Q: How long does it take to see RESULTS once you start to work out Consistently and eat right?
A: The answer is 100 Days. There is science behind this, and of course you will start to feel better much sooner, but if you are seeking significant changes or are training for an event (such as a half marathon or ironman, or some other type of fitness and endurance competition) you need to leave yourself 100 days to see vast changes and improvement. There is both scientific research behind this, and anecdotal evidence as well.
Some scientific research tells us that it takes 8 to 12 weeks to make significant changes and see fitness results. Still other studies show that you feel better andd begin to have more energy much sooner, which is a welcome sign that you are on the right track and motivate you to keep going. I havev always found it takes 100 days to change for the better, and there is a scientific reason behind this number. The first time I ever tried to transform from flab to fit was when I was in high school and wanted to make first boat in crew. It was the summer between my 10th and 11th grades at Andover, and I had set my sights on varsity, even though I barely could run a mile or do 20 jump squats that summer.
How to Get Stronger, Fitter and Faster
Recently I found an old diary from my 10th grade summer when I was miserable and a live-in babysitter for a family in France. I was eating tons of cheese and bread, stuffing down my feelings over a boy who had not returned my affections, and I had gained weight and gotten far out of shape. Yet my ambitions were to get lean, strong and fierce and make “first boat” on the crew team. I was eager to work hard, get fit, and I only had about three months to do it, since fall crew boats were set by the coach in late September.
Here’s what happened next:
I started taking the kids on excursions around the farm land, them on bikes, me jogging along side, and we would go for 1, then 2 and sometimes 3 miles. They found this joyful, looking at pastures dotted with horses and cows. I then startedd doing up to 100 jump squats in my bedroom after dinner, landing lightly so as not to make a thud and wake up the children or alarm the parents who probably wondered what I was up to in my room.
Within about 100 days of doing jump squats in my room every evening, going for runs and generally dedicating to working out and eating healthier (skipping trhe M&Ms or chocolates and eating more salads, my fitness had started to take hold. It just took three months, and by the middle of September I was able to out row and outrun athletes who were by any measure more athletic looking than me — taller, fitter and with more experience. But I was strong for my size and won seat races. Not only was I in first boat but by the spring I had gotten in good enough shape to stroke the boat that won the all-New Engalnd championship cup, for the first time beating out the juggernaut crew from St. Paul’s School, a rowing dynasty.
I look back at that sad diary of an insecure, almost defeated teenager and think: What changed between early July and getting my act together 100 days later?
I wanted it. I really focused on being consistent. I remember feeling like I had to do something every single day to move the needle forward. Not on the scale but on the inner-gauge of my own fitness levels and how I felt. I did this again many years later, when I hunkered down and got in shape to do my first Ironman triathlon. I had managed to do many shorter races and in my late 40s and as I neared the big 50, I wanted to see what I still could accomplish, fitness-wise.
In just about 100 days of training (swimming, biking and running, sometimes doing more than one workout a day) I went from barely being able to swim 100 yards without stopping to completing an Ironman course of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run, for a total of 140.6 miles covered in just under 13 hours, in Zurich Switzerland. It was my 50th birthday present to myself (taking the time to train and the trip to complete in Europe during a busy summer). At 50, I had never been in better shape in my life.
The Key is Consistency
The consistency of effort, plugging away day after day, doing the workouts, the cardio and following the proper eating plan of avoiding added sugar and “stupidd carbs” allows you to change your body dramatically and get super fit, in just over three months. You can attain smaller goals along the way, of course, and these little wins help you stay the course and reach your bigger goal, which in my case was functional fitness to complete in an event that lasted over 12 hours in the mountains around Zurich. The key is to not try to do the same workout every day, and the recommended daily amount of training is 150 minutes a week, mixing in cardio such as running, biking or swimming with strength training workouts.
It Takes About 100 Days to Transform
If you think 100 days is a long time it’s because the diet culture has held out hope of fast fixes, but even if someone takes Ozempic (or any GLP-1 receptor agonist), the weight loss is gradual, and the loss includes fat and muscle unless you consistently strength train while you are in calorie deficit.
It takes the same amount of time to grow a garden as it does to see the fruits of your labor in the gym. You wouldn’t check the plants every day and expect to see fruit or vegetables maturing week 1, would you? The same is true of your body. It takes working out consistently, at least four or five days a week (and up to six days with a designated rest day) to truly see the results after the first month or two. Keep going. By month three, or the final stretch toward 100 days, you will feel completely transformed. Don’t rush it or you risk injury. Be patient, be resilient, and even when you want to give up, or do nothing, try just taking a walk.
Your body changes 1 Percent a Day
Your body turns over about 1 percent of its cells every day, or about 330 billion cells daily, so within about 100 days, you have turned over 30 trillian cells, or the equivalent of creating a whole new you (give or take some areas of the body, since your brain cells and nerve cells are in a different category, holding memories, language, thoughts, and the knowledge of how to hit a forehand or ride a bike.)
The first time I heard about the theory of a “new you in 100 days” it was in a column written by Dr. Henry S. (aka Harry) Lodge and his co-author Chris Crowley, who wrote Younger Next Year, a bestselling book to see if they could successfully manage to reverse the clock and help Chris become “functionally younger” by working out and dedicating himself to a fit, healthy lifestyle. (Spoiler alert: It worked and he wrote about it in alternating chapters, all about he could ski better and bike better than he had in years as a result of the program.)
The book promised that with a consistent amount of daily exercise (about an hour a day) you too could change your body from flabby to fit, and in doing so reverse the markers for aging and health such as cholesterol, blood pressure, resting heart rate and weight. How long would it take? About 100 days. More on why below.
Harry (who was my personal doctor and a friend) has since died from cancer, a sad outcome for someone so seemingly youthful and fit, and was a wonderful person as well as practitioner. He explained that the body turns over at approximately 1% of its cells a day other than brian cells and nerve cells. So while you remember things you have learned, including information and your tennis forehand, the cells of the skin and muscles, organs and other tissue are in a constant state of repair and rebuilding.
His philosophy: Feed the body like it’s Spring, full of fruits, vegetables, antioxidants and the bounty of a garden or farm, and you train your cells to feel energized, to have the good sense to go out and exercise and rejuvenate. On the other end of the spectrum, if you eat heavy foods and wintery starches, including meals devoid of nutrients and high in calories, your body wants to hibernate. You lose your urge to be active, and instead want to go lie down after a meal.
Add to this information the fact that highly processed foods are high in polyunsaturated fatty acids, which get stored more easily as fat and are harder to use as ready fuel. So when you eat a bag of potato chips you may have just ingested enough calories to fuel your body for hours, but the calories get locked up and you feel hungry again shortly after. The key is to seek food that is nutrient dense and high in fiber, like vegetables, fruit, beans, whole grains and other plant-based sources of protein, all part of diverse diet that makes your body feel full yet energized.
The other key is strength training, mixed in with cardio like biking or running, swimming or brisk walking. When you build a bigger engine (by adding to your lean muscle mass) and then move the vehicle and burn fuel, you have what is a magical mix of energizing activity that helps to put your body into a younger, more fit, highly tuned state that feels like you’re a race car, not a jalopy.
So back to how long does it take to change your body with diet and exercise? About three months, and sometimes even sooner if you have a based and are motivated. Once you set your sites on a date 100 days away on the calendar, think of it as varsity tryouts and get in shape with a functional fitness goal in mind.
That’s why signing up for a 5K or other event can be motivating. Instead of thinking about fitting into your shorts or bathing suit (since that is a nice byproduct but not the main goal, which is fitness and health) you will be able to work toward that goal and know that even if you can’t see the changes or the scale doesn’t appear to budge at first, you are making progress. The key is to stick with it and know that on that 100th day you will be able to look back at the work you did to get here and measure success in the best possible way: By how you feel.
For more helpful advice on Wellbeing, Health and Fitness, check out The Advice Pages Wellbeing content. Have a question? DM us on Instagram @lucydanziger.
Never miss another piece of helpful advice. Sign up for our weekly newsletter.
Leave a Reply