When you want to quit… do THIS instead!

I was recently reminded the importance of never, never, NEVER giving up! Most of the time at our lowest we are on the brink of success... IF we don't give up. Two weeks ago completed our Spring Leaning Paleo Challenge and although I lost six inches, I was not satisfied with my results. I did, however, kick some bad habits of eating frequently between meals and splurging too much. My before and after photos really do not look much different and I was discouraged beyond belief. I thought about quitting. Not quitting Paleo, but quitting eating so clean. You see, I want instant results. Six weeks is a heck of a long time... if I don't see the results I want WHEN I want... I'll just quit. Isn't that how we think? I didn't quit, though. I'm staying clean. And guess what? This week, I see progress. In the mirror, I look visibly leaner. The moral of the story? Don't give up. Change is slow... especially when we fix our diets and allow our bodies to HEAL. The damage your body has suffered did not happen overnight. And it won't normalize overnight either. Your "normal" may take six months or a year. Be patient! And say goodbye to those rolls for good! They're staying off this time! Baby steps. I'll take slow, steady progress any day over a quick and temporary fix. Notice I said progress. In the Paleo/Primal world there has been a very recent uproar over some results at the 30BAD (30 Bananas A Day) site - a raw, fruititarian (eats only fruit) site. A 17 year old kid honestly posted his results thus far and has gained fat, reduced performance in basketball and gained acne from his high sugar, raw food diet. He honestly believes, however, that he is detoxing and that this is normal. You can read about it here and here (there are even before/after pictures). I feel sorry for this kid and can relate, since I was once a raw food fanatic myself and was frustrated by my puffiness. I was so sure that success was right around the corner and kept modifying things so my body would finally shape up. I thought I wasn't disciplined enough or just couldn't hack it like other folks that I followed. In the end, I chased results and realized that if my diet and exercise were not producing the results I desire, then there is something wrong with my diet and exercise. Except for the first two weeks if you are a carb-aholic, you should NOT feel tired and sluggish on a Paleo diet. You should NOT gain copious amounts of FAT. You should NOT get acne. If you experience these things, we need to tweak something. Anything in the opposite direction is not a sign of progress. In summary, when you feel like quitting hang in there one more week. Many times success is just around the corner if we will stick with it. Slow, steady progress will give you lasting results, so don't throw in the towel because you don't experience complete transformation in two weeks. Instant results are quick to instantly disappear. Your steady progress, however, SHOULD take you closer to your desired result and NOT in the OPPOSITE DIRECTION. If you are not making progress it is time to tweak something. Don't know where to start? Shoot me an email. I'm here to help. What about you? Ever felt like quitting? How did you overcome it?