The fitness industry is a funny place, well, the world is putting it that way!
We see so many marketing messages every single day with amazing buzz words in there ‘detox’ ‘instant fat loss’ ‘melt away’ ‘quickly’ ‘easily’ ‘effortlessly’ etc.
It can be so easy to get confused as to where to look for good advice, add that to the fact we see before pictures which were taken AFTER the after shots and people just not being totally honest about how long things take and that comes down to trainers too.
I want to apologize first off, I am sorry. Last week I posted a picture and I thought I had posted Ron’s before and after from a period of hard focus we had where I went to visit at the beginning and then around 13-14 weeks later I came back.
I didn’t.
Although his transformation in this time was very impressive I actually used the picture from just before he first started getting coached with me, it’s been taken down as I want to be totally transparent with it but it did happen.
We have people stating they lost 10lb in a week, 20lb in 2, 50lb in a month and then we get frustrated when in the real world we see 4lb in a month as a failure, or even no weight change as a failure, is it?
You’re Ready To Start – Monday
Let me first off go into what happens if we actually make a decision to start Monday, right now I am writing this on a Thursday. My body and mind would probably go into ‘fuck it’ mode which is when I know I am going to be a bit more restricted on Monday so I eat everything in site.
Add to that the fact I can’t let those Oreos go to waste so I add them to my waist even though they have a sell by date of ‘I am never going to go stale due to my processing’
Then there’s the Ben & Jerry’s laughing at you in the freezer screaming ‘I guarantee you can’t finish me in one serving’ and who the hell would you be if you let it talk to you like that.
SHOW THEM WHO’S BOSS.
So come Monday you’re actually pretty bloated, you have eaten so much crap you are now weighing like 10lb more than your baseline from Thursday morning when you made the decision to start.
Not great.
But this weight drops pretty quick, you have the shits from so much sugar and processed junk, you drop the water too and you just have a general clear out when you get ‘clean’.
You also push so damn hard these first few days in the gym you end up in more of a deficit then when you started which also drops your glycogen stores (carbohydrates in the muscles) and takes more water away with that, more weight loss – not fat by the way.
So that first week, Monday to Monday when you’ve been totally on point you have actually dropped all that excess weight and another 1 or 2 pounds without thinking about it
BUT
The scales show a drop of 12 pounds in one calendar week.
SUCCESS
Then you try it again, everything the same the following week, down to the exact amount of cardio, the same intensity in the gym, same sleep, even the same lucky underwear when weighing (and yes, I have tried dropping those pants for an extra weight drop…)
2 pounds dropped this week.
FAILURE
Harsh isn’t it, this world we live in when we don’t know the ins and outs of ‘why’ this has happened.
Let me tell you, it is pretty damn rare for two days to be the same let alone 2 full weeks when you have hormones, sleep changing, temperature and climate going crazy, hydration, food volumes and quality, intensity in the gym, generally being that time of the month – so much variation can impact that number on the scales.
What Actually Is A Gain?
Another thing to take into account is that you may have built some muscle, especially if you’re new to weight training or have come into it after a longer lay off. So you drop 1lb of fat, you then also over time put on 1lb of muscle, you’ve not change weight but you feel great, clothes fit better and now you’re actually lower on your body fat % – But those fucking scales are a bitch, I get it.
(#FitFam boil down, I am using this as an extreme example because you can’t put on muscle and burn fat at the same time, BRO)
So what actually is possible?
What should you expect?
Well I will say this, I have had clients lose 14lb in 2 weeks while actually having a week of that on vacation, that’s 100% true. I have also had clients drop 12lb in the first week, that’s 100% true. Another thing is I have had clients drop no weight in 2 months but when we look at pictures they look so amazing and feel great they have stopped even worrying about the scales and don’t measure themselves anymore.
The real answer to the results you’re going to get is going to be that age old.
‘How long is a piece of string?’
Every single person is different as to where they start both physically, mentally and hormonally too.
Some people think they’re working hard and they aren’t even breaking into a sweat, they need the kick.
Some people think they’re following the plan and don’t realize that sauces have calories too.
Some people think they’re following it but they forget about the cookie they have daily at the office when Sandra down the row offers it with the coffee – they she also put 2 sugars in as she couldn’t find the sweetener (she’ll never know).
This is where communication comes into place.
Communication with yourself and the compliance with the plan you’re supposed to be on, whether you’ve written this or a coach has done it for you, it is hard to be so honest with yourself when you know you haven’t committed the amount to your training as GaryVee tells you to do with your work
Do you even Hustle Bro?!
So Here Is The Deal
The answer to what results you will see is simply
‘It depends’
Cop out answer really, it’s also something that absolutely no online coach can say for certain that you will all get the same results because we simply do not know the level of compliance you will have throughout the plan.
Now, I have been coaching for around 12 years now and that means I have a LOT of experience with multiple clients from all different walks of life and here’s the thing about compliance and difference levels in comparison to the results I have had.
100% compliance of a perfect eating plan which is strict – Amazing results physically but mentally you’re not able to follow all the time and may have to cancel travel plans along with some social gatherings – maybe we should aim for slower results.
75% compliance – pretty good results, not as fast as you would like since you’ve been investing in your health, either we increase the compliance or work on the goals you have set and be honest about the time frame if you want this amount of flexibility throughout.
50% compliance – Not really noticing much in the form of results, starting to get very frustrated which is OK if you know you’re not really getting the results due to the compliance, communication will be key here
Anything lower than this and I would really want to dive into why there is such a low compliance to the plan and make sure it is even more adapted to the current needs you have, it doesn’t mean there is not a plan for you, just not this one.
Are You Already Overtraining Before You Goto The Gym?
We know the simple science everyone states – calories in less than calories out and you lose weight, yes, kind of.
Your body also has a certain level of stress in it, remember that song as a child
‘There’s a hole in my bucket, my bucket, my bucket’
That is kind of what is happening here, you’re trying to put your body into an even higher level of stress than it wants to be in and it will fight this a lot, especially if it’s extreme, we need stress to a degree but when it gets elevated to extreme levels it will fight back, your immune function lowers, you experience more anxiety, less focus and more brain fog, lowered ability to sleep and other things to add to this.
Is your body really ready to be going into the stressed state of pushing it harder to drop fat?
If this is the case I like to work with clients on their history, where did this stress start? When did it escalate to these levels? Is it simply a story we are telling ourselves? So many questions that can be asked that it needs a good amount of communication.
Then we work on the foundations and get those nice and solid before we build the skyscraper, we sort digestion and smaller micronutrient levels, vitamins and minerals and find ways to manage the stress – which can be done quickly but needs to be done before we aim to put out a fire purely by starting a bigger fire right next door.
During this time it can be VERY frustrating, you don’t see much change in the scales, you may even experience headaches, lowered focus and feel pretty damn shit while you’re body adjusts to the nutrients and kind of ‘detoxing’ as much as I hate that word.
Then, we build up and look to get the outside looking as great as the inside feels.
Results!
Lastly – Your Goals
I feel whenever starting anything in life, whether it is fitness, health, business, relationships (maybe) it is great to set some goals.
Short, medium and long term and agree with someone that these are doable.
I won’t ever day to a client that 15lbs in 2 weeks is a doable and safe goal to have – Yes I have had clients drop this but as you will know from the beginning of this article it’s got the same chance of happening as Frodo getting to Mordor, disposing of the ring in Mount Doom and returning to The Shire in one piece. I wouldn’t agree but I mean, it could happen.
I would want to be straight up and speak with you first hence the form I have to chat further and discuss what is the right level of contact for you in order to get your results.
Also, it is good to adjust the results as you progress, life happens, things change, it’s not always Bon Jovi ‘The more things change the more they stay the same’ we do have to actually adjust.
Lastly, we want to make sure that you know ‘why’ you are wanting these goals, when you think of the reason ask why that reason, I usually do this 4-6 times with a client until it really hits, very powerful.
So To Sum Up
How closely are you following the plan?
Are you putting in the right intensity within the gym and with your nutrition?
Are you managing stress levels outside of training?
Are you fighting psychological stress with physiological stress?
If you want help to get to your goals in a way you’ve never done before – let’s be honest, having goals is one thing but something has stopped you hitting them already, if you were going to then you’d not have got this far into this article. You can apply to see if you qualify here www.revitalizationblueprint.com/letstalk