Have a WHY. You must have a reason why you want to start an exercise/nutrition program. It can't simply just be, "I want to lose weight." Dig deeper and ask yourself "Why do I want to lose weight?"
Be excited. Congratulations! You have just started one of the best things you can do for yourself. Be EXCITED! Realize this is the start of something beautiful, one of the biggest reasons I love what I do is to be able to change the lives of others. You can have such a huge impact on someone and not even realize it in todays world; social media has allowed us to all find others who encourage and support us.
You will have to make sacrifices. First things first, you have decided to make a healthy lifestyle change. You cannot keep junk food in your house - I don't care how much you tell me you have the will power not to eat, GET RID OF IT! Throw away your pizza delivery coupons & get rid of the Oreos. You also cannot go out and eat fast food everyday for your lunch break - always ask yourself, "does this get me closer or further to my goal?" If its further, leave it alone.
Break TV, Social Media habits in favor of exercising. MAKE THE TIME! So the biggest excuse I always get, and is proven to be the biggest barrier to exercise is not having "the time." We all have 24 hours, Michael Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, Steph Curry, WE ALL HAVE 24 HOURS! You may have a busy schedule, so do they. Instead of watching 30 minutes of television after work or before bed - grab some resistance bands off Amazon and do a small at home workout! Even if you just do this, you are doing way more than 99% of the population - and you are taking action not just talking about doing it!
Be consistent. This one is very important - as this helps develop the mindset needed to be successful at a workout program. BE CONSISTENT!
Don't make excuses. Finally taking that vacation you've been dying to go on? Family is in town? Didn't have the time today? These are all extremely common excuses we make to convince ourselves that falling off the path is okay. One major tip is purchase resistance bands for yourself like stated in #4 - that way if you are short on time, you can at least do something at home - something is always better than nothing. Family is in town? That doesn't mean you have to skip your workouts and eat garbage just because they do. Prep your meals as you always would, set aside time for the gym as you always would - if you are serious about your goals, these are things you have to learn to do. Your family may make fun of you at first - but once they see the changes from your lifestyle change, they will be coming to you for advice. I can guarantee it. Plus, not everyone is going to understand your journey - its' YOURS! Eventually they will say something like "yeah she went to the gym." "Yeah, she has lost alot of weight and looks great from doing all that she did." We all have that one family member who is the loud drunk, right? Well you will be known as that one family member who is a health freak. And thats not such a bad thing - now is it?
Avoid Procrastination. I always suggest to get your workout done sooner, rather than later. Exercise in the morning can result in a better mood, and more productivity for the rest of the day. Plus, who wants to actually workout at 6pm after work in a crowded gym when thats the last place you want to be? I'm not a morning person either, but from experience I always had better results & was able to stick to a routine better by getting it done first thing. Do the things you don't want to do first everyday - that way it's over and done with, then you can enjoy the rest of your day.
Allow cheat meals. So you've been eating your asparagus, chicken & rice all week. You have lost weight - and feel great.. but you are getting cravings. I highly suggest that you allow yourself a reward system, especially in the beginning stages of this change. If you are used to eating greasy foods, drinking wine, or just having your usual burger - cold turkey almost never works. You will stick to your routine until you mentally drive yourself insane - and then go on an all out binge. Throwing all your hard work out the window. Implement a reward system - depending upon your goals, this may be once or even three times a week (discuss this with your coach or trainer if you aren't sure). If you stuck to everything for the week, and you are on track with your goals - REWARD YOURSELF! Not only does this have a better rate of you sticking to the plan, but you feel more accomplished for sticking to the plan. & just to re-iterate, this is a cheat meal NOT a cheat day!
Self-motivation. If you want to stick to a plan - you have to want it. Bottom line. It doesn't matter who wants it for you, you have to want it for you. One tip I recommend is to spend the first 15-20 minutes of your day listening to motivational speeches or positive music, read a book on self improvement, anything positive. Put your cell phone in the drawer - do not check social media, do not check your messages, do not check your bank account, put it away I promise it will all still be there in another 20 minutes. Nowadays we have so much access to information - and a lot of it is negative. How do you think your day is going to go if you start by reading an article that makes you upset first thing in the morning? Probably not good. This has been proven to have a positive effect on the rest of the day - I have been doing this for a few months now and have noticed a huge improvement on my overall mindset and productivity for the day ahead.
Break bigger goals into smaller ones. So your goal is to lose 30 pounds? Well i'm here to tell you that it wont happen in 30 days. Did you gain the weight in 30 days? NO! So stop falling for these extreme weight loss gimmicks - put in the work, and stay committed. I promise you will see the results. Set a smaller goal - for example: I want to drop 2% body fat this week, or I want to lose 2 pounds this week. These are much more reasonable goals - sometimes we lose sight of all the progress we are making because we are too concerned with the end result. Step back, see how far you've came and enjoy the journey!
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