If you have found yourself working out a lot less during the lockdown and heading to the fridge and pantry a lot more, chances are you’re going to hope there’s a ‘quick fix’ solution to lose the pounds and get back to your former, fitter self, once the lockdown period is fully lifted.
Whether it’s using any home gym equipment you may have or you’re prepared to wait out the next few weeks until gyms can finally reopen again (albeit with strict hygiene rules in place) getting back into the swing of fitness things can’t come soon enough.
There will no doubt be a plethora of health and fitness clubs advertising the quick-fix solutions you’re longing for, in the hope you sign up. The ones that advertise the fact you can lose X amount of weight in a relatively short space of time or tell you you will see huge results in 30 days. But just how realistic are their claims?
Online “body transformation coach” James Kew has weighed in to put that argument to bed. He says in a recent Instagram post that 90-day challenges are “total bullsh*t [90% of the time].” Why? It’s not because achieving goals in 90-days isn’t possible at all, but more because “the marketing behind most challenges” can be misleading.
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James continues by saying “if you’re already lean, or just have 10-15 pounds of fat to lose, 90 days can be a realistic amount of time to see results.”
But for the larger guys out there, you’ll need to rethink your goals and the amount of time you’ve chosen to reach them. We here at DMARGE regularly converse about the fact we’re noticing the number on the scales steadily increase, and considering we’re not working out as much as did before lockdown, we know it’s not muscle weight.
“If you’re hoping to lose 40+ pounds, or go from ‘fat to fit’ in a mere 12 weeks, you’re only setting yourself up for failure”, says James.
Several users agree:
“Been working hard and gained a bit of muscle and lost some fat. It’s been 6 months and I am still far from where I would like to be but this post is real. Persistence. Perseverance. Patience”
“Thank you for this! I’m nearing year 2 of losing weight and working on the last 10lbs. It’s been a heck of a journey!”
That’s not to say you can’t aim for great changes in a 90-day period, as “you can make some awesome progress towards it”, but James adds you just need to be realistic and to make sure you keep “this whole health & fitness thing an enjoyable lifestyle.”
Be realistic and accept your personal ‘transformation’ isn’t going to happen overnight – and make sure your nutrition is on point too – and you’ll have a more fruitful relationship with fitness.