Today I want to talk about what it takes to be consisent even on those days when frankly you just don’t want to do anything right. You know the days… You want PJs, Netflix and maybe a gallon of ice cream.
Mindset is the key!
It isn’t supposed to be easy I heard myself saying for the billionth time to a lovely woman who was struggling to get out the “morbidly obese” category. She had just finished expressing how she was wanting things to happen faster with less effort. “Why is this so hard?”
I run into this a lot and it always goes back to mindset. Today I want to share with you some key mindset elements you must have to be successful with your health goals.
The first area I want you to consider is how bad do you want the results? If you are wanting to get into a smaller pair of pants, how bad are you wanting to lose weight to see that happen? Are you more comfortable in your current state than you are willing to admit to yourself and your family or are you really all in? It will require you to be all in to be successful. If you aren’t all in then come back to this message when you have that one piece in place. That longing desire for success is required for the rest of the pieces to fall into place.
So you are still with me so you are all in and really just can’t figure out the consistency thing? Maybe you have been watching me show up every day for 8 years and your like… HOW?! Don’t worry I am going to share my secrets with you.
1. Make it non-negotiable:
Life will definitely throw you a curve ball and maybe a lot of them. Your kids will interrupt your plans. Your spouse will need something right when you are about to get started. You will get called into work. It will happen. Face that it will happen now before you begin and you will be prepared when it does once you get started.
Before you even begin you have to decide and really commit to your new plan being a non-negotiable. This is time you have allocated to your health and frankly it should be super important to you. Allocate the time at a specific time of the day and set it up in your calendar if you use one. This is an appointment you have with yourself. Most of my clients are on plans that are about 30 minutes a day. This is super easy to squeeze in.
Take away: Schedule it on your calendar like you would if you had an appointment with Thomas Jefferson because you are more important than anyone! 😀
2. Visualization:
Visualization of what you want to achieve is key. I had clothes that I wanted to be able to wear. That helped me a lot. Many of us have pictures of us in a healthier state. I found some of these old pictures and used them for motivation. Maybe you have a swimsuit that you would be thrilled to wear? Print that baby out and put it on your refrigerator. Visualize yourself achieving those goals.
Take away: What visually inspires you? EXPLOIT IT!
3. Plan:
Your plan should include your workouts, your nutrition plan, and support. This is where I see people pitfall more often than not. They will develop a plan and then stumble in one of the areas and quit. This isn’t going to be an overnight success. You will have a plan. You will stumble. You will get back to it. You will stumble. You will fight harder. You will stumble again. And again. And again. The key is to get better, stronger, wiser with every slip. Eventually your slip ups will be indulging in too much sugar in a whole food nutrition plan versus eating at McDonald’s at 10 pm. It takes time and patience. This is an area I work very closely with my clients in to keep them on track through their stumbles until they are able to fly on their own. If you are interested in working with me one on one you can find more information here.
Your plan should also be very customized to your needs. This is where having a trained professional come in is helpful. I typically will assess what your time, financial, space and other restraints are and find you a plan that you will not only survive with but that you will LOVE! I love fitness and it is always my goal to pass that love on to others.
Take away: It is imperitive that you have a plan that covers your schedule, your goals, fitness, nutrition and support.
4. Tracking:
I track my progress every week for myself and my clients. This is a great way to see your progress and to have baby triumphs as you work through your journey. I typically will have my clients weigh, take pictures and measurements based on their goals. The key to tracking is that you are tracking what is important to your success. If you are struggling to show up for your workouts we would track that. If you are struggling with eating well then we would track your eating.
Take Away: Tracking your progress will keep you inspired to continue your journey.
5. Stop the excuses:
We all have them. We all do. Even me. But the longer you make excuses and grind your wheels the longer it will take you to make any progress.
If your excuse is money think about this… If you really wanted something you would find the money. So before we began I asked you to first decide if you REALLY wanted to get results or if you were still too comfortable to make a change. This is a big area where you’ll know that you just aren’t really ready. Now I am referring to money as an excuse. Not when there is a legitimate money issue.
If your excuse is time… We all have the same 24 hours. I bet there is some time is your day that you are burning. We are only looking for 30 minutes. We are looking for 30 minutes for you to take care of YOU! If I can find time I promise you can and I work out 1-2 hours a day.
If your excuse is space… I have worked out in an RV. I am pretty sure you have more room than that but if you don’t than let me know and I will find something that works for your available space. Easy.
Remember there is a difference between a legitimate hurdle we have to overcome and an excuse. You will know the difference.
Take away: Be able to identify an excuse versus a hurdle. Eliminate the excuses and overcome the hurdles.
I believe if you make your health non-negotiable, you have a strong plan, you create a time to workout, and you track your progress then you will win at your goals.elps you when you are considering your menus for your family as well as what you can hopefully expect at the market. |
