The idea stems from a recent newsletter email forwarded from my own mother, who thought I would enjoy it. In fact, it did. (Thanks, Mom!)
Every single day at work, amongst friends/family, not to mention social media, I hear an excuse as to why they can't lose weight, eat right, exercise, blahblahblah.
It's human nature to be habitual creatures. When someone or something comes along and impresses upon a person to make a change, it's against the grain for that change to happen easily. That doesn't mean it is impossible!
Someone saying "I'm going to start working out… next Monday!" is still a procrastination, and when Monday rolls around, that person has to still make the effort to stick to that plan or push it off until the next week, if at all. For this reason it is important to not only make a plan, but stick to it!
1. Make your goal
What do you want your final outcome to be? Do you want to lose weight? Gain weight? Or just feel better? Your goal could be a number of things, but try to pick something that is easily achieved first, before tackling a bigger goal. For example: "I want to quit smoking, and lose 20 pounds in the next year." Some things to take in consideration: how difficult is it going to be to quit smoking if you're also trying to lose weight? Quitting smoking can easily lead to snacking to replace the oral fixation of the cigarettes. Will this interfere with weight-loss? Reflect on this example, and tackle one thing at a time. You may choose to quit smoking first, you may choose to just work on your weight first, then tackle the vice!
2. Form your plan
This needs to be done in a time-wise fashion. How many months/years will it take to reach your goal? This is the map to get to your goal! Be sure to take in consideration detours, obstacles, and have a plan B! It's easy to say "I am going to eat healthier from now on!" But what happens when your day goes haywire, the kids are running around like crazy, and all you want to do is grab that easy meal fix, i.e. drive-thru or mac-n-cheese, that may or may not be the most calorie-friendly option? Being prepared for when life gets you is what makes you successful with your goal! (Sidenote-this is one thing I do not like about Biggest Loser: it is an unrealistic atmosphere for everyday people. People have work, family, school, life in general that interferes with exercise and healthy eating. We don't have someone coaching us the moment we wake up to the time we go to bed to make good decisions. Great for people on the show, not so much for people watching it on the TV.) Just like we were realistic in our goal, let's be realistic with our plan! You didn't gain 20 pounds overnight, don't expect to lose it overnight! 5 to 10 pounds in 1-2 months is definitely worth a pat on the back!
3. Don't give up!
So, you made a really easy goal, laid out plans A, B, and even a C, yet you're stuck in a rut! Plateauing! You cannot give up! Own up to any mistakes you made along the way, and use it as a tool to know not to make the same mistakes in the future. So what if you cheated last week?! That's not going to undo all of your progress! Like I said previously, where you are right now did not happen overnight, so don't let one mistake make you give up! And even people who stick strictly to their goal/plan plateau in weight, may still have trouble improving their cholesterol, or whatever they're trying to work on may come to a halt despite all efforts. If you feel like you are ready to give up, ask yourself if you are ready to go back where you were before you made any progress, or if you want to worsen what you have a concern about. This is about bettering you, not worrying about anybody or anything else! No excuses, it's just lying to yourself!
No comments:
Post a Comment