How many of you expect to achieve your fitness goals—whether it’s losing fat, gaining muscle, or performance driven—and expect those results in the same time it takes to cram for a test the next day?!

Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither is your body. When you see someone with a great physique (I’m not talking about someone who is thin, but someone who is in shape), they’ve worked hard for those results. It takes figure competitors, body builders, cross-fitters, athletes, or maybe your average Joe at the gym years to build those habits. I think we have a societal misunderstanding of a healthy body image and what it takes to be/look healthy.

The hardest thing for people to realize when trying to get healthy and look healthy is the process you have to go through. Results come in slow and steady increments. Many don’t give the process enough chance or time to see the results. Off days (bad eating or skipping some workouts during the week) will happen, but as long as you can push through and stay committed throughout the majority of it, the results will come. You will be impressed over the long haul. It’s not just about getting to the point where you like the way you look, then reverting back to those same bad habits thinking somehow you’ll maintain this new image. It doesn’t happen like that! It’s all about changing bad habits and developing lifelong healthy habits. That’s a hard thing to convert to—especially if your lifestyle has been completely the opposite for many years.

The better someone understands that getting results is a process, whether it be losing fat or putting on muscle, the better they will be able to stay strong when it seems no progress is being made throughout the journey. You will be able to look back in a few months or even a year or more and be very impressed with how far you’ve come, and how much your body has changed—not to mention the healthy habits you now have.

So how does one know if he or she is headed in the right direction to achieve the goals they’ve set? Here are two simple, yet very effective hints that will help, no matter what goals you have:

1. Work out at least 3 times per week. (Sometimes just making it to the gym is a victory!) What you do there and how you do it is an entirely different topic. Hitting the weights, no matter your age, gender, or ability is a must! Don’t do it at home. You won’t push yourself hard enough and family will be a distraction. And get a workout partner! Maybe two or three of them, so you never miss and always have someone to push you.
2. Sound Nutrition.Stop eating things that will make you fat! (Take-out, processed/packaged foods, candy, soda, sugar, sugary juices, unhealthy fats, refined grains, foods with added sugar, etc.) Yes, you have to pay attention to what goes in to your mouth.

A: Cheat Meal. If you need a cheat meal, you should limit it to 1 meal per week, not 10 meals packed into 1 meal, or an entire cheat day full of treats. If your cheat meals turn into cheat days or heavy binging, you’re not going to get the results you want.

B: Stop mindlessly snacking. Plan out your meals and healthy snacks until it becomes ingrained in you. Most people struggle with this one.

Good luck! And remember, I’m just a click away if you need help!