HAPPY NEW YEAR!! The start of a new year is such an exciting time! Most of us are coming off of some sort of break from work or school. If you didn't have weeks off, hopefully you at least had time with friends & family, and had a good meal or 2 in there.
So let's get real. Since March, you've been saying you're gonna lose the weight. I'm getting my body right for summer! And then it was suddenly summer, and those couple months had slipped away, along with your motivation to get fit. Summer ended, and it was basically Halloween. How can I diet with all this candy around? Halloween rolled right into Thanksgiving. No WAY I'm dieting in November! Then it was all downhill from there. 2017 slipped away, and for the nth year in a row, so did that resolution to get fit.
That's okay.. Now it's the beginning of the year, we're upon resolution season, and you're READY to stick to it. But where do you start? Well I'm glad you asked. Surely, you've at least googled some sort of plan. Eating guidelines, workout ideas. I won't go over those things in this particular blog (but will have ideas in future blogs). This particular blog is about giving you start up tips that will help you stay on track! So let's get started!
BE S.M.A.R.T.
Let's talk about goal setting. "I want to lose weight," is not a good goal. I'm not saying that if that's your goal, you shouldn't want to lose weight. I'm saying it's not SMART.
I'm not going to get into the detail of goal setting here, or you'd be here all day.. If you'd like more info on setting SMART goals, go read >>this blog!<<
SLOW & STEADY WINS THE RACE
It's easy to get excited about your new fitness regimen, go out and buy a bunch of kale and chicken breasts, and start going to the gym twice a day (<<okay, maybe that part isn't that easy). But my point is, when you get excited about something, you're probably going to want to go all out. But that is a large part of why people get burnt out so fast. So instead of clearing your pantry, and signing up for 10 personal training sessions per week, start slow. Remove only a couple of things from your diet. Have an affinity for the drive thru? Try to cooking at home for a week or 2 straight. Limit your sugary drinks and give yourself a water quota. In the gym, let's start with 2-3x a week. Just to get comfortable.
Once you've conquered those goals, fine tune it a little more. Make another small change to your diet, add another day or class to the gym. Chipping away at your goal in these small pieces will help you stay the course.
DO YOU, BOO-BOO
When you're getting started, there are going to be a lot of people giving you a lot of advice. You should try this product, that diet, this gym, that class. It's going to be very overwhelming. But don't feel like you have to do it all! First off, not everyone is an expert, and most people (while they have good intentions) just don't really know what they are talking about. They are regurgitating info they heard, or maybe they are even trying to sell you something. OR, they are just telling you what worked for them. That's all fine and dandy, but what works for someone else, may not work for you. Or maybe it will, but you won't enjoy the process. Some people like protein shakes. They can shake it up with water, and drink it after workout. Some people despise protein shakes. They'd rather eat apple slices with peanut butter. So while your friend has had great results going to hot yoga 3x a week, maybe the idea of exercising in a 90 degree room sounds like the last thing you want to do.
It's all about trial and error! Try something for a few weeks. If you don't see it as something you can see yourself enjoying and sustaining, switch it up! I'm gonna shout out my mom right now because she is a great example of this! As a fitness enthusiast, I was always trying to convince her to eat healthy & work out. She didn't really enjoy it, so she didn't stick to it. Then she picked up running groups, which she loved, so for about a year straight, she was into that! Ran a bunch of half marathons, and even completed a marathon! An injury took her out of that, but eventually started working with a trainer.. At some point, that ended. She didn't love it, I guess.. But recently, she discovered Crossfit, and she loves it! She also found a diet "plan" that works for her.. She calls it Keto-ish. She is no longer miserable about food, and enjoys exercise! She feels strong in her body, and is killing it!
HOWWWever.. While you're in your trial and error phase, make sure you stick with something long enough to really decide. Don't do something for 3 days, then decide it isn't for you. Give yourself at least 3-6 weeks to decide!
FIND YOUR WHY
I think this is the most important piece of the puzzle. None of the above matters if you don't have a why. Not having a strong connection to your why is going to be the number one risk factor for falling off. Having a why changes everything. So I encourage you to write this down. It could be one reason or 100, but knowing WHY you're doing this will help you stay the course.
I want to look/feel good in my wedding dress.
I want to feel stronger.
I want to be able to play with my kids.
I want someone to be proud of me.
I want to finish something.
I want to check marathon off my bucket list.
I want to live long enough to meet my grandchildren.
I want to feel confident because I was bullied as a child.
^^See how real we can get? Try to get down to the nitty gritty of WHY you want to achieve your goals. Stare it in the face everyday. It'll help motivate you, when you feel like your tank is empty!
IN CONCLUSION
Honestly, there is so much more I could say. So many more headings and tips I could put here. I could probably write a thesis on it (hmmm... food for thought), but I won't do that here. Start with this, and see where it takes you. If you focus on these tips, I have no doubt that you will be able to achieve your goals! I will be writing many more specific blogs on staying motivated, learning your way around the gym, food tips, etc.. So much more to come in 2018, so stay tuned! I'm looking forward to sharing my passion for health & fitness with you!
Cheers to 2018!
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