Those who have kids surely remember the cadence coming from the back seat on those driving vacations.
“Are we there yet?”
Kind of ironic that we, as adults, now ask ourselves the same annoying question when it comes to our fitness goals.
Let me give you an example.
I met with a new client recently who’s 5-foot-7 and weighs 215 pounds. His goal is to lose 30 pounds. So naturally, he wanted to know the answer to the $64,000 question.
“How long is this going to take?”
Now, what I’ve always done in these situations is something extremely boring.
Math.
I’ll take the client’s current weight, multiply it by the average rate of weight loss (for a man, that’s 0.56% of bodyweight per day. So in this case, about 1.2 pounds per week … or 25 weeks.
So, about 6-7 months.
I feel it’s important to set expectations from the get-go, so everyone is clear on what the goal is and what’s a realistic amount of time to achieve it. This divests the client of the faulty belief – learned from Instagram gurus or “The Biggest Loser” – that there are no shortcuts to success.
But lately, I’m considering changing things up.
In answer to the question, “How long is this going to take?” … what if I said, “The rest of your life?”
That would definitely be a conversation starter …
My reasoning for answering the question this way is, would you stop training or following healthy nutrition and lifestyle habits just because you achieved your goal?
Once the 30 pounds are gone, are you going back to the couch with your bag of chips?
Or would you be motivated and emboldened to take your newfound health and happiness to even greater levels?
After all, my goal is to show my clients how they can do all the things they want and need to do without pain or injury for the rest of their lives.
Not for six months. Or six weeks. Or 12 weeks.
For a lifetime.
So the next time you ask yourself, “Are we there yet?” … it’s OK to say, “Not yet.”
Your innie friend and coach,
Paul F. Sweatt CPT PN1
Train Smart. Train Hard. Train Safe. Train to Sweatt
P.S. – Whenever you’re ready, here are few ways I can help you get started with a fresh start to your health and fitness routine:
1. The new year is here. Are you ready to become a new you in 2022?
Join my intensive 8-week ‘New You in 2022’ program that is guaranteed to kickstart your 2022 health and fitness journey and help you stick to your health and fitness goals (resolutions) this year. My New You in 2022 program includes everything you need to get that healthy and fit body you want this year. It also includes my new NutritionOS program to build those healthy habits you need to keep your new body once you get it. The program is limited to 5 people and starts on the 17th, so if you want to be one of them reply ‘2022’ to get more info today.