It is common for people to look down at the scale or look in the mirror after a few days of being on a diet and be disappointed. The response goes something like this:

“what the actual fuck, I have been on this diet for 5 days and I am not seeing a difference.”

Or they start out at the gym, they go hard for a few days and they are excited for the changes that are ahead. Again they check the mirror and they cannot see any change. Once again the response is WTF all this hard work for nothing!!

This is not uncommon, and the reason is expectation and reality are blurred.

Getting fit, losing fat, gaining muscle, increasing strength, increasing endurance all takes time, it is a long game, more like a marathon than a sprint. If you want to get on the results gain train you have to be prepared to ride it for some time. Most people are not. Most people want changes today, and this is where reality is disappointing most.

The reality is, change takes time and the results you experience are in direct correlation with the effort and actions you instill every day. You have to play the long game, turning up every day and focusing on your actions, the results will come and every time they will be an honest reflection of your commitment and effort.

What if you have been playing the long game and you are still not meeting your expectations? If you answer this with brutal honesty then the answer will likely be pretty simple, your actions are responsible for the results you have achieved. How is your diet? How is your training? Are you doing the actual things you need to be doing consistently to see the results, matching the expectations you have?

For most the answer is straightforward. Most though don’t want to take responsibility for their results, they want to put the expectation and blame elsewhere. The reality though, the strength of the result is the sum of the effort and consistency of your daily actions.