Why Weight Loss Is Hard - And Why That’s a Good Thing
Why Struggle Is Essential to Long-Term Weight Loss Success
Think back to every truly meaningful accomplishment in your life.
Raising your kids. Graduating from school. Building a career or business.
None of it was easy.
Each of these milestones came with stress, setbacks, and sacrifice. Maybe you cried some nights. Maybe you thought about giving up. But you didn’t.
You pushed through. And because of that, you grew.
Now think about your health and fitness journey.
If you're like most women over 40 with kids and a demanding career, you know how hard it is to consistently eat well, work out, and take care of yourself.
You're not failing. You're just in the middle of something that’s supposed to be hard.
And that’s exactly why it’s so worth it.
Struggle Means You're Doing Something That Matters
There is no growth without discomfort. And yes, that includes your weight loss journey.
This is especially important to understand when you're trying to break out of old habits and build a stronger, healthier version of yourself.
If you expect the process to be smooth and effortless, you're going to be disappointed.
But if you accept that struggle is part of the process, you'll be more likely to keep going when things get hard.
Because things will get hard.
Let Me Give You a Behind-the-Scenes Example
Take the fitness industry.
Every successful personal trainer you see online or at your gym has gone through it.
They've struggled with burnout. They've juggled early mornings, late nights, and unpredictable client schedules. They've worked multiple jobs just to keep doing what they love.
I know trainers who started their day at 4:30am and didn’t finish work until 10pm. They trained clients early in the morning, late at night, and studied during the day - and hoped that maybe, just maybe, they could eventually make a decent living doing what they loved.
And most of them wanted to quit at some point. I did too.
But they didn’t.
They pushed through the struggle and came out stronger. Now many of them get to do work they love, in comfy clothes, in air-conditioned rooms, while helping people change their lives.
But that lifestyle came after the hard part. Not before.
What This Has to Do With Your Weight Loss Journey
Everything.
Because what you're doing is just as hard.
You’re trying to create a major change in your life.
And not just in your schedule or your routine, but in your identity.
That takes time. That takes consistency. That takes sacrifice.
There will be days where you don’t want to prep your meals. Where you’re too tired to go to the gym. Where you feel like you're going backwards, not forward.
But that doesn’t mean you're doing it wrong. It just means you’re in the middle of the process.
And struggling through the middle is how you get to the end.
If It Were Easy, Everyone Would Be Fit
Let’s be honest:
If weight loss were easy, everyone would be doing it.
Everyone would be working out 3-4 times a week. Everyone would be eating fruits, vegetables, and protein every day. Everyone would be lean, strong, and confident in their skin.
But that’s not how the world works. Because change is hard.
And this is exactly why weight loss is hard.
You’re not just fighting cravings. You’re battling old routines, years of messaging from diet culture, emotional eating triggers, lack of time, lack of energy, and the pressure to take care of everyone else before yourself.
All of that adds up. All of that makes the process more complicated than simply “eat less and move more.”
But hard isn’t bad. Hard is what makes it worth it.
Reframing the Struggle
The next time you feel like quitting, remind yourself of this:
Struggle is not a sign of failure. Struggle is a sign that you’re doing something meaningful.
It doesn’t mean you have to love every minute of it. You don’t have to wake up every morning with unlimited motivation and energy.
But if you can accept that hard days are part of the process, you’ll stop seeing them as reasons to give up.
Instead, you’ll start to see them as evidence that you’re doing something brave.
Something worthwhile.
Tips to Push Through the Hard Days
So what can you do when the struggle feels overwhelming?
Here are a few strategies that can help:
Simplify the process
Don’t try to overhaul your entire life overnight. Pick one or two small things to focus on.
Example: Just hit your protein goal today. Or just go for a 20-minute walk.
Remind yourself of your why
Why did you start this journey? Was it to feel better in your clothes? To set a good example for your kids? To improve your health?
Whatever your reason is, revisit it often.
Track your progress beyond the scale
Are you sleeping better? Is your energy improving? Are your workouts getting easier?
These are signs of progress that matter just as much (if not more) than the number on the scale.
Get support
Don’t try to do this alone. Whether it’s a coach, a community, or even a close friend who gets it, surrounding yourself with support can make a huge difference.
Expect setbacks
You’re going to miss workouts. You’re going to have weeks where the scale goes up. You’re going to eat more than you planned sometimes.
That doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It just means you’re human.
The Truth About Growth and Success
Every meaningful change in your life is going to involve discomfort.
But if you keep showing up, even when it's hard, you’ll build something better.
More strength. More confidence. More resilience.
And once you're through the struggle, you'll look back and realize that the hard days are what shaped you the most.
Not the easy ones.
So whatever you're going through right now, don’t give up.
Keep pushing through your current struggle.
Growth and success are on the other side.
Final Thoughts
Struggle isn’t a sign that something’s wrong. It’s a sign that you’re doing something important.
This is your reminder that you’re capable of pushing through, just like the thousands of women I’ve coached who have transformed their lives despite setbacks, doubts, and bad days.
You are not broken. You are becoming.
If you’d like help with this, tap here to book a no-pressure call to talk to me about what that help might look like.