Following a diet or eating plan is not just about having willpower. Way too often we are hardwired to believe that the main factor you need to stay focused and stay on track is willpower.
The real message that should relayed is to get to a healthy body weight and maintain it, has nothing to do with ‘willpower’. People who maintain a great figure year round do not depend on this every single day. Instead, they have made their behaviors a habit. This does not require daily energy and becomes part of who they are. No thought necessary. It’s just part of their everyday life, just like how coffee-drinkers wake up and the first thing in their day is to pour a fresh cup.
If CEOs of giant corporations can FIND time to workout, you can too. Let’s do some math: Even if you start with a 1 hour workout, 3 times per week… With 168 hours in a week, those 3 hours is only 1.8% of your week. That’s not a lot, let’s be real.
4 week transformations can look great on social media, but the big questions is: did those results last 1 year later? Or did we end up back where we’re at or maybe even worse?
Let’s try something new: don’t set an outcome goal, let’s set a behavior goal!
For example… say your goal is: “I want to drop some body fat”.
That’s pretty vague, my friend. It also has no action steps attached. The more specific you make your goal, the clearer it will be once you get there. Plus, as the specificity increases, the better you can adapt the behaviors necessary to accomplish that goal.
Want to keep things simple and drop some weight? Focus on these 8 behaviors:
1. Read ONE book about training and nutrition (recommended by a professional) and execute that program. Don’t try to complicate your life by adapting “this eating method from here” and “pulling a workout routine from there”. Follow one book and do it proper.
2. Go to the gym/workout at home 3 days per week (minimum) — even if means you only start with 30mins, we are working on building your habit!
3. Drink half your body weight in ounces of water per day. (For example, if you’re 200lbs, drink 100oz of water per day.)
4. Eat four unprocessed meals per day that contain a healthy protein source and vegetable source in every meal.
5. Get eight hours of sleep every night.
6. Consume 4 or less alcoholic beverages per week.
7. Buy a high-quality multivitamin and fish oil and take them with breakfast everyday.
8. Accomplish strategies 1 through 7 without telling yourself a BS story about how you’re too busy and your schedule doesn’t allow for it. Yes it does.
Statistical data is that 95% of people who create resolutions have already dropped out of their pursuit by January 15th. This includes the people that even write down their goals.
95%
When you make decisions and goals: DO IT. Make a commitment to yourself, even when no one is watching. See things through to the end. Do you even remember the last time you did that? I bet it felt pretty damn amazing! And if you can’t remember, this is the time to do just that! Only you can make the decision every single day whether this will mean something or nothing.
Weight loss, getting healthy, adapting habits take time. You certainly didn’t gain the weight overnight. Allow at least 8 weeks of consistent and honest effort. This about where you will really start to see the benefits, develop mental grit and create the habits that will serve you for a lifetime.
Old habits are hard to break, I get it. Start simple, eat the things you know you should eat and remove the things you know you should remove.
It can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit and an average of 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic. So be sure to give yourself grace and forgive yourself if you are still struggling after only the first week. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Many of the tips I have accumulated into this post, I have learned from Coach Dan Garner – Strength Coach & Nutrition Specialist.
Take care,
xoxo Amy
