Progress isn’t always loud. Trust the quiet work.
I am currently in a calorie deficit phase.
And I got frustrated as all hell just recently.
I was doing so good…. coasting on through and being “rewarded” by the scale every single morning.
Until I wasn’t.
That’s the thing about this process… progress isn’t always loud. Sometimes, the most important work is the stuff no one sees… not even you. The scale might not budge, the photos might look the same, and your clothes might fit the same for days or even weeks. But that doesn’t mean your effort is wasted. That’s the quiet work… the mental shifts, the micro-decisions, the discipline when no one’s watching.
Quiet work: the small, unseen acts of discipline that build big, lasting change.
That’s what builds sustainable change.
But knowing that doesn’t mean the frustration disappears.
One morning, I stepped on the scale and it didn’t move. It didn’t move four different times I got on and got off of it. I even changed the batteries. And I disconnected the Bluetooth and reconnected it. That would be a full on temper tantrum in the bathroom.
And I know better… but I still get it.
I get it fully when that stupid thing doesn’t move and how frustrating it feels.
And you get to have that.
I’m not gonna tell you to not look at the scale.
Look at it. That’s probably a goal.
I mean, yeah… have other progress measurements too like pant size, measurements, photos, NSVs, changes in your capability… but that number is still a number that you see.
It is still data that is coming in. And it’s still frustrating when efforts don’t equal outcomes.
In the moment.
It’s frustrating when efforts don’t equal outcomes… in the moment.
Yeah, I’m going there.
And I am just as guilty.
This process takes time. It always has. It always will.
Do you see it?!?!?!
This graph is day 25 of my last cycle to day 25 of this cycle and it is equivalent to 10 pounds lost.
That is a very successful amount even more so for where I’m at. 
To give you perception, I am 44 years old. I am 5’6” tall… the doctor says I shrunk an inch but I’m holding tight to it. And I started at 164.2.
10 pounds in one month is a big deal.
Buuuuuut do you see that week that sat there like a bumpy plateau?
I was still angry when that happened.
I actually sat here and said, “see! It’s not working”.
And I really do know the things. I know a lot of the things as a coach myself.
But I also know that I can’t keep doing, doing and doing myself all the way through something that I need to simply sit in. I need to wait. I need to be patient.
Keep doing the things I am doing because they are the processes that align with where I want to go.
That week… “past me” would have probably broke down and loosened up the reins on my tracking and had a whole “ what does it even matter” moment.
Returned to grabbing some bites, licks, and tastes because “it’s not working anyway”.
Had some ice cream, knowing damn well that I didn’t have macros left for it because “there’s no point in me feeling miserable trying to stick to this when it’s not working. I might as well be happy with my bowl of ice cream”.
And then guess what would have happen next?
I would get on the scale the next day and I would be super pissed off that I wasn’t down again.
But I was actively screwing myself over. All because
- I couldn’t sit in my emotions for a moment.
- I couldn’t sit in my deficit for a moment.
- I couldn’t sit in my processes for a moment.
That was me. And that was me even a year or two ago. I was in a different headspace.
This isn’t something that we can fix once and it’s just fixed.
Some of these things take intention from here on out.
I’ve come to learn that these quiet, unglamorous moments — the ones where you choose to stay in it instead of give up — that’s where the real transformation happens.
Not when the scale moves. Not when the jeans zip.
But when you sit in discomfort, honor your process, and keep showing up anyway.
That’s the quiet work. And it’s where the long game is won.
This time though…
I had my temper tantrum and then I told myself to give it a week.
Give it a week to see if it’ll move again. You’ve got tons of weeks to spare. What’s one more week?
And at the end of the week… it dropped again.
And it continues to drop.
Because I continue to do the processes that align with that outcome. 
Those processes will always get me on a path that is better in the terms of weight management, then the processes that don’t align with that. I know… it’s not rocket science. But in an emotional state, none of that logic really feels like it’s logic-ing.
I just needed to sprinkle in some self-compassion.
I needed to remind myself to zoom out and think longer term than that one moment.
That perspective is what keeps you going when you wanna just throw your hands up in the air and give up.
We need to move through it all.
Frustration → Recognition → Patience → Progress
So the next time…
…the scale sits there and refuses to budge, remember this moment. Remember that frustration is temporary, but the process is permanent. A single number can only derail a week’s worth of consistent effort if I allow it.
Next time, give yourself permission to feel the disappointment without acting on it impulsively. Acknowledge it, maybe even throw a mini temper tantrum like I did… but then let it go. Because one stalled day, one stalled week, does not define the journey… unless we continue it.
Next time, double down on patience. Learn to trust the process… our previous consistency brought the outcome… we need to keep doing the things that align with our goals, and remind ourselves that progress is cumulative. The scale might not always reflect it immediately, but the work being put in is never wasted.
So if you’re staring down a number that won’t budge…
Or you’re deep in that “why isn’t this working?” headspace…
Take a breath.
You might just be in the middle of your own quiet work.
Stay the course.
It’s working… even if it’s not loud about it.
I hope that helps!
With Love, Coach Nik
