Results: What Can You Expect?
Managing expectations is one of the most overlooked – yet essential – parts of any successful change journey.
A lot of people think they need to set sky-high goals to stay motivated. That if they aim lower, it means they’re lazy or lack ambition. But here’s the truth:
Having realistic expectations isn’t demotivating – it’s one of the most motivating things you can do.
When your expectations align with what’s actually possible (and sustainable), you stop burning out or feeling like you’re constantly falling short. You stay the course. And over time, that’s what delivers Were you encouraged to move, play, and take part in sport
What actually determines the results you’ll see?
There are three main factors that shape the changes you can make, and the outcomes you’re likely to experience:
Genetics
You don’t get to pick your parents. Which means you don’t get to choose your baseline when it comes to things like:
Body shape and fat distribution
Hormone levels and metabolic rate
How your body responds to exercise or nutrition changes
Genetics account for roughly 40 to 70% of your physical traits – including how easily you gain or lose weight, where you store fat, and your predisposition to certain health conditions.
Looking at your family history can offer insight into your futuret. If there’s a history of heart disease, obesity, or diabetes, there’s a higher chance you’ll need to monitor markers linked to those conditions.
Now — it’s easy to hear that and think: “If my path is already determined, what’s the point?”
Here’s the point: we’re all dealt a hand of cards. How you play them matters more than the hand itself.
Maybe your family history includes heart issues. That might be what gets you eventually – but through consistent exercise, a minimally processed diet, adequate sleep, and stress management, you may delay that timeline significantly. Instead of issues showing up in your 60s or 70s, maybe you push them into your 80s or 90s.
Formative Years
Your early years – especially from puberty through early adulthood – shape more than just your body. They shape your habits, mindset, and even your sense of identity.
Were you encouraged to move, be active, and take part in sport
Did people around you model a healthy relationship with food and movement?
Were you told things like “you’re just big-boned” or “you’re not athletic”.
These early messages – whether said out loud or subtly implied – often shape how we view ourselves well into adulthood.
You’re not stuck with those patterns forever. But knowing where they came from helps you understand why some beliefs and habits are harder to shift than others.
Lifestyle: The Part You Control
This is where the real change happens.
Your current lifestyle – your daily choices, routines, and environment – is where you have the most influence.
Some studies suggest lifestyle accounts for 10–20% of health outcomes in the short term. That might sound small, but it doesn’t tell the full story.
Because:
Exercise improves body composition, bone density, metabolic markers — and even how your genes express themselves (via epigenetics)
Nutrition impacts energy, mood, inflammation, immune health, and long-term disease risk
Sleep, stress, and recovery shape hormone function, appetite, metabolism, and decision-making
No, you can’t rewrite your DNA – but you can change how your body responds to it.
This is where your energy should go. Not chasing someone else’s version of ideal – but building a lifestyle that maximises your potential.
Maybe That Dream Body Isn’t Coming – And That’s Fine
There’s something worth saying here that may seem defeatist but I hope is liberating:
Maybe the “dream body” you’ve imagined for years isn’t actually going to happen.
And that’s not failure. That’s life.
We live in a society that massively over-values physical appearance. It’s sold to us as the ultimate marker of discipline, success, or happiness. But that idea doesn’t hold up under my real-world experience.
I’ve met people in incredible physical shape who were absolutely miserable – constantly stressed, obsessive over food, riddled with body dissatisfaction despite how we may view them.
The reality is: your body is just one part of who you are. And it’s probably not even the most interesting part.
There are people out there who don’t look like cover models – and yet they’re confident, successful, attractive, respected. They’ve focused on developing other parts of themselves:
Their careers. Their mindset. Their sense of humour. Their creativity, ideas, and values.
None of that depends on body fat percentage.
So yes – improve your health. Build strength. Feel better in your skin. That matters.
But don’t buy into the lie that the only version of you worth showing up for is the one with abs.
You don’t need to become someone else’s idea of “perfect” to live a good life.
You just need to become the version of you that’s comfortable in your own skin.