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Do you get to the end of the weekend and have all the right intentions to eat right and train hard starting on Monday? Want them to stick? By following these 7 steps, you may just find those resolutions come to fruition by being able to stick to your goals.
1. Give yourself some time to prepare.
It might sound counter productive, but give yourself some time to prepare before working towards your goals.
If you decide on Sunday afternoon that you want to start going to the gym 4 times a week, plan to have your first session on Tuesday or Wednesday. This will allow you time to consciously think about what you’re going to eat prior, what you’re going to wear & what your training program will consist of.
It will allow you time to prepare yourself and get excited about the session instead of psyching yourself out of it at 6am Monday morning.
2. Make your goals fit your priorities.
You might see people on their Instagram stories training at the crack of dawn but for you personally, mornings are your cherished time spent with loved ones before the daily demands creep in. Or you might see an influencer post about their 24 hour intermittent fasts and start to freak out as that would mean you have to watch your colleagues eat their hot lunches in the staff room while you sit there drooling with a 2L water bottle trying to fill yourself up on H20.
Training at 2pm before the school pick up is just as beneficial as an early session. Eating 3-5 regular meals each day with a balanced diet will still increase your energy levels and help you to lose excess fat.
Choose 3 goals and before you set them in stone, ask yourself if these are specific to your lifestyle and achievable given your current circumstances.
3.Take note of your starting point.
You wouldn’t set google maps to direct you to your destination starting from a different location would you? It’s rather pointless to have direction at all unless you know where the starting point is.
That being said, it is critical that you take notes of where you are right NOW.
Track your diet for a few days using Fat Secret prior to introducing any changes or take photos of your acne if you want to see if your new skin care regime will give you healthier looking skin.
You won’t know how far you’ve come without being able to measure any variations.
4. Give yourself rewards as you go.
There’s something very powerful about delayed gratification. If you won $10,000 tomorrow, would this teach you how to be frugal and save? Not necessarily…
Instead of starting on a weekly Light & Easy meal package on the first week of your diet, perhaps keep this as a reward for the 2nd week, once you have proven to yourself that you can actively grocery shop without buying any junk food and set aside some time to prepare meals. Stick to your goals and then treat yo’ self!
If you are one to spend $500 on Nike apparel before you get to the gym for your membership sign up, perhaps allow yourself to spend $100 every 2 weeks rather than all at once, but with a condition that you must train 4 times a week to reward yourself with the spending budget. By then, you would have kept to a consistent training plan for 10 weeks with a brand new wardrobe of apparel which you KNOW you will use!
5. Wear clothes that make you feel confident.
Just because the bulky guy at the gym wears stringer singlets with his nipples showing, it doesn’t mean you have to!
Choosing clothing for any occasion looks best when the person wearing it looks comfortable and confident. There’s nothing worse than having to constantly adjust your outfit as the clothing is riding up into areas you don’t want it to.
Wear what suits you and not what you think you should wear. This will give you more motivation to get out there, embracing yourself and achieving your goals.
6. Have a few people holding you accountable.
It’s easy enough to tell yourself you are going to start a new health routine and back out when the going gets tough. Yes, you’ll feel the guilt, but if you have set these plans time and time again with no success, your mind can actually guess what will happen based on the behaviour patterns, and the habit of failing can start to have less of an effect.
Mentioning your goals to your partner, doctor, personal trainer etc. could just be the kick up the butt you need to remind you of why you started and why you need to keep going.
Don’t have someone in your support system you want to divulge to? Search for a forum, community group or App that will provide follow ups and check ins.
7. Find changes that will bring you JOY!
Following on from choosing goals that fit your priorities, you also need to ensure these goals will bring you happiness!
For example, if you are losing significant weight but notice your mood has been low and you are feeling super tired by the end of the day, perhaps your calorie deficit is too low.
A lot of these goals you set, even if they were thoroughly thought out, may need to be adjusted as you go along.
The timeframe might need to be longer or the measurements you set may be a little too extreme.
Don’t go too hard on yourself. Make sure after every week, you are able to reflect on what you have achieved and be joyful for the journey and for what you have accomplished.
The saying ‘No pain = no gain’, although true, there does need to be some pleasure along the way! Stick to your goals whilst enjoying the ride.