I have discussed this before so my apologies if I’m repeating myself but when you’re dieting you have complete control over the progression that you make and the time that it takes.

Everybody wants it yesterday, or at least think they want it yesterday. Reality is very few people are prepared to actually do the work required for it to happen yesterday let alone tomorrow or even next week.

Truly wanting it yesterday or at least wanting it now requires complete commitment to the cause. No cheating, no nights out, no guessing measurements or weights, everything absolutely 100% spot-on and perfect.

But of course the reality is that for 99% of people that doesn’t happen, and that’s not a bad thing it just is what it is.

Where the problem occurs is when you give 80% to your diet, which is a great percentage by the way, but expect 100% results. When those results do not come people get depressed, angry, fed up, miserable, and eventually decide that the diet isn’t working.

This of course then leads to the perpetual dieting cycle of starting a new diet,, sticking with it for a couple of weeks then dropping off the diet, having a binge period and then starting a fresh diet, etc etc.

This normally means that you never actually lose your weight and over a period of time your weight actually increases to the point where you are probably heavier now than you were when you very first started dieting.

There is nothing wrong with not giving 100% your diet, in fact for most people that is actually the right thing to do because trying to be 100% consistent, 100% of the time simply not sustainable.

I wholeheartedly recommend an 80% approach to your diet as it allows you a little bit of room for some fun and less restriction, however this only works if you accept the results are going to be adjusted accordingly.

If you can accept that then you will succeed. The chances of you meeting your ultimate goal are high but you have got to stop expecting results based off the effort you didn’t put in.

Always remember that any loss, no matter how large is still a loss, and moves you closer to your goal, and further away from the person you don’t want to be. Progress is progress no matter how small and that is all you are after when you’re dieting.

Stop thinking to yourself that you want it all now, as soon as possible, quickly, don’t want to wait, et cetera, because reality is, you’re not prepared to put the effort in to achieve that. 

Even just 1 pound a week is nearly 4 stone year and believe me it’s actually very easy indeed to lose 1 pound a week and you can do that with only 80% effort.

Decide what your priorities are and knuckle down for the journey. A little bit of flexibility to enjoy the fun times and when you simply can’t be arsed weighing or counting something is NOT a bad thing. But if you jump on the scales and only drop 1lb that week, you can’t be depressed about that. That’s what you worked for, and unsurprisingly, that’s what you got.