why-does-it-take-some-people-longer-to-lose-weight You start a new regime and spend most of your time scrolling through progress pictures of what people have achieved in as little as four to eight weeks, and of course, you hope for the same results. However that is not necessarily possible. A friend or colleague might have lost ten pounds in a month, with somebody else losing fifteen pounds in two months, but unfortunately, no matter how well you stick to your targets, there is no guarantee that you will achieve your dream bod in a matter of weeks. Why? Each individual is different, and who’s to say your metabolism is the same as the guy who just shed half his bodyweight, or the woman who dropped twenty inches? All we can do is work with what we’ve got, and nine times out of ten, you can achieve the same results with a little extra time and effort. How? Follow these vital steps, because the harder you work and the clearer the end goal, the more likely you are to see incredible results quicker than anticipated. If it’s taken you years to get out of shape, you can’t expect to get back in shape in a few weeks Think about it this way, would you spend four weeks eating junk food and being completely inactive and expect to appear significantly overweight at the end of the month? No, because our bodies simply don’t work like that, and it works exactly the same in reverse too. You can’t spend years letting your body get out of shape and assume it will be slim and lean within no time at all. Of course you can make amazing improvements, but don’t beat yourself up when it takes a little longer than expected. See it as a permanent lifestyle adjustment, not a short-term diet Further to the previous point, you need to look at the bigger picture here. If you want to lose weight and earn yourself that lean, defined physique, excellent, but if you want to keep it you’re going to have to continue to work hard with nothing in the way of an ‘end date’. You can’t out train a bad diet Success in weight loss and becoming a fitter, healthier person is based 20% on exercise, and 80% on diet. Although 20% isn’t a lot in the grand scheme of things, exercise is absolutely crucial. What people don’t realise is that without that healthy, structured diet, your efforts at the gym will be wasted. As soon as you sort your diet out, you will notice significant changes to your health, body and overall performance with day to day tasks. Every workout needs to be a challenge Three months in and finding the workouts a piece of cake? Something needs to change. If a workout is easy, you’re doing it wrong, as they say. Learn to challenge yourself consistently, tackling new ways of exercising to reach those new and improved goals. Look at people as an inspiration, not a comparison If you’re a fan of social media, you’ll no doubt have spent hours scrolling through Instagram and Facebook looking at people’s amazing transformations. If you find yourself feeling envious, use that emotion and turn it into inspiration. There’s nothing better than a team of people sharing the same passion and mission, supporting and motivating each other along the way. Results can be achieved, but it WILL take time. Does that mean you should give up? Absolutely not. Prove to yourself and those around you that you did this for YOU. You will then become the inspiration, and no doubt will think “do you know what? I did it, it was actually ok, and I’d do it again any day”.