Traditionally, gyms are packed to the brim in January, but as soon as February rolls around, they’ve completely emptied out. This happens year after year, with surprising consistency. With my clients, I’ve noticed that they always seem to experience the most difficulty about a month into their program – the same time the New Years crowd usually gives up. I’ve realized that this is a universal “bump in the road” on any weight loss program – the perceived difficulty always peaks about a month in. It may be difficult to make it past this bump in the road, but the good news is that once you do, the hardest part of your program is over. Things just get easier after the first month.
Perhaps you’ve felt something like this – So, you’ve worked out a lot, and maybe even changed you’re eating habits too. However, you’re frustrated. You’ve put in a lot of hard work, and haven’t seen many results yet. You wonder whether this whole process is even worth it… and the allure of the drive through at McDonald’s seems to get stronger every day. You begin to question why you put your body through so much pain and suffering when you haven’t seen any rewards to justify the cost.
If you’ve reached this point, it may feel like your program has hit rock bottom, but in reality, you’re actually only a few days away from succeeding. Over the first month, you make a lot of changes to your lifestyle, and at first, your body will resist these changes. This is part of human nature, and there is no way around it. The resistance grows and grows until it reaches its peak about a month in. If you can make it through this point, then it decreases dramatically, and your new habits of exercise and proper nutrition begin to run on autopilot. You don’t even have to think about working out because it’s become a part of your day, and a part of your lifestyle.
Underlying all of this is a principle of human nature. The CLOSER you get to making a change, the more RESISTANCE to change you will encounter. At about a month in to your weight loss program, you feel “maximum resistance” because you are literally days away from being in that place where you don’t even crave food that’s bad for you and you enjoy exercise. All that stands between you and that place… is you. If you overcome the resistance, defy the obstacles, and persevere through this part of your program, then all the rewards will be yours.