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Every January, gyms transform into packed sardine cans of hopeful people ready to change their lives. The energy is electric—everyone's pumped up, motivated, and absolutely certain that this is their year. Fast forward to March, and suddenly you can actually find a squat rack without waiting thirty minutes. What happened to all those motivated people from January?
Here's the thing: it's not about laziness, lack of willpower, or some mysterious character flaw. The real culprit is something way more mundane and fixable—terrible planning.
One of the biggest contributors to falling off the wagon is trying to change too much at once. Picture this: You've been living a pretty sedentary lifestyle, eating whatever sounds good, and exercise hasn't been part of your vocabulary for years. Then January 1st hits, and suddenly you're throwing out every snack in your pantry, meal prepping like a professional bodybuilder, and committing to hit the gym five days a week at 5 AM.
Sound familiar? This approach would be great in theory, but consistency in diet and exercise takes a long time to develop—it's simply too much to add to your life all at once. Ask any genuinely fit person you know how long it took them to reach their current level of consistency. I'd bet money most of them will tell you it took years, or that they're still working on it, or that it's been a lifelong journey.
The problem isn't your intentions—those are genuinely awesome. The problem is that you're trying to build Rome in a day, and our brains just don't work that way. Most people articulate their end goal (exercising five times a week) but not the actual steps to get there. Our minds are simply not geared for 180-degree changes. Sure, some people can go cold-turkey on major changes, but they're the exception, not the norm.
When you first start out, your main goal should not be "get shredded" or "work out 5x per week." Your main goal should be: "Get used to having exercise in my life."
Here's something nobody mentions when they say "just go to the gym for an hour"—that hour of exercise comes with a bunch of hidden time costs that can catch you off guard:
Suddenly, your "one-hour workout" has become a 90-minute commitment. If you're working full-time, have family responsibilities, or other regular commitments, finding 90 minutes several times a week is a significant ask. When people don't account for these logistics, they end up feeling overwhelmed and eventually give up.
Now let's add another layer to this already complex puzzle. Most people who decide to start exercising also decide to completely overhaul their diet at the same time. Again, the intentions are good, but the execution sets them up for struggle.
Changing your eating habits is its own massive undertaking. You're not just deciding to eat differently—you're changing grocery shopping patterns, meal planning routines, cooking methods, and dealing with cravings for foods you've been eating your whole life. This is a whole separate set of habits that need to be built.
When you try to tackle both exercise and diet transformation simultaneously, you're essentially asking yourself to master two difficult things at once. It's like trying to learn piano and guitar at the same time—sure, it's possible, but you're making it way harder than it needs to be.
Our advice? Start small and build your way up. Don't try to change everything overnight. Instead of a total overhaul, consider making a few smart substitutions.
Let's get specific with an example that shows how powerful small changes can be. Say you currently drink one can of regular soda every day. Instead of cutting it out completely, replace it with something like carbonated water with flavor drops—you get the fizz and flavor without the calories.
Now let's do the math on this single, simple change:
Daily Calories Saved=140 calories per can
Weekly Calories Saved=140×7=980 calories
Monthly Calories Saved=980×4.3=4,214 calories
Since a pound of fat contains approximately 3,500 calories:
Potential Monthly Fat Loss=4,2143,500≈1.2 pounds
That's over fourteen pounds in a year from one small change! And here's the beautiful part: because you made the change gradually, it doesn't feel like a sacrifice. It just becomes your new normal.
Media has conditioned us to chase after thirty-day challenges, dramatic before-and-after photos, and rapid transformations. Shows like The Biggest Loser made for compelling television, but they perpetuated exactly what we've been talking about—massive, unsustainable changes.
A study published in the journal Obesity followed contestants from the show and found that most had regained a significant portion of their weight within six years, with some ending up heavier than before they started (Fothergill et al., 2016). This wasn't because the contestants were undisciplined—it was because the show forced large, unsustainable changes that their bodies and minds eventually fought back against.
The contestants weren't set up for success; they were set up for great television. There's a big difference.
The theme running through all of this is simple: small, sustainable changes build habits, and habits lead to long-term success. This is exactly why our course focuses so heavily on habit formation rather than quick fixes or dramatic transformations.
Your long-term health is basically the sum of the things you do almost every day, not the super-intense thing you do for 30 days and then abandon. Real, lasting change is slow, steady, and honestly kind of boring to watch—but it actually sticks.
If you're new to exercise and weight loss, here's a realistic starting approach:
Week 1-2:
Week 3-4:
Month 2-3:
Remember: Keep what's working → Add one small thing → Let it stabilize → Repeat.
That's it. That's the whole "secret."
If you're tired of all-or-nothing plans and want to build something that fits into your actual life, that's exactly what our course is designed to help with. We go deeper into how habits are formed, how to structure your day so healthy choices feel easier, and how to design a beginner-friendly plan you can actually live with.
Or, if you're not ready for a course yet, feel free to keep browsing our free articles and start with one small change today.
Fothergill, E., Guo, J., Howard, L., Kerns, J. C., Knuth, N. D., Brychta, R., Chen, K. Y., Skarulis, M. C., Walter, M., Walter, P. J., & Hall, K. D. (2016). Persistent metabolic adaptation 6 years after "The Biggest Loser" competition. Obesity, 24(8), 1612-1619. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.21538
