What To Do When You Stop Seeing Progress

Aug 20

If you’ve been working out regularly and/or been on a diet for some time, yet you aren’t quite seeing the progress and results that you deeply desire, then you need to find out what’s causing the lack of progress. It’s also important to acknowledge that making progress and seeing results are highly individualized. Huge improvements in markers such as higher percentage in fat/weight loss, strength gain, muscle size, performance, etc are usually at the start of the journey or a new phase. The longer and more experienced you are with working out and dieting, the slower and much more challenging it is to progress.

Hence, it is important to track as much data as you can, so you’re able to use it to analyze your progress. Having said that, here are some of the aspects that I’d go through with my clients regularly to ensure they are going in the right direction and progressing well;

1. Sleep

One of the most influential factors yet overlooked when it comes to making progress and getting results is sleep. Having good quality sleep is essential for us to maximize our physiological and psychological health i.e. recovery, growth, productivity, creativity, energy levels, appetite, digestion, libido, etc.

Daily evaluation:
A) How many hours of sleep did you get last night?

B) Any trouble with falling and staying asleep?

C) How do you feel upon waking up first thing in the morning?

Checklist:

Try to aim for 7-8 hours of sleep per night without interruptions and to feel well-rested upon waking up in the morning.
Practicing deep breathing exercises and meditation can help relax your body and mind before bed to help promote sleep quality.
Avoid stimulants (caffeine and nicotine) and alcohol consumption in the evening to prevent difficulties falling and staying asleep.

2. Stress management

Be it physical, emotional, and/or environmental stress, chronic exposure to stress will drive your mental and physical state to fatigue. In the long run, this will affect your ability to make progress with your health and fitness goals and make it worse as prolonged stress levels can lead to mental health problems, cardiovascular diseases, sexual dysfunction, etc.

Daily evaluation:

A) Do you find it difficult to relax and quiet your mind? I.e. constantly feeling overwhelmed and easily distracted
B) Do you have any difficulties in breathing and/or feeling anxious at random hours? I.e. shallow and rapid breathing, restlessness, and increased heart rate

Checklist:

Prioritize and organize your daily schedule based on the order of importance and urgency of the task.
Dedicate different time slots for different tasks to prevent yourself from feeling overwhelmed.
Focus on one thing at a time and set a time limit to move around so that you don’t feel burned out by a single task.
Reward yourself every time you complete a task. i.e. getting up and moving around, a sip of water, etc.
Take deep slow breaths to help calm your mind and body down. Inhale for 2 or 3 seconds, exhale double the count of inhaling. Repeat for a couple of minutes every time you find yourself stressing out.

3. Total calories

Eat sufficiently to support your goals, especially if your goal is to lose fat/weight. Find out your maintenance calories (the amount you have to eat to maintain your current stats) then reduce 5%-20% depending on how aggressively you want to lose and how soon. The greater the deficit, the less sustainable it is. This is why it’s important to not drop your calories too low, too soon. And vice versa to gaining weight, gradually work your calories up/down as you progress.

Daily evaluation:

A) Do you feel hungry first thing in the morning and before sleep?

B) How’s your energy level throughout the day? (this could apply to sleep as well)

C) Do you have any cravings?

D) Did you overeat or undereat?

Checklist:

Knowing the exact amount of calories is to help you set a “guide” so you can tweak it easily.
If you aren’t counting calories and measuring your food, use your knuckle and palm-size to guestimate your food portions. Try to stay consistent with your portion size and increase or reduce based on your goals and findings.
Try sticking to the 80/20 rule, with the majority of your calories coming from high-quality nutritious food and a little “fun” food to keep the dieting process more rewarding.

4. Nutrient composition

For calories, the gist of it is about the food volume and quantity. So for nutrient composition, we’re looking at the quality of having sufficient macro and micro-nutrients to support your goals; protein, fiber, carbs, fats, vitamins, and minerals.

Daily evaluation:
A) Were there vegetables in your meal today? And how many servings?

B) Were there protein sources in your meal today? And how many servings?

C) What are you having/ did you have for breakfast, lunch, dinner?

Checklist:

Have some form of protein with every meal. For easier reference, try to aim around 0.8g-1.2g of protein per lbs of bodyweight.
Include a variety of vegetables and fruits in your diet, especially with leafy greens and fibrous veggies.
Include healthy fats in your diet such as omega-3, mono-saturated fats, MCTs
If you were to eat out on a single meal, make sure you balance out the macronutrients for the rest of the day. I.e veggie & protein smoothie for breakfast, pizza for lunch, then half plate of veggies and protein for dinner. The goal is to balance out the calories and macronutrients for the day.

5. Working out/ training

Whether your goals are to lose weight, gain mass, or for health reasons, working out regularly is essential in helping you reach those goals. As you gain more experience from working out, you would also be required to add challenges to your routine to make progress, like lifting heavier, adding more reps, or a higher frequency of training sessions, etc.

However, there’s a fine line between continuously making progress and physically or mentally burning out, i.e. working out hard enough to stimulate growth vs. the idea of “the more the better”. The key difference is that the former is structured and planned, while the latter has no base structure, and it’s about doing as much as possible until fatigue in a set time.

Daily evaluation:

A) Did you enjoy your workout/ training session?

B) Did you accomplish all the exercises you were set to do with good form?

C) Did you give your best effort?

Checklist:

Have a plan for your workouts that you can consistently follow and is conducive to your goals.
Push yourself hard in your workouts when it’s necessary and only if you can recover from it.
It’s okay to have sessions where you don’t feel like dying or gasping for air. There’s a time and place for those kinds of intensity (depending on your goals and needs), as long as you progress yourself to that level gradually and also consider your recovery.

6. Physical activity

More specifically, I’m talking about your NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis), the things that you do which aren’t part of your workout such as sweeping the floor, washing the dishes, walking your dog, decluttering your closet, carrying groceries, etc.

Moving throughout the day is especially important when it comes to dropping that extra pound of fat and/or improving overall health. It is equally as important for those who wish to put on weight, such as myself, as eating higher volumes of food can be hard on the digestive system. Increasing the NEAT would help with food processing as well as stimulating a better appetite.

Daily evaluation:
A) How many steps are you aiming for/did you get today?
B) Were you seated or standing or moving around the majority of today?

Checklist:

Be intentional to move around throughout the day, especially if your job requires you to sit for some time. Set an alarm as a reminder if you need to get on your feet and move around.
Set a daily step count goal and accumulate your steps throughout the day.
Ideas to help increase your step count and raise your physical activity levels; park your car further than usual, walk around every time you get a break from work, or stand up and stretch/move your limbs and spine every few hours of sitting.

Overall, don’t be discouraged if your progress isn’t going at the rate that you had expected. If you’re struggling with making progress, take a moment to review your actions and plans, find out what you're missing out on, and tweak your approach as you see fit. Most importantly is to be consistent in taking the right actions and not give up.

If you’ve found this article helpful or have any questions in mind, feel free to drop me a DM on my Instagram and I look forward to hearing from you. Take care.