Are you willing to do the things that are required to achieve your goals?
The knee-jerk response is always “yes!”
But the reality is often “no.”
In my years coaching fitness and nutrition clients and pursuing my own goals, I’ve regularly seen a gap between specific fitness and body-composition goals and the effort it takes to achieve them. This gap can cause disappointment and even despair.
In fact, this gap is what causes most people to give up on a goal: They feel incredibly disappointed by a lack of progress or they find the effort is totally unsustainable after they reach a goal.
Take, for example, the ultra-shredded fitness model. I can tell you that look is achieved with extreme dieting and often drugs. Few people are willing to take that path, so you get a disconnect between the goal and the effort.
With any goal, you must align your expectations with the work you are prepared to do or you’re going to land in the hurt locker.
As an experienced coach, here is the advice I would give any new client who’s starting to work on health and fitness.
Be Realistic
We have to start by setting an achievable goal, making a plan to achieve it and managing expectations.
What is the goal? Why is it a goal? How can we move toward it steadily? How long will it take to accomplish the goal? What are some wins we can celebrate along the way?
When you begin, you want to be reasonable about the rate of progress and how your adherence to your plan will be affected by factors such as your job, your family, and how much time and energy you can commit.
An extreme example: The actor who devotes days to achieving a certain look for a role. That actor has a personal chef, a trainer and all the time required to hit the goal.
Others will need to adjust their expectations to accommodate a full-time job, child care and other responsibilities. The good news: You can still make steady progress toward your goals!
For example, most people can make excellent progress toward their body-composition goals with just a moderate amount of consistent effort and a plan that can accommodate socializing and special events. But if you have a goal of 7 percent body fat and a packed social schedule that has you eating out for 10 meals a week, you’re going to be frustrated.
The solution is simple: Set goals that are achievable and then create a plan to accomplish them step by step.
Drop the Comparisons
It’s very common for people to want to “get back” to where they once were, especially after a significant change such as having kids or dealing with an injury. For certain individuals, this will be possible. For others, it won’t.
People also tend to look at others’ progress and think they should be on the same path, but everyone has a different situation. Comparison really is the thief of joy.
It’s best to evaluate your life right now and base your goals on your current circumstances.
Are there reasonable changes you can make to facilitate your desired outcomes? Can you dine out one less time per week? Can you reduce alcohol on weekends? These changes might be possible.
But if you have to serve your kids carrots instead of birthday cake, or if you’re feeling lonely because you never eat restaurant food with friends, you might need to adjust your goals to reflect your situation.
Do not compare yourself to your co-worker who is single and has three hours a day to work out and prepare food.
Decide what’s reasonable for your life right now, and create a realistic plan you can stick to. You will stack wins and feel really good about your balance as you make progress toward your goals in your own way.
Anything Is Possible
It’s possible to set big goals and get after them, no matter who you are or what stage of life you are in.
With the right mindset, the right environment and the right plan, you can achieve anything. The key is to decide what you are willing to do and ask yourself if the goal will actually make you happy. It’s OK to change your goals!
For example, I once wanted to achieve a certain level of body fat for a competition. It was very hard work. When I hit my goal, I couldn’t perform athletically, and I was disappointed. So I set new goals based around performance, and as I started hitting them, I was thrilled.
Sometimes people realize that being 5 lb. leaner isn’t as awesome or validating as they thought it would be. It takes more effort than they can give, and they sacrifice more happiness along the way than they generate in the end.
Here’s the thing: You can always set new goals or adjust current goals so you find fulfillment. Instead of trying to achieve 7 percent body fat, maybe your goal becomes “add 10 pounds to my deadlift” or “eat veggies at every meal.”
With the right plan, you can make steady, consistent progress that’s in line with the effort you want to give, and you’ll feel great along the way.
