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Change Starts with A Plan
Build a house, take a vacation, get stronger, lose body fat, learn a new skill…many things we do in our life need a plan to be successful. Now that summer is coming to an end, what is something that you want to accomplish? This can be big or small…lose body fat, get stronger, less screen time, read more, less alcohol, get outside more, eat breakfast everyday, start Timed-Eating, learn the Boot Scootin Boogie, etc…
Do you want to get better at pushups? Then set an alarm on your phone for a certain time of day and knock out XX many pushups. Whether it is 5 or 50, set a reminder to keep yourself on track and do the work.
Want to lose 10+ pounds of body fat? That may be more extensive than our pushup goal, but we need to have a plan to get started and keep us on task.
Whatever you put your mind to, you can accomplish…your goals become way more realistic when you have a road-map. Working towards a long-term goal, I suggest knocking out one thing at a time. Breaking these things down to a single month is a great way to not overwhelm yourself and it is also a perfect amount of time to start to create a new healthy habit…two months will really lock that habit in! 😁
I am guessing that most people would have a goal to shed a couple pounds of unwanted body fat. With that being said, I am going to list a few things that would set you in the right direction. Doing all of them at once is not a requirement since changing just one thing can be tough. But I do encourage you to write out your goal, make your own list of steps (or steal mine), and get working on at least one thing for September.
Get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep. When mastering sleep, routine is everything. Try get to bed at the same time every night and within an hour of that time on the weekends. I rank sleep as the MOST important thing for a healthy lifestyle. Read THIS post for a reminder why.
Track your food. Whether you meal prep, eat the same things, or dine out every meal…you NEED to know what and how much you are consuming. This could let you know that you just need a couple small tweaks, or it may be a slap in the face to get you to address your nutrition. Losing body fat is burning more energy than we consume…we can’t solve this equation until we know how much gas we put in our tanks. Sign back into My Fitness Pal or get a free account. Shoot me an email with your username and I can add you as a friend and help you as you go along.
Stop skipping your workouts…and for some, push a little harder. Give your body a reason to recover and burn that fat! Have you ever left a workout feeling worse? NO…some days you need to treat it like your job and just show up…your body and mind will thank you after!
Move more. Walk a little faster than a leisurely pace and you can knock out an extra 10,000 steps in an hour. Take an hour walk at night or break it up over the day. Either way you should be moving an additional hour on top of your workout.
Scan in weekly. Keep yourself accountable by knowing that you have to check your progress every Monday.
Quit drinking. Even though alcohol makes us smarter, sexier and stronger, it leads to excess calories, poor nutrition choices, and shitty sleep…. which in turn leads to even worse food choices. I have worked with enough people to know that alcohol is the number one roadblock for change. Now with the football season starting, two drinks per week could be acceptable…five drinks on the weeks the Vikings beat up on the Pack! 😉
Stop doubting yourself. You can do what you believe and mindset may sometimes be the hardest. Self doubt, bad days, shitty sleep, etc…all of those things can kill your mindset. Write your goals and post them all over, talk to someone when you feel like crap, go for a walk, hit a workout…body fuels the mind!
Plan your meals. Write down what you want to eat for the week and hit the grocery store. If the whole week is overwhelming, start with your breakfast. Get that down, then move onto another meal.
Make yourself accountable. Post your goal on social media or share it with a friend. Having other people know will help you mentally stay on task and will also give you a support group to keep going.
Long-term health and fitness starts with baby steps. We are going to fall down countless times before we get to where we want to go. The ONLY time we fail is when we stop trying!! Now, get up and write something down and let’s get working on it! If you ever need any help, just ask. 🙂