Who isn’t ready for a new year?? 2020, you certainly made us stronger mentally, so now let’s make it happen physically too.
2020 took away our gyms and for avid workout people, this was not favorable at all. Left to work out at home, many people became uninterested in trying to make something out of nothing. Being sedentary became the new norm and eventually, the consequences for this began to show in the mirror. For those who were already “sitters”, the problem exacerbated, and the trap of waiting until the virus goes away, to workout set in.
The problem is that pounds come on a lot faster than they come off. The snacking, the extra portions, the sugary beverages, and the little treats here and there add up even if you were trying to be good. The metabolism of a 10-year-old no longer exists for you.
So, how do you stay on it this time?? Here are 5 rules to follow and help you keep to your goals this year:
1. Do what you have time for, not what you have to add time to
I find that people who add hours to their day to make a goal work, fall off much quicker due to the extended capacity of their time. Telling yourself you are going to wake up 2 hours earlier or any amount of minutes earlier presents an additional challenge to your sleep.
So now you have to go to bed earlier or just function on less rest. I suggest building the workout into existing hours. If you normally just watch T.V. or read after work for a bit, replace this time with your workout time. If you have to run the kids around to practice after work, replace this time waiting in between to workout.
Happy hour might have to go. Do you see how you aren’t adding hours to your day? You are incorporating into your day what you can do. If it’s 30 minutes, that is better than no minutes. Don’t focus on quantity, focus on the quality of what time you do have.
2. Invest in it
A financial responsibility or throwing money at it tends to make accountability stick…..longer anyway. Hire a trainer, get a membership, get the workout clothes you like, and spend the money on the good foods.
If you are paying for a trainer, aren’t you more likely to show up and do it? If you buy food items from a grocery shop, aren’t you more likely to eat and prepare what you have at home versus spending more on eating foods that you don’t know. The word “free” shouldn’t be your go-to adjective when it comes to your health.
3. Add the phrase “No, thank you” to your vocabulary
It is okay to say no to an offer of cookies in the break room. It is okay to say no to social invites. It is okay to say no to plans that would interfere with your workout. It is okay to say no when someone offers you another serving.
It is okay to say no when someone asks you to try something. It is okay. You need to know that saying “no” is a form of self-care because you recognize that saying “yes” all the time has gotten you to your current position.
You might think that you are offending someone or letting someone down, but if that person is on your team, they will understand your reasoning and support your goal.
4. Track it
A post says that if you didn’t post it on social media, it didn’t count. Tracking your workouts and eating habits are another accountability helping tool. At the end of each day, it’s like you won a trophy for a job well done by seeing the results on your fitness tracker or by writing down what you accomplished that day.
This allows you to recognize your progress, stay on task because you don’t want to skip days recorded or have gaps in your tracking, and reminds you each day that you have to check in with yourself that evening, so you better get it done.
5. Have an all or nothing attitude
Some may disagree with me on this one, but the truth is that by telling yourself in the past that moderation is okay or that sometimes you can have treats or you can take a break, you ended up derailing.
All or nothing doesn’t mean you can never have a piece of cake again, it means deciding that one day a week you get that piece of cake and you have it. All or nothing is saying that one day you get a rest day and you take it. You see, all is built into the plan not decided as you go along. You can say I can have 3 beers a week, and you drink those 3 beers, all of them.
So even your “treats” are all or nothing. If you don’t keep to structure, you falter, waiver, and compromise. You say you are going to work out 5 days a week so that means you work out 5 days, nothing more, nothing less. That’s an all or nothing mentality.
Are you ready to get on the roller coaster and stay on the roller coaster this year? There will be highs and lows and bumps and thrills, guaranteed. Fasten your seatbelt and pull it tight. It’s your time to ride. No more waiting in line. Best of luck and here’s to your year of goal crushing.
