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ALBANY, GA -- Realistic goals can be the difference between a successful fitness plan and one that fails.   Many people want an instant fix to reverse a problem that took years to come about.   The weight isn’t going to go away over night.

It muscle doesn’t weigh more than fat.  One pound of muscle is the same as one pound of fat but muscle is denser than fat.  One gallon of muscle weighs more than one gallon of fat.  As you work out and gain muscle, you may slim down but the scale looks the same.  To avoid frustration and disappointment go off the way you look and feel rather than a number on the scale.

When many people start exercising they want to drop a few pounds.  Think about your main objective.  Is it to look good for a reunion, a wedding, to fit into a dress or be a smaller size?  If that’s the case, you don’t want to lose weight but you want to lose body fat.

You can’t spot reduce anything.  Fitness is a full body and lifestyle transformation. 

“So you can’t say well I’m going to work on my abs, I want a 6 pack abs, I’m really ok with my chest and my arms and my shoulders but I want this midsection to be gone, it’s going to have to be the full package,” said fitness coach Kris Morrill.

It will be a combination of exercise and taking out calories.  But simply eat well instead of starving yourself.  Fad diets can work temporarily but drop water weight.  Once you start eating normally again the weight will come back on. 

Once you have reached your goal, continue with a healthy lifestyle to maintain the work you have just done.  You can start adding a few more good calories.  You will continue to lose body fat by eating well.  

Since you aren’t looking at a scale to measure your success, try taking body measurements.  After time you should notice smaller sizes. 

Rome wasn’t built in a day and healthier goals cannot be attained over night.  Start slow with realistic, attainable goals to avoid discouragement and injury.  Don’t go from a total sedentary lifestyle to a full blast workout.  Your body will get burnt out quickly because it isn’t used to it which could increase your failure rate.  Ease your way into an exercise plan.

Setting attainable goals should help you succeed but if you do mess up, don’t give up. 

“Just because you fall off the wagon, the best thing you can do it to get right back up and get back on it. Don’t give into the fact that you messed up one time so the whole week is shot,” said Morrill.