Stomach Calling Brain
There's a simple reason that you tend to overeat. The signalling from your stomach/gut to your brain needs a bit of time. The appropriate chemical signals need to be sent. That's why something as simple as eating slow and waiting for a bit before seconds and thirds is a game-changer.
Likewise, many things in the body are not instant. You cannot go lift a bunch of weights and expect to have muscles tomorrow. Remember, soreness is not an indicator of much. Except that you are sore.
There are good things coz of this time delay as well. If you take a break of a week or two from your strength training, your strength does not drop. Endurance has a slightly lesser time but the idea more or less holds. Your body remembers and it will continue to stay strong, as long as you pick it back up in that time.
Instant Gratification
You start a new diet. You see some cool immediate results. You expect it to continue week on week but in about 3 weeks, the slowdown is clear.
And then it stalls.
What do you do now?
Well, you have two options. Do something else and confuse your body. Or stick with the plan.
It Takes Time
You double-down on it. That's what you should do.
Changing up the landscape inside your body takes time. For it to understand that you are putting the right fuel, the right stressors, and clearing up your sleep debt. The organic machine starts to work better.
It takes a while to build momentum. And it takes a few days for results to show.
And sometimes, it won't show for a couple of weeks too. There are way too many complicated things going on. You cannot flip a switch and expect to see results.
Oh, but I've been eating salads for lunch and dinner and I've lost only a kilo
Sure. It happens.
Remember, if you are doing most things right, the key is to continue.
That's how you make long-term progress. You become healthier and fitter. You (eventually) reach your goal. But by that time, you have changed. You have new goals.
Stay on the path. Take breaks. There are useful things coz of this time delay - remember, your strength and endurance do not drop immediately.
And not so fun things, like instant gratification. But that's something you can prepare for and learn to enjoy. Let "this will take time" be the mantra rather than "are we there yet?"