Since today is a snow day, I figured it was a good time to update my blog! The other day I met up with two of my friends. They asked me to meet with them because they wanted to talk about what has worked for me and they wanted to get motivated. My first thought was "aww that is so AWESOME that I can motivate other people by my hard work". My second thought was that I needed to work with them on 2 things: goal setting and changing their mindset about weight loss.
Goal setting is one of the most important things you need to do to get the results you are looking for. Having a goal in mind will help keep you motivated and also remind you of what you are working for along the way. Do you have a goal for yourself right now? If you do and you are still having a hard time...you need to think about how you are wording the goals you are setting. Any goal you set should have 3 characteristics.
It should be:
- Within your control- your goal should not rely on something someone else needs to do so that you can get there.
- Specific- For example: If I say to myself "I will wake up at 5 AM and workout"...chances are (for me) this is not specific enough. What do I plan to do at 5 AM? Well I don't really have a plan except "to workout". My goals that ensure I will get up at 5 AM for my workout are usually worded as "I will wake up at 5 AM and do my 45 minute body pump DVD". Without the specifics, it is easier to change your goal, or just forget about it all together.
- A good fit with your life-Goals such as "I will cut all carbs out of my diet" are not going to work for you if you love carbs. You have to do whatever is going to make this a lifestyle change for you, not just a short term thing.
One of the other things that I have found to be important along my journey to getting healthy is my mindset. It is ALL about what you put in your head. Yes, weight loss or just being healthy in general is 99% diet and exercise...but a HUGE 1% of it is what you think about to keep you going. If you let one bad meal throw you off because you have the mindset of "oh well I already ruined all my hard work so forget it for the rest of the day", you are a lot less likely to keep going for the long term.
When I was talking to my friends last night, I told them about one time over the holidays when I had one of those moments, that I am sure everyone has at one point, where I thought to myself "Every time I take a step forward, I take 3 steps back the next day". Thoughts like this can completely derail your progress. The good thing is that even though I still have thoughts like this, I have learned how to manage them. As soon as I thought about taking my 3 steps back, I looked in the mirror and said to myself "Really? You are going to let 1 bad day ruin all of your progress? You have come a lot further forward then you have gone back!" It is all about perspective. Every day is a new day...every meal is a new meal. How bad do you want it? Excuses and negative thoughts will just keep you where you are right now. Change your thoughts and you will change your life...I promise.
I felt like I needed to write this blog because I know a lot of people who need help getting motivated right now, so why not share some of my motivation. If you need help getting started, or keeping going, I am here to help! Message me on here or Facebook and let's get you where you want to be! I need more friends on the path to getting healthy! Let's do this!
