There are so many reasons why people don't reach their health and fitness goals. After working with hundreds of clients, I have narrowed down the 3 most common reasons why goals are not accomplished.
1. You are not being consistent in your workouts, your nutrition, or both.
Consistency is key for any health or fitness related goal. Whether you want to lose weight, build muscle, learn a new skill, get stronger, all of these goals and others require consistency in order to be successful. The number one reason I see people fail at reaching their goals is because they are not consistent in the the change they are trying to make.
This applies to both big and small changes. Little changes can have a big impact, but only if they are done consistently. The ways in which you are being consistent also matter. I see clients who manage to build super consistent gym routines but are then inconsistent in their diets and don't see the results that they want- even though they think they are putting in the right effort! Feeling as though you are putting in the effort without seeing the results is a frustrating place to be in, and often leaves people giving up on their goals.
That being said, we are human. It is impossible to perfectly adhere to any plan or program 100% of the time. When we talk about consistency, I always encourage my clients that the goal is to be consistent 90% of the time because 10% of the time life is going to happen and something will go wrong. That is okay. That is realistic! The most important is that we are as consistent as we can be for as often as we can be in as much as we can be.
2. You are not being patient.
The second most common reason that goals are left unmet is because you are not being patient with the process. Even if you have managed to build super consistent routines and habits, giving those routines and habits time to actually have an impact is required for long term, sustainable results.
People with health and fitness goals easily forget that it takes a long time of consistently practicing poor health habits for our bodies to fall into bad health. Subsequently, it will also take time practicing beneficial health habits in order for our bodies to improve. No fit body is built in a day, but modern culture has us wanting everything "now!". There are thousands of supplements and companies out there who want to sell you their "quick fix." When you encounter these products, run the other direction. A "quick fix" does not exist outside of surgical intervention and even that comes at a high price that requires consistency and patience in its own way. Patience isn't popular, and it doesn't sell products, but it DOES foster results. Having patience and gentleness with yourself and with the process is the key to seeing results.
3. Your goal was not a realistic one.
The third most common reason I see clients failing to reach their goals is because the goal itself was not reasonably reachable. I have a whole blog post on goal setting and how to ensure that the goals you have are sound and setting you up for success.
A final note on reaching your goals: These three factors are being applied with the assumption that you have a good program or plan in place. If you are being consistent in a bad program that is ill-designed to meet your goal, you will still fail. If you are are giving yourself grace and being patient with a program or plan that is ill-designed to meet your goal, you will still fail. Even if your goal is perfectly SMART but the plan created to help you reach it is badly designed, *you will still fail!*
I cannot stress enough how important it is to have a clear, well-designed plan which is specific to your goals. If you feel like your plan is not working, or don't know where to start when it comes to programming, hire a professional to create a program for you. It will save tons of time, energy, effort, and yes, even money, in the long run.
In the end, reaching any goal requires consistently executing a good plan over time. Any short cuts may provide instant gratification but always have a long-term cost.