1. Stop making excuses
This is really the one thing that’s holding us all back! We say we don’t have time. But we spend countless hours watching other people get fit and eat health on social media. We say we don’t know what to eat, but we have countless resources to help us with that. We have people in our lives, (Coach Ash being one of them 🤪) who can help guide us in the right direction. Once we get rid of the excuses and begin to utilize the resources we have. But motivation by watching others doesn’t give you results. Action does! Consistent action.
2. Plan ahead
The one thing I hear most often from clients is that they didn’t have their food prepared or the time to work out. (This really goes hand in hand with number 5) it’s always something along those lines. We can get ahead of this by scheduling days to cook our food in advance. If you don’t like eating leftovers from 2 days ago, then plan accordingly. Check your schedule ahead of time and pencil in time to cook your meals every 2 days or whatever you may need to fit your lifestyle and your preference. We bank on the fact that we always have food readily available at every corner. Which is all FACTS! But we don’t take into account how we will more than likely always choose the option that is most pleasing to our taste buds as oppose to pleasing to the goals we have set for ourselves.
3. Change how you view food
Food can heal us…or kill us. And we have a choice in this! By simply changing how you prepare certain foods, it can add years to your life! It can avoid high blood pressure. It can lower cholesterol. It can cure diabetes! By baking your food instead of frying it can make a huge difference in how your body processes food. By increasing the amount of green leafy vegetables, you can add essential vitamins that your body craves and needs to function properly. By adding more fruits you can do the exact same thing.
And don’t forget how these same foods can help with your skin, hair and nails! As well as your mood. God literally put all the things we need in the natural food that we can consume from the earth. View food as a way to live… not the reason to live. You’ve heard the saying “We eat to live, not live to eat.”
4. Track your progress
We, myself included, have been fixated on the scale. Let’s face it. We have been tracking our weight from the scale since we were infants. As soon as we are born, our family goes around telling everybody how much we weighed at birth and every time we go back to the doctor they base A LOT on our weight. But what our weight can not easily track is how much muscle mass we have. How much water weight we have. How bloated we may be that day due to hormonal changes from our cycle.
Not to mention, each individual is different! The same weight on one person will look completely different on someone else. Begin to put less weight, pun intended, on the scale. Start taking pictures to track your progress. Notice the difference in the way your clothing fits. Track your measurements with a tape measure. You can find those at your local dollar store. And pay close attention to your mood! Take pictures, measurements, notice how clothes fit, cravings decrease, and how you feel. These are all great alternatives to track your progress and feel better about it!
5. Stay consistent (trust the process)
Let’s face it, we live in a world of instant gratification. We want everything NOW! We are spoiled! We don’t even have to leave our house now to get the foods we crave, its dropped off at our doorstep. We don’t have to leave the house to get our groceries. Those can be dropped at our doorstep too. And we want the same when it comes to losing weight. It doesn’t work that way. You didn’t put that weight on overnight and its not going to come off overnight. Take time to get in a routine. Learn to love the process. Figure out the healthy foods your body really enjoys. Learn new ways to prepare them. Do the workouts you love. Not the ones that you see others doing. And do it over and over until you get the results you want. Don’t give up too soon. You will just have to start over, AGAIN!
BONUS TIP: Learn to stop disappointing yourself. This one is probably my favorite tip! I learned to stop disappointing myself and the game changed! Why would I want to keep letting myself down? I’m showing up for everyone else, except myself. That began to feel like the most ridiculous thing I could ever do. Everyone els is getting what they need from me and I’m suffering, miserable and unhappy. Making promises to show up for myself at the gym and then letting myself down. Telling myself I want to lose 10lbs and then going to eat something that I know darn well ain’t gone help me reach that goal. I felt like it was just lying to myself. If I hate for others to treat me the way I was treating myself, how am I any different than them??? And that changed the game for me!
