I was talking with a Marine Vietnam Veteran who lives down the street from me about weight loss. After seeing my success with the Paleo lifestyle, he adopted it about six months ago and has lost about 25 lbs and his A1C levels have dropped 50% for the first time in over 25 years. He feels better, and his mobility is improving.

While talking, he told me that he was initially disappointed that he was’t losing weight as fast as I did, and that he felt disheartened at one point. He then realized that he’s not in any hurry, and that if he could lose 30 lbs a year, he would be at a healthy weight in two years. I told him that that was a great goal, and that he’s not in a race with me or anyone else. He just needs to lose the weight at a pace he’s comfortable with.

He admitted to me that he’s not as strict with his diet as Sherry and I are, but that he does stick to Paleo as much as he can and as often as he can, and that’s the vast majority of the time. I congratulated him on this, and encouraged him to persevere. He seems to be well on his way to hitting his goal of 30 lbs for the year and onto the next 30 lbs.

Don’t think that you need to lose a certain amount of weight within a time frame. I set goals for myself that I was able to meet through very strict adherence to the Paleo diet, but reaching my final goal has been difficult. I’ve been unable to crack the 175 lbs barrier regardless of how well I eat or how much exercise I’ve been doing. I’m making slow progress, but the progress I’m seeing much more of is in the loss of extra skin on my sides. I’m losing size but not weight right now. I expect that will change at some point, but I need to remember that weight loss is just one measure of health and fitness.

Don’t race. Just do.Take it at your own pace, and allow the changes to occur naturally. It’s okay to set goals, but be realistic and accept when you fall short through no lack of effort on your part. The important part is to keep with it and keep making progress. You may not see it or be able to measure it on a scale, but the changes are happening, and one day you will notice in a big way.