I wanted to write up something today about one of the main reasons why people stop dieting, drop their weight loss plans or give up on a new healthy lifestyle:

Lack of “quick” results, little weight loss or no perceived progress

I cannot tell you how many times THIS WAS THE REASON why I had quit in the past. There is this mentality that if you do not see quick results on the scale then what you are doing is NOT WORKING.

As my trainer Dean has said before, we live in a “microwave society” where we expect results and we expect them NOW. Shows like The Biggest Loser demonstrate that weight loss should happen quickly and at high numbers. If you’ve dieted before and seen quick results then, but don’t see them this time, you think, “This isn’t working!”

When we are accustomed to the “microwave society” mentality and watch shows that show huge weekly weight losses, we condition ourselves to think that it should happen to us as well. When it does not happen to us, we get frustrated and usually QUIT.

When I started my final attempt to get healthy and lose weight back on November 8, 2009, I found out very quickly that if I wanted to see results, I would have to commit to this journey for the LONG TERM.

In fact, I remember back in November being frustrated that I actually GAINED three pounds the first few days of weight training after working so hard and giving it my all. I remember feeling like I just wanted to QUIT and go back to what was EASY – living my life as I had been much of the last 10-15 years – fat, unhappy and feeding myself to death.

If you look at my stats on My Progress page, you’ll notice I’ve had some weekly gains with the losses. As hard as these can be sometimes, I’ve stuck with it, because I don’t live my life by the scale. I know I’m losing inches and I FEEL GREAT. (Before this final attempt at getting healthy, I would have easily thrown in the towel seeing a gain on the scale.)

You’ll also notice that my first and second month inch losses were almost equal – total – to my third month inches loss. What does this mean? It means CONSISTENCY IS KEY. It means if you stick with this long enough, YOUR BODY WILL REWARD YOU – just like mine has.

Which girl do you think is happier? Which girl do you think is a better mom?

Looking back, I’m so thankful I did NOT give up. I’m glad that I kept going to the gym just about every day and that Dean kept pushing me. I’m thankful I was responsible in my food choices and gave some thought to the process. Sure, I’ve had days where I thought this is so HARD and I don’t know how LONG I can keep going. But you know what? I KEPT ON GOING, and I still keep on going.

Sometimes it’s just easier to throw in the towel when the going gets tough. When you have to put forth some effort to get some results, there’s this little voice in your head that sometimes says, “Just quit. This is way too hard. You can’t do this.”

If you let that little voice take over your train of thought and control what you do, you WILL NOT SUCCEED. You have to ignore that little voice and eventually it will NOT come back to talk to you.

I know how hard it is to stick with this. In the past, my first inclination has always been to find a reason why I COULDN’T FOLLOW THROUGH with a healthy lifestyle.

There were many reasons why I thought I couldn’t do this:

I’m too fat, obese, out of shape [ insert your own word ] to work out at the gym.

I’m too old, young, set in my ways [ insert your own word ] to make a lifestyle change


I’m in this journey alone. I can’t be successful without support from people close in my life.

It’s too hard to eat healthy when I have children and a husband to make dinner for – they don’t like “healthy foods”.

My body is tired and and I don’t think I can hang with this.

I’m not seeing quick results, so it’s NOT WORKING.

My favorite show is on tonight and I want to eat junk food.

A holiday, birthday party, event, etc. is coming up and I’ll NEVER be able to eat healthy so I might as well forget it.

How about thinking of reasons WHY YOU CAN and SHOULD DO THIS instead of reasons why you cannot?

I owe it to MYSELF and family to do this.

I am worth it to be HAPPY. I LOVE MYSELF.


Food does not need to have a hold on me. I am BETTER than food.

Although I may be overweight, obese, etc. now, I CAN go to the gym. People there will be inspired to see someone like ME trying hard to change my life.

It’s NEVER TOO LATE to make a change in my life.

There are people online in the weight loss blogging community that WILL SUPPORT ME so I don’t have to do this alone.

I can select healthier food options for my family so they can live healthier too.

I CAN DO THIS – even if my body is tired, wanting to give up, or not used to exercise, my mind and body will adapt. I WILL end up loving the feeling of accomplishment I will get for trying AS HARD AS I CAN.

Do you have any good reasons that may MOTIVATE someone to stay consistent and keep on trying that you can share?

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