By It takes as long as it takes to see results…
You’ve been faithfully following your eating and exercise plan, extremely careful about the activity you are doing, sleep quality as well as stress levels. Somewhere along the journey, you start to feel lighter, your clothes are a lot loser and you have less visible bloating than before. Finally, things are starting to shift for you.
Let’s look into this a bit more deeply and discover what happens along the process of weight loss.
The first stages of weight loss is water
Remember too that the initial loss of so called fat is actually water loss. Fluid levels always fluctuate, and even more so if you are going low carb. This is because stored glycogen in the muscles become depleted. This loss of water may appear as a flatter stomach, or a bit lighter if you weigh yourself.
This is usually the time you lose the most weight, possibly 1–2 pounds or more. You are always on the negative in the beginning because of the initial shock to the body, and immediate response.
That dreaded plateau
This by far is the most stressful part of the weight loss process. It’s really disheartening when you work so hard, yet the results seem so far from your reach! Let me tell you now, that this is all part of the weight loss process, and should not be taken as a sign of failure. Sometimes the body takes a lot more time to implement the changes that are happening. What you need to do is stay on course, and keep working along with your weight loss strategy. Keep eating whole foods, proper sources of protein and veggies. Make sure you exercise, but do not make this an obsessive habit at any time. You do not want to put your body under stress, and therefore, diminish the hard work you have been doing so far.
After the plateau, comes results
I feel that this is a big trick the body plays on most of us. The stage in which you feel like this is being a lot more painful than what it’s worth. Miraculously, your body somehow decides to catch up, almost instantly! Suddenly, you have turned into a conditioned and lean machine. How could you have missed this important stage? Maybe you were too busy, or just weren’t paying enough attention. It can and always happens. Focusing on the same thing constantly produces boredom, and discontent – leading to stress. This relaxed strategy, or letting go is very important for people ho want to make profound changes to their body shape.
This is not an easy road to follow – but you have to stick with it to get results
Changing your body shape and weight loss takes time, effort and determination, as well as self discipline and belief. The changes will differ from person to person. Some people are lucky enough to experience changes within days, others take months and months. I’m unfortunately the kind of person who takes about 3 months to lose even the smallest amount of weight, despite what I’m eating and doing for exercise. That’s just how it is. It takes the body time to finally accept that there is a calorie deficit, and that the body itself, need to start shedding fat in order to use as energy. It doesn’t want to do this, as fat is your protective source of energy, in times of need.
Sometimes you don’t actually see the results yourself, but it becomes evident to other people easily This is something that happens to me all the time. I always feel that I don’t pay enough attention to those subtle changes. Those small alterations are not that noticeable if you aren’t completely aware of them. I do think it’s always nice for people to notice the changes as it reinforces the hard work is starting to have an effect.
Don’t lose hope, the results will come, even if they take a bit of time. Stick with the plan, seek help of a personal trainer if you can, and keep chipping away.
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