There are often many reasons you may not be getting results despite eating healthy and spending hours in the gym every week. Here are three I commonly see: 

You’re chronically stressed out. 

Whether it’s work obligations, family stuff, or travel, if you’re constantly worried or feeling like you’re spiraling out of control, it will be difficult to manage your health and fitness at the level you need to in order to get the results you want.

Chronic stress leads to sleep disturbances, elevated cortisol and chronic inflammation, difficulty in recovering from workouts, and issues with appetite control. All of this can wreak havoc on your health and derail progress toward your goals.

Find ways to help manage your stress and create routines that foster stability so you can focus on your fitness goals. This might require asking for help, and saying “no” to shit that doesn’t help you get where you want to go. 

You don’t have clear goals.

A goal is a destination. If you were taking a road trip across the country, you would want to know where you were leaving from and where you are going to end up. This information would help you plan out your route, probably establish tentative food and bathroom breaks along the way, and you would have a timeframe for reaching your destination as quickly as possible. 

You could drive aimlessly with no plan at all, not really sure where you will end up (that actually sounds really fun), but you’d be wasting precious time, energy and fuel and that sucks. Getting clear about where you want to go is the key to a more streamlined process. Goals also help keep us motivated on days we’re not too thrilled to go to the gym. Find something you’re excited about, write it down, and remind yourself every single day WHY you’re doing what you’re doing. 

You don’t have a support system.

Who is in your corner? Do you have friends, family, and co-workers who are going to cheer you on and lift you up on your hardest days? Support can be any number of things; words of encouragement, compliments, and help with tasks and chores that allow you to free up time you can allocate to workouts, more sleep and food prep. 

It can also be simply NOT sabotaging you by keeping junk food out of the house or office, or having someone watch your kids so you can get to the gym or have time to yourself. Flying solo is definitely possible, but it’s a lonely road, and it can make everything feel so much harder than it needs to be. Get yourself a trusty group of supporters who want to see you succeed. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it, and to set boundaries that protect your time and your sanity.

Whether you want to lose body fat, build muscle, have more energy or remain physically capable as the years goes by, it’s important to manage your stress, set clear goals, and have a strong support system around you.