In the last lesson, we told you about a critical step that begins each person’s fitness journey, and it will either set you up for years of success, or it can be a huge obstacle that kills your fitness dreams from the get-go.

What is it?  

Expectations  

That might have felt obvious, but stay with me on this to see if you’re actually more guilty of faulty expectations than you might realize. 

Have you ever started a project, maybe working on the house or in the yard, or even a project at work, and you give yourself an estimate of, “I should be able to get this done in a few hours.”  

Then, next thing you know, you’ve spent the whole day on it and you’re still not even close to being finished. You’re disappointed, frustrated, and possibly even overwhelmed now that you’ve gotten yourself into such a bigger project than you expected.  

Fitness can feel that way if you aren’t properly prepared at the outset. Even if you’re actually making fantastic progress, if you don’t feel like you’re moving toward your goal as quickly as you’d hoped, then you’re far, far more likely to drop off.  

The best way to prevent this?  

Set clear, measurable, realistic goals for yourself and plan for the obstacles.  

Things will come up. Life will happen. Plateaus will slow you down.  

The good news is that when you know it’s going to happen, you can prevent many of them from happening, or at worst, be better prepared for when they do happen.

Timelines If it took years to get out of shape, it’s going to take more than a couple of weeks to get back into shape. This doesn’t need to be disheartening though. Here’s the secret...  

Most people think that they’ll feel happier in their body at the end of their fitness journey - once they’ve lost the 50lbs or toned up their tummy.  

Fortunately, that isn’t how it works.  

What almost always happens is that you start to feel much happier, more excited, and motivated as soon as you start seeing progress in the right direction.  

Often, once you realize that what you’re doing is working and that you are moving toward the body you want, you start immediately feeling incredible! This becomes the fire that keeps burning throughout your entire journey, so it’s absolutely crucial that you give it the chance to get started.  

The best way to do this is to focus your attention on your behaviors more than the outcomes.  

Instead of letting the scale tell you if you’re doing a good job, let your calendar tell you. Did you go to the gym as many times as you had planned? Did you cook healthy lunches for the whole week on Sunday? Did you walk on your lunch break?  

The actions you’re committed to taking should be where your effort and focus go. The results will come from consistent action, and that is exactly what we’ll be covering in Part 2 of the Fitness Fundamentals Mini-Course tomorrow!