearest buffet and gorge myself. I reverse diet and slowly return to my normal day-to-day routine. I love working out and I enjoy eating healthy.
But I know a lot of other competitors that don’t do that. They work and work and work and when show time is over they stop working. So much time and effort is put into leaning out and getting to the peak of fitness only to let it fall by the wayside. They love the results, but they don’t love the process.
A while back I posted about loving the process in the 6 Week Fit Body Challenge Private Community, and I want to share a little bit of what I told them.
“I just want to take a minute to remind you guys where your focus should be. Love yourself. You are doing these wonderful and healthy things for yourself by prioritizing your workouts and feeding yourself well. You’re not starving yourself. You’re not burning yourself to the ground with endless cardio. You are treating yourself well. Try to keep the same attitude of kindness in your mind as well…
You guys, you have to stop being down on yourself and frustrated.
Think about how long it took you to gain the weight. Did you gain it all in six weeks? 12 weeks? More likely it was over months or years. It took me a full year to get to where I wanted to be with my fitness/physique. I don’t mean to sound insensitive at all but a few weeks without results is nothing. This is our lifestyle. You have to do it because you love it. If you don’t love it you won’t stick with it long-term and you will have a harder time maintaining your results.”
I know it sounds cheesy but fitness isn’t a destination it’s a journey. Loving the process means loving getting sweaty and eating healthy. It means enjoying the challenge of doing one more rep. It means celebrating all the little things along the way.
One thing that I love seeing people post about are their NSVs or non-scale victories.
A NSV can mean feeling your clothes get loose but it can also mean feeling in control of your nutrition and no longer being tempted by the donuts in the break room! It means looking forward to your workouts and getting excited when you have to buy a new set of weights because your old ones are too light now.
How I Love MY FITNESS JOURNEY
As I mentioned before, it took me a year to finally get to where I wanted to be with my physique and fitness (see progress pics above). After having my youngest, I wanted to take control of my body and create a toned, lean physique. I wanted to look like I worked out every day because I did workout everyday! After a year of hard work and getting my nutrition right, I finally achieved that goal.
But my work didn’t stop there.
I promise you that I know how it feels to go weeks without seeing results. Each time I have a competition I go into prep mode months in advance. When I started my prep this year I was 142 pounds (I’m 5’7″ by the way). After eight weeks of prep I was 142.8lbs. Ugh.
My weight fluctuated from 142-145 depending on the time of the month. My measurements didn’t changed at all. That was with absolutely NO BLTs, meticulous tracking of my macros and weighing my food.
Was I frustrated? On some days, yes for sure.
But most of the time I remembered that this is how my body works. This is normal for me. I don’t usually see results for about 8-10 weeks. But after that initial time I drop pretty quickly. I drop quickly because of the work I put in before. When I start dropping it’s not because of the work I am currently doing that week, it’s because I’ve been meticulously following the plan for a long time beforehand.
So if you are feeling frustrated or impatient with your results, I understand! But I don’t want you to give up because giving up will stop you from seeing any results at all!
Learning to Love the Process
Sometimes you need to LEARN to love your fitness journey. If you tell yourself you hate exercise or the gym or eating healthy, you’re going to believe it. So change the conversation and start finding enjoyment in being fit.
And maybe that means standing in front of a mirror and telling yourself how much you LOVE burpees. Kind of like this:
In fact, there’s a whole field called neuro-linguistic programming where you essentially change the dialogue in your head in order to change your feelings about something. Changing the way you think about the process can help you enjoy it more.
The Wrap Up
Loving the process is about enjoying how you get your results just as much as the results themselves. And most of all it’s about being patient with yourself and your body. Every body is different and everyone sees results at different rates and in different ways.
But being patient doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be doing everything in your power to get your results as fast as possible. IdealLean Protein is an excellent powder designed specifically for women to help you stay on track with your fitness goals!
Click HERE to get yours today!