It doesn't happen overnight - It took me 2 years

Instant coffee. Instant technology. Instant photographs. Instant meals. Instant transactions. It seems that everything these days is instant – it is all about how fast things can be done and how quickly something can be accomplished. We want it fast, and we want it NOW!

We don’t want to wait for anything anymore. We are so accustomed to everything being done straight away that ‘patience’ is pretty much never heard of.
I personally believe that our society’s obsession with instant everything is a huge contributing factor to why so many people give up on their goals. (And I’m sure also why people often get caught up in the phenomenon of fad diets that claim to give you results in mere weeks or days). As with everything else in this world, it’s as if we have come to expect change to occur almost straight away… and then when that doesn’t happen we get completely bummed out. We feel frustrated to the point of giving up.
And yes I am totally guilty of this. I would be lying if I didn’t admit to it. Numerous times in the past I have wanted to (or even have) given up on my goals because it’s seemed like all the effort and hard work wasn’t paying off. It’s pretty deflating when you are seemingly doing everything right – eating well, exercising regularly and yet nothing changes. It’s easy to get caught up thinking it is all a complete waste of time and effort. But then you have to ask yourself ‘am I putting a realistic time frame on this?’

It has taken me 2 years to get to where I am today. I had ups and downs within that time, I lost weight, I put weight back on, I went hard out at the gym, I stopped going to the gym, I had so much motivation, I lost all motivation. Its a vicious circle sometimes and when you don't see those changes almost immediately it's disheartening and it's no wonder people give up.
I eventually got the point where I realised this can't happen anymore, I wanted a toned, fit body and I wasn't going to get that if I didn't put in the effort and keep going. It's happening slowly but the weight is dropping off, the muscle is building and I'm slowly but surely getting more toned.

CHANGE TAKES TIME

Kind of like the weight that didn’t pile on overnight, it’s not going to miraculously disappear that quickly either. You cannot expect something that has taken weeks, months, maybe even years to develop to immediately vanish within a short time frame. Change doesn’t happen overnight. Be realistic. It’s going to take time and you’ll need to exercise some patience along the way.

HARD WORK IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS

As the saying goes ‘nothing worth having comes easy’. True that! Yes, it is going to be hard at times, you’re not always going to feel like working out, you will have to make difficult decisions in tempting situations, you are going to encounter challenges and yes, you are going to push your mind and your body to its absolute limits but do you know what? At the end of the day, it’ll be worth it. If you really want something you will make it happen. Hard work pays off.

CONSISTENCY IS KEY

If you want to see results you must be consistent. You can’t expect positive changes to occur if one day you eat really well, exercise and stay on track but the next day you revert back to lazy behaviour, binge eating and unhealthy habits. If you want results you have to be consistent day in day out. Being healthy every once in a while isn’t going to do the trick. Be 100% committed 100% of the time.

BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF

Take a good honest look at your lifestyle and ask yourself ‘how hard am I really trying?’ Are you really, truly, honestly doing everything you possibly can to achieve your goals? Are you sticking to your diet and fitness regime with unfaltering commitment? Are you exercising every day like you promised yourself or have you slacked off? Have you been eating healthy, nutritious meals or did that cheat meal turn into a cheat day, maybe even a cheat week? Be honest.

As long as you are consistent, have faith in the process and believe in yourself, you WILL reap the rewards. Hard work will pay off. Just stick to it.