When it comes to losing weight or healing from a body challenge or health issue, there will be times when your healing seems to be happening on autopilot.

Steady improvements are happening, and you feel good about the progress you’re making.

This is what we like and expect – that when we put forth the effort, we will reap the rewards easily.

But the thing is, few weight loss or healing journeys are linear, steady and ever increasing. Instead of a straight line that increases upwards at a steady and predictable rate, most weight loss and healing journeys look more like a squiggly line.

There will be times when things stagnate, or plateau. There will be moments when things backtrack. And there will be stretches when things are moving forward, but not nearly as quickly as we expect and want them to.

This is because the body has its own timeline when it comes to healing and shedding excess weight – even when you are doing everything right.

So very often, the body’s timeline doesn’t match up to our ego’s timeline, and when that happens, frustration can show up and even sabotage your best efforts.

I always think it’s a good idea to look into what might be contributing to the change in momentum. There might be something else your body needs support with, or something else that needs to be done to help your body along the way.

But it’s also important to support your mindset and your heart. It’s easy to feel frustrated or want to give up when the changes you want to see aren’t happening.

Here are 3 things you can do to stay motivated when progress stagnates, or is slow:

1. Acknowledge your disappointment and frustration.

Feel it in your body. Where does it live? What does it look like/feel like? Get curious about it and let it just BE there. In today’s climate of “love and lighting” everything, we often bypass important emotions that can later bite us in the butt.

Recognize that your disappointment and/or frustration are there because you really want something. Your DESIRE is a good thing, and your frustration is a sign of your desire.

2. Notice the story you tell yourself when progress slows or stalls.

Our minds and egos really like it when they can see that change is happening, and they can shift into catastrophic thinking when that change isn’t visible anymore. When progress stalls or slows, we can start telling ourselves a story about how we’re broken, or not good, or not enough. “This is as good as it’s going to get” or “I’ve done everything I can”, or “My body is just broken and nothing can fix it”.

Breathe. Flip those beliefs to something more positive and TRUE. “My body is amazing and every day I take baby steps towards my goals” or “My body is so wise, and my healing is happening even if I can’t see it” or “What more can I do, or who can I reach out to for support?” Your mindset is crucial to your health and healing.

3. Reacquaint yourself with your WHY.

Why you want to lose weight or heal or transform your body in some way? What will get to happen that can’t happen now?

Instead of focusing on the goal itself, tap back into WHY the goal is important to you, what will get to happen when you’ve reached your goal, and how you will feel. In my own healing journey, remembering that I want to be able to play and keep up with my son has been pivotal.

The process of change – any kind of – can be mystifying. Very often it doesn’t happen in the order or at the rate we think it should.

And so very often we can make up a not-so-kind story about what it means about us when change doesn’t happen easily and quickly.

Please stop beating up on yourself and your body.

Please remember that change of any kind is hard.

Please remember how amazing you are, how wise your body is, and how this body challenge is quite possibly here to teach you something you have yet to learn.

And please, if you are struggling to see the results you want to see, or you’re feeling hopeless and overwhelmed and you  don’t know what to do…

Please reach out for a no pressure chat. Support is just one phone call away.