There’s a long list of things that could potentially stop you from reaching your aesthetic goals. While many people make getting fit and healthy look easy, it can be extremely difficult depending on your own situation, environment, mindset, and a huge range of other factors. Below, you’ll find 10 things that could be stopping you from reaching your own aesthetic goals. Take a look and you might just feel that much closer to getting to where you want to be:
- Focusing Too Hard On The Goal Rather Than The Process
One of the biggest mistakes many people make is focusing too hard on the goal that they want to reach, rather than focusing on and enjoying the process. This will likely make your efforts feel like a giant slog, as opposed to good habits you are making and enjoying in the meantime. Rather than focusing on your goal, just focus on the process. How can you make it more sustainable and enjoyable? What can you enjoy about it now? What are the benefits?
- Tracking The Wrong Thing
Many people struggle to reach their goals because they track the wrong thing. Tracking weight, for example, isn’t a good idea. Weight can change for a variety of reasons, and it isn’t always indicative of your progress. You could weigh much more after a year of weight training and yet look tighter and leaner. This is why taking pictures and going on how you feel is the best way. Take measurements if you must, but know that it’s all about how you feel.
- Not Working On Your Self Image
How you see yourself can make a huge difference. Many people work towards a fitness goal and give up because they feel unsatisfied with their progress and are sick of putting so much effort in. However, they later look back at pictures and realize that they actually looked fantastic! It’s only with hindsight that they can see how far they had come. They then regret giving up. Working on your own self image can ensure you’re not overly critical and that you can look at yourself objectively.
- Not Taking Adequate Breaks
Changes happen during rest, too. Make sure you’re taking rest days. How many you take will depend on how fit you are, how much time you have, and other factors. Make sure you take at least one full day of rest per week. If you’re weight training it can be especially harmful to train each day with no rest.
- Not Understanding Nutrition And Why It’s Important
You can’t out-train a poor diet or get results by eating whatever whenever. This doesn’t mean you can’t eat foods you like or that you have to go hungry. It just means you need to have a better grasp on nutrition and how you can use it to support your goals. Eating a high carb meal before training, for instance, can boost your strength and motivation. Making sure you eat protein with every meal will keep you full and help you to build muscle. Healthy fats are crucial for energy and bodily functions, too, especially in women. Having an understanding of macronutrients will finally help you to understand what you should be eating more of. You’ll also feel more in control, as you will be able to avoid diet culture and fads and eat foods that are properly nourishing you.
- Taking Pointless Supplements
Some supplements are worth it, others, not so much. You should make sure you do extensive research on each one and ensure you check with your doctor if you’re unsure. Supplements like
Orlistat for example, could help you get to where you’re going. A multivitamin, Vitamin D3, and B12 could help to give you energy and overall health. However, things like raspberry ketones are unlikely to do anything in the long run, and could even be harmful to health. It’s also worth keeping in mind that you should have the basics down and ensure you’re getting a lot of good stuff from food before turning to supplements. They won’t do as much good as a nourishing diet, so don’t try to use them as a short cut.
- Not Eating Enough
You may think that not eating enough will get you to where you want to be faster, but it’s unhealthy and unsustainable. It’s far better to nourish your body with good food, train, and enjoy the process. If you really want to get stronger and fitter, you need to eat. Not eating enough might make you thinner, but it’s unhealthy and you’ll likely hate it.
- Running Low On Sleep
We need sleep to thrive. Whether we get enough sleep or not can impact our strength, hunger, activity levels, and more. Try to get 8 hours each night and you’ll get better results than somebody who just survives off 6 hours. Just because you can survive off barely any sleep doesn’t mean you should.
- Stress
Stress can slow down your progress, too. This is why caring for your mental health and physical health go hand in hand. Practice deep breathing, journal, and meditate. Take naps. Take baths. Practice regular self care. Do what you need to do to keep that stress low!
- Your Mindset
What is your mindset like right now? Just because you want to make a change, doesn’t mean you’re in the right frame of mind to make a change. A healthy frame of mind is key for long term success. Not only that, you may need to examine and undo many of the limiting beliefs that you have about yourself. Perhaps you believe you’ve never been good at sports and will always be the way you are. If you believe that deep down, you’re always going to make that your reality in the end. This is why introspection and honesty is important, as well as the desire to truly change! You will be able to change your habits permanently when you do this.
Which of these things are slowing you down? Leave a comment!
