In the world of fitness, where the number on the scale can often take center stage, making progress can seem very black and white. Either you lose weight/inches, or you don’t. We at Sage want to offer an adjacent perspective- Non-scale victories. Let’s elaborate:
Traditional View on progress:
-lose 5 lbs
-lose inches
-fin.
A better approach:
-lose 5 lbs
-Improved energy levels
-Improved mood and mental clarity
-Improved sleep quality
-More confidence
-Better able to handle physical tasks at work, with family, or throughout your day
-feel more confident in your own skin
-Less joint pain
-Be apart of a community of like minded individuals
the list goes on……
The beauty about having more than 1-2 metrics for success, is often times focusing on these small wins consistently, like the list above, will often get you to the goal your looking for of weight loss or inches!
Here’s a story of one of our clients who was struggling to keep focused while going through a weight loss plateau. This client has been working with us for 4 months at the time. She dropped 15 lbs in the first 4 months with no issues. Once she hit that 15 lb down mark, her progress stalled. She was struggling with her mind set during her sessions and staying focused outside of the gym because she was convinced that what she was doing wasn’t working. To solve this, made some adjustments to the program, and we also brought to attention the other ways she was making progress. She was getting stronger consistently, and able to run for longer durations without feeling like she had to stop. We kept the focus on the next 4 weeks on getting stronger, and improving her fitness. She finally broke the plateau 5 weeks in.
The MOST important trait to success is consistency, when you see the numbers go down, and consistently when you don’t. Keeping in the game is key, and having this frame work of ‘non-scale victories’ will keep you motivated and focused to take the next step forward towards your goals.
two quotes that relate to this:
“Focus on the how, not the what”
“The outcomes you’re looking for are a lagging measure of your behaviors. Focus on the behavior change consistently, and things will fall into place”
If you need help staying focused on a fitness or health goal you are struggling to achieve, sign up for a Free intro with us and let us help! 🙂
-Sage Personal Training
