Although not everybody falls into the categories of fitness buff or gym rat, there’s no denying that we all have different body, physique, and weight goals close to our hearts, and we are all working one way or another to achieve them. In fact, all this free time we have at home is the perfect chance to get back into working out and meal-prepping every weekend, trying our hand at the active, healthy, and fit lifestyle that many people uphold.
However, one common misconception that never seems to keep returning is the idea that exercise and diet are all you need to be fit when, in reality, weight management is a lot more holistic and encompassing of all dimensions of health. And to help raise awareness of the bigger picture, we’ll be going over some of the challenges you can’t simply overcome with more reps or a stricter calorie count.
Stress Undermines All Forms Of Discipline
We are no stranger to stress, and if the past few months were to be used as a baseline of how well we cope and manage through the hardships, anyone could testify on behalf of the working population that copious amounts of stress will undermine any disciplined individual’s progress. And regardless of how resolute you may view your ability to stick with your workout programs and predetermined meals for the day, stress will always manage to find a way of messing with your head and getting into your thoughts in the worse timings possible.
- Work Can Build Up A Faux Appetite: Firstly, one way that stress messes up your weight management plan is by building up a faux appetite in your head and forcing you to snack more often than you’d like. And even though you could swear that the last meal checked all the boxes for nutrient-dense and satiety, it’s extremely difficult to fight the urge of grabbing a bite when you’re thinking too hard on a project or deadline.
- The Disasters Behind Comfort Food: Apart from work-related stress, your triggers can come from many external factors, and when making lemonade from all the lemons becomes impossible, we start resorting to the disasters of comfort food. Of course, we don’t mean all forms of comfort food are destructive; sometimes, ice cream after a bad day is non-negotiable. But, we must face the fact that these unhinged snacking leads to a calorie surplus.
Consistency Depends On Your Motivation
In addition to stress factors complicating your weight management goals, your consistency largely depends on your ability to stay motivated and inspired to double down on workout plans and diets. And while you might start off on the right foot and explore plenty of newbie gains from the get-go, maintaining the same pace is a lot more mentally exhausting if you’re still new to fitness and is more challenging than people give it credit for.
- Repetitive Workout Routines Suck: The first few days of a workout routine are some of the toughest yet most enjoyable moments, but if you get into the habit of running the same routine, again and again, the repetitiveness will get to you. Soon enough, you’ll feel a lot more lethargic doing the same thing and won’t experience the same benefits unless you try something new, like a dancing class in a rehearsal studio or stepping outdoors for your workouts.
- Running Solo Is Super Lonely: We know that weight management plans are defined by the effort of an individual, but failure to immerse yourself with a community or someone you can take accountability with will get super lonely pretty quick. As a result, you’ll find yourself less and less happy to keep up with the routines, which is why we recommend incorporating family and friends into some of your workout days.
Emotions Can Betray All Your Progress
Last but not least, one health dimension that will never fail to surprise you and pull you down during your worst moments is the emotional aspect, and emotions are more than capable of betraying all your progress in mere seconds. And before you call us out for exaggerating what a bad day feels like, you can’t say you haven’t been through those episodes of guilt and self-pity for not reaching your goals like you originally planned.
- Jealousy Breeds Lies And Deceit: We hate jealousy to the core, and even though comparing yourself to others is not as easy to avoid, it can carry very negative implications with the wrong mindset. You see, jealousy of others’ success in fitness will breed lies, and you might end up succumbing to self-hatred for not achieving the same when you know full well that it doesn’t work that way.
- Setbacks Are Part Of The Process: Momentary setbacks will happen, but even though everybody understands that it’s just part of the process, mixed emotions and bad feelings will weigh you down and dissuade you from trying again. Sure, some people are able to regain their bearings, but not everyone copes the same way or carries the same mental fortitude, so take your time healing.
Remember, Fitness Is A Lifetime Journey!
In conclusion, weight management and fitness plans aren’t simple things you can merely chalk up to workout routines and diets because fitness itself is a lifetime journey. So, don’t exert too much effort on just the physical aspects alone because your heart and mind are equally as important to include every step of the way.
