Your Ideal Form

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goals

It’s a Long Journey, but Worth It

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Don't let the overwhelm of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway. You might as well put that passing time to the best possible use.

There’s a saying that the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time to plant a tree is right now. Time is non-refundable, so you need to make the most of it while you can. It can be daunting to start on a task that you know will take you a long time. But what would happen if you did nothing? What would your life be like in 10 years if you keep to your current course? Keep your end goal in sight. Now imagine that it takes you every day of those 10 years, but you meet your goal. How much different would your life be like?

Don’t let the overwhelm of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway. You might as well put that passing time to the best possible use.

Reaching Your Goal Weight is 100% Possible

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The thing about reaching your goal weight is that it's 100% possible. It's completely in your control. The only thing stopping you from getting there is you. So get out of your own way.

You CAN reach your goal. Even if you have a big, huge, hairy, audacious goal. You can get there! It won’t necessarily be easy though. You’re going to have to want it. Bad. You’re going to have to make your goal a top priority. You may have to give something up. But more than likely, you will gain so much more! Health, confidence, even a new zeal for life. Set aside the excuses and you will succeed.

The thing about reaching your goal weight (whether that’s on the scale or on the bar!) is that it’s 100% possible. It’s completely in your control. The only thing stopping you from getting there is you. So get out of your own way.

Setting Successful Weight Loss Resolutions

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Setting Successful Weight Loss Resolutions

It’s that time of year again. And with the year this has been, this year cannot come to a close too soon. Bring on the New Year and the Resolutions! Let’s look at steps we can take to make our resolutions a success for the entire year, and not just a January kind of thing.

The Process

Firstly, it is important to focus on the PROCESS, not just the results. While weight loss is a goal that is certainly completely within your control, some others are not. For example, let’s say your resolution was to get a raise. A better resolution would be to make it a goal to call 10 customers every day. Unless you are your own boss, you have no say in whether you get a raise or not. The economy could tank, the company you work for could lose an important contract, or you could get a new boss who just doesn’t like you. You can’t do anything about that. But you can make those calls every day and by doing so make more sales, and likely increase your chances of getting that raise. Similarly, you want to pinpoint those habits that, when done consistently, will be the most likely to help you reach your ultimate goal, and then resolve to do those actions with discipline.

The SMART Formula

These habits should also follow the SMART formula of being Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. So instead of saying “I’m going to eat better”, follow the formula. “I am going to eat 2 servings of fruits and vegetables every day.” You can measure whether or not you’ve eaten those 2 servings or not. You can’t really measure the ambiguous “better”.

The Method

There are two methods for creating change in our lives. It’s a bit like getting into a swimming pool that has water that’s a bit chilly. One method is the jump right in method. You go all the way all at once, getting it done and over with. This method can work well for some people, but for others, it simply leads to failure when they try to take on too much change all at once. If you go from not doing any exercise to deciding to CrossFit 5 times a week, you’re going to get VERY sore and likely quit. The other method involves dipping in your feet, and once you get comfortable, get in up to your knees, and then up to your thighs and so on. As a resolution, it might look something like this: January – write down all meals in a journal. February – track foods eaten in an app that calculates calories for you. March – start measuring your meals to get a more accurate calculation of what you are taking in. April – calculate your TDEE and start slowly lowering your intake to get below that number. May – lower your intake more if necessary, or add in some exercise. And so on.

The Why

Another important component of success with resolutions, New Year’s or otherwise, is to constantly remind yourself WHY you are doing this in the first place. The stronger your reasons, the more likely you are to stick with it when things get hectic. Visualize what a successful outcome will look like for you. Is it looking good on your wedding day or in a swimsuit? Is it being able to play with your children and keep up with them? Is it being able to get pregnant and have a child without being stressed out about potential complications due to excess weight? Is it not feeling ashamed when going or eating out? Imagine yourself at your ideal form. What is different? What is your life like? That is your WHY. That needs to stay forefront in your mind each and every day. You can give yourself reminders with sticky notes on your mirror, a Pinterest motivation board, daily journaling or even meditation. But it is so important to keep your reason for reaching your goal present, to really keep yourself motivated to stick to the habits you resolved to achieve on January 1st!

Achieve Your Body Goals by Focusing on the Process, not the Results

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focus-on-the-process-and-you-will-achieve-your-goals

Goals are a fantastic thing to have. And I’m sure you’ve heard about SMART goals, but just in case, here’s a refresher. Goals should be:

Specific – Not just “I wanna be healthy”, but “I want to be healthier by losing weight”.

Measurable – Not just “I want to lose weight”, but “I want to lose 20 lbs”. Or “I want to drop my cholesterol by 3 points”.

Attainable – Is your goal even possible? Have you achieved it in the past? Do you know others who have gotten there?

Realistic – Even if a goal is possible (running a marathon in under 3 hours, say), it might not be realistic for you.

Timely – There needs to be a time limit. A goal is a dream with a deadline. Without that time aspect, you can find yourself pushing out your goal forever.

So do you have your SMART goal now? Great! Now, we want to focus on the PROCESS that will get us to that goal. HOW will you reach your goal? You might say something like “I will lose 20 lbs in 4 months by eating no more than 1500 calories per day and exercising for 30 minutes 3 times a week.” Your goal is losing weight. The process you have is your diet and exercise plan. The idea here is that if you completely ignored your goal, but still stuck to your process, you would get to your destination regardless.

Many small wins

Focusing solely on your goal means that nothing but that matters. It makes the journey to get there a slog and no fun. This increases the likelihood that you get burned out. By focusing on our process instead, we give ourselves the chance to get many small wins. Every trip to the gym is a victory. Every day you hit your eating goals is a triumph.  Every healthier choice is a success!

Lifestyle thinking

I’m sure you’ve also seen plenty of motivational images about how healthy living is a lifestyle. And it is! If you go on a diet merely to reach a goal, and once there, you stop and go back to your old habits, you’ll end up right back where you started. Goals are fantastic, but we must be cautious of having them be this huge end all be all for us. I trained for and ran a marathon once. After the race, I had no other running goals, and decided to take a short break from running to “reward” myself and recover. I meant for it to be a month. I didn’t run again for over a year! Fall in love with the process instead, and you’ll find it so much easier to keep up your habits well beyond once you’ve reached your goals.

In order to have permanent change, the changes we make must be permanent. This is why it is so important to find a process that works for YOU. In that vein, I’ve created a 13-diet comparison guide that goes through the pros and cons of some of today’s most popular eating plans and give my recommendations on each so you can determine which might work best for you for the long haul. It’s free, so check it out!