10 workout benefits you can feel from the first week

It’s true what they say: results come with dedication, consistency and, especially… time. A fitness journey is not a sprint, it’s a marathon… a marathon without a finish line.

You can’t reach results if you try to speed up the process. A few months ago I read a quote that stuck with me (sorry, no idea of the origins! If you know the author please leave a comment).

The quote said: ”It takes one month for you to notice the first results, four months for the people close to you, and 8 months for the people that don’t see you often. Just keep going.”

Well, it may take a month to start noticing the first changes in your look, but a week is enough to start feeling the first changes in your mind and body. Here is what I am going through at the moment, after only the first workout week.

1. I AM NOT AS BLOATED AS BEFORE. You all know the feeling of over eating and walking around like a six-months pregnant. After only one week in training and eating the same way, in comparison my stomach is much more flat and less bloated.
2. I DIGEST FASTER. Let’s just say that everything goes as smoothly as it is supposed to go…
3. I AM GENUINELY HUNGRY. And by hungry I don’t mean I want to eat something out of gluttony or boredom: I mean that when lunch and dinner time is approaching, I feel a giant void in my stomach, like if my body is screaming to get food asap. And my stomach is still pretty flat after I eat.
4. I CAN BARELY WALK/SIT/BIKE. Leg day struggles: the act of seating is near to unbearable, not to mention that I bike to work… I feel every muscle of my body being sore, even muscles I didn’t know they existed. One of the best feelings ever.
5. MY POSTURE IS IMPROVING. Consciously or not, I pay more attention to the way I walk, sit, and move. My body looks (and feels) better even by just paying attention to the correct posture.
6. MY SKIN LOOKS BETTER. Ok, perhaps this is a placebo, but I already feel my skin improving, retaining less liquids, and being shinier.
7. I AM SLEEPING MORE AND BETTER. Of course, the quality sleep dramatically changes when you’re tired (you don’t say?). Before I started this training program, my standard day after work would be just going home and laying on the couch watching tv; as result, I would go to sleep way too late, feeling dazed and waking up with a giant headache the following day. Now my after work routine is going to the gym, having dinner, taking a shower and go to bed right away because I’m simply too exhausted. A good way of feeling exhausted. The following morning, I feel more rested.
8. I AM TAKING CARE OF MY WELLBEING IN GENERAL. Not only I am paying more attention to my physical shape: I improved my skin care and hair routine, I am smoking less, and eating healthier. Taking care of something makes you want to take care of other stuff as well.
9. MY SOCIAL LIFE IS IMPROVING. In a previous post I mentioned how committing most of your weekdays to the gym was an ”obstacle” to my social life: for some reason that I cannot define, things are working out differently. Moreover, people feel motivated and impressed when I talk about my fitness journey, and I’m connecting more with people thanks to conversations about fitness, wellbeing, and life goals.
10. I FEEL MORE POSITIVE AND PRODUCTIVE. Regardless the lack of time and energy, my mind is where the biggest change is taking place. Yes, you have to change your mindset to embark on a lifestyle change, but as soon as you start it, it is the lifestyle change itself that changes your mind. In comparison, now I have a more positive, ‘I can and I will’ attitude.

And you, did you notice any of these changes when you started?