We’re now into the third week of January, and a crucial week it is for fitness buffs partaking in their New Year’s Resolutions.

You’ve been working out hard, you’ve been trying to eat right, but you’re still not seeing results.

Most people never stop to think of other factors that might influence their lack of results.

I’ve outlined 10 reasons why you’re probably not seeing results and how to combat each of them.

I challenge you to take a look in the mirror, and find out if any of these apply to you.

1) You don’t believe you’ll see results

When you started your last fitness program, did you truly – and I mean truly beyond a shadow of a doubt – believe that you would see results? Or were you thinking in the back of your head that “This one won’t work, just like last time” or “I bet this is just another fad diet.”

If so, you automatically set yourself up for failure. In order for any success to come to fruition, you must first believe that it’ll happen. Otherwise you’ll give up the moment you think it’s not working when you may have seen results if you had just kept on for another week.

If you find yourself doubting whether you’ll see any results, stop and ask yourself why. Is it because others around you doubt you? Is it because you’ve tried so many different things already and none of them worked? Is it because you don’t think you’re worthy or capable of being anything other than overweight or scrawny?

Once you’ve gotten to the root of the problem, or your “limiting belief”, first get creative about how to change your environment to squash the situation. For example, if others around you doubt you, try to spend only high quantities of time with people who believe in you. Or, sit them down and explain that you need them to say only supportive comments or say nothing at all.

Then, squash your limiting belief. Try this: Write your limiting belief, such as “I’m not worthy of being fit and flexible,” on a piece of paper. Then tear it up! Tear it to shreds! Think about how good it feels to obliterate that belief! Replace all thoughts of “I’m not worthy…” to “I am fit and flexible and getting more so every day!”

Write these new words on sticky notes and post them everywhere – on your bathroom mirror, on your steering wheel, on the refrigerator! Read them over and over again, and feel it resonate in your very soul!

First you must believe, then you can achieve.

2) You don’t have a plan

Okay, you’ve decided that it’s time to lose some belly fat. So, you decide that you’re going to start going to the gym and eating healthy. You do pretty well during week 1, during week 2 you skip a workout or two and order a pizza because you don’t have time to cook dinner, and during week 3 you’ve essentially forgotten what “healthy” means.

But you were so committed to losing the belly fat!

What went wrong?

You didn’t have a plan.

Good intentions are great, but if you’re serious about reaching a goal, you have to lay out a plan.

So, let’s back up. You decide that it’s time to lose some belly fat. Great! Now what? Start laying out your plan by following these steps:

• Set some goals. Make them SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely). For example, “Drop 2 inches off my waist by the 4th of July.”
• Get a structured fitness program. Whether you do research on your own, try out a program that worked for a friend, or hire a personal trainer, get on a program. “Going to the gym” can only be so effective if you don’t have a structured fitness program to follow.
• Get on a nutrition program. Same as the fitness program, you need some guidelines to follow. Otherwise you’re much more likely to “fall off the bandwagon” if you don’t even know what the “bandwagon” is.
• Plan ahead. If you know you need to eat a healthy lunch, but the cafeteria at work serves only burgers and fries, pack your food for the day. Buy all your groceries on the weekends and prepare your meals in convenient Tupperware on Sunday so you can “grab and go” in the morning. Keep a healthy snack like nuts in your bag so you don’t have to resort to the vending machine for an emergency snack.

3) You have poor follow-through.

Maybe you are the type of person who sets the right goals, gets on a fitness and nutrition program, and plans ahead, but somehow you still don’t see results. Is it because you’re not following through on the commitments you made to yourself?

Anyone can set a goal, but it takes a real commitment to follow-through. Once the goals are set the easy part is over. Motivation fizzles. You have to push through the thousands of excuses that present themselves – I have to work overtime, I’m just too tired today, I forgot my gym shoes, etc.

If following through is a problem for you, try these techniques:

• Get some support. Find someone who is also working toward a fitness goal and hold each other accountable. Join an online forum or a fitness class.

• Reward yourself. After a week or two of following through, reward yourself with a special treat – a massage, new clothes, or a getaway weekend.  Whatever it is make it something worth working for.

• Make it fun! Make sure your fitness program is fun. Incorporate activities you enjoy such as hiking, basketball, swimming etc. Make it feel like play rather than work.

4) You’ve been given bad fitness advice in the past.

Everyone thinks they’re a fitness expert – your mom, your dad, your co-worker. And maybe you’ve taken their advice or even advice from a magazine or book that didn’t work, or even worse, caused injury.

No wonder you didn’t see any results. Anyone can give advice, but that doesn’t mean they should be giving it. And it definitely doesn’t mean you should be taking it.

So now it’s time to start over. If you don’t feel confident researching the right fitness and nutrition program for you, get some help from the professionals – a personal trainer and/or a nutritionist. And if that past bad advice came from a professional, talk to your friends, neighbors, and co-workers to get a referral.

As with any profession, there are good and bad apples out there. Interview him or her, ask what their credentials are, and ask for references. Taking that extra time will be worth it.

5) You don’t take nutrition seriously

In my twelve years of experience, I’ve encountered many clients who think all they have to do to change their bodies is go to the gym. But they don’t change their eating habits. They sweat and toil during their workouts, wonder why they’re not seeing results, get fed up, and quit.

Did you know that nutrition is responsible for at least 80% of your results?

You may expend plenty of calories in the gym, but if you’re not altering the number or quality of calories you’re putting in your mouth, you’re not going to get the results you want.

Let me put it this way, if you owned a high performance exotic car like a Ferrari would you put the inexpensive oil and gas in it?  My guess is your answer is no, especially if you paid 6-figures for the car and you want it to run smoothly.  Well, your body is a high performance vehicle much like the Ferrari, so it’s only fair that you nourish it and treat it like one.

Ponder these five reasons for now.

If any of them apply to you post your comments, and I’ll be back in a couple days with five more reasons to finish the list.

- Rommel