How long will it take for me to reach my goals?

It takes as long as it takes.

That's about as vague as it gets right?!? This answer may frustrate a lot of people. When someone embarks on a weight loss or health journey they usually have a number in mind. A number on the scale, or even a clothing size they want to fit into. They also have a number in mind about how long it's going to take to get there.

In this world, we are literally one click away from having something delivered to our door in 2 hours or less. Don't get me wrong, I am the first one to hop on Amazon when I need something NOW. However when we start treating our health as something to achieve in x number of weeks it usually leads to signing up for the latest quick fix fad- of which there is no shortage. 

These programs promise the world in a short amount of time and feed into our beliefs that we just hadn't found the RIGHT program until now! That the next diet will be the last one, but it's usually not. It's just a cog in the wheel of a broken system that keeps us coming back for more and thinking that there is something wrong with US.

The truth is that we all have different starting points and have had various life experiences up to this point. Our past experiences all the way back to childhood play a part in our dieting personality today.

And we have all walked different paths to get here. Some, like myself, have a history of undereating and overexercising, while others have never really paid attention to their food intake and maybe don't exercise at all. When looking at both these extremes, there is no way both people would start at the same place!

So why do we think that everyone can achieve optimal health in 21-30 days following the same cookie-cutter program?

And WHY must there be a time frame for optimal wellness? When we place an end date on our diet, then what? Once we reach a certain weight or pants size, then what? 

Achieving optimal wellness is a JOURNEY. And this journey is different for everyone. There is NO standard timeline that applies to all. So stop thinking that once you get to a certain scale weight then your work is done. It's only just beginning.

The excitement of a new diet wears off after a week or two. The excitement of creating a new life for yourself never wears off. See the difference?

So I invite you to change your mindset when embarking on a new diet program to round out 2022 or begin 2023. STOP with the urgency and settle in. 

It will take as long as it takes.

"The end is just the beginning" T.S. Eliot