“As soon as ______________, I’ll start my fitness and weight loss journey.”
Sound familiar? You know that changing things up is a must if you don’t want to accept what’s happening with your body and your health, but life just won’t slow down and give you the time.
But here’s the truth: you can’t afford to wait.
Whatever has happened up until now will continue unless you say otherwise. It’s about taking action, no matter how slow; just choose to do something good for yourself a little bit every day. Think about it- will you ever be in the mood to deal with weight loss trials?
Something that I can say from working with clients over the years, is that if you’re not willing to do the small things, you won’t do the big things. Therefore, I hope you’ll trust these ideas, start small and remember to celebrate each win as you go (preferably not rewarding with food, though!)
I hope you’ll take action with these five steps to get proactive with your weight loss (starting now):
- First things first- Get to your doc for a heart to heart and a baseline.
Get blood work, a weigh-in, and get your concerns addressed. Be bold, don’t hold back, and definitely don’t judge yourself.
Action Step: Pick up the phone and make the appt. Try to take the first available appointment they have available so you can keep your momentum. (This should take 5 minutes.) Reach around and give yourself a serious pat on the back (for making the move) and be sure to keep the appointment, no exceptions. - Set yourself up for success; carve out YOU time.
Decide right now that you are going to keep appointments with yourself. You say it’s important, now make it so.
Action Step: Schedule a 30 min-1 hour appointment with yourself 3-5 days/week. These get put on your calendar, either written or entered digitally, with no exceptions if you’re serious. Create space. Once you know more details about your direction, you can rearrange the time blocks, so don’t wait. - Now that you have created YOU-time, you get to decide how you’ll be using it.
Action Step: Grab a notebook or journal. Sit quietly for a few minutes and brainstorm. Are you more anxious to change your eating habits, or get your body moving? (both need to happen for most of us whether we need to lose weight or not.) For right now, just make this decision by what’s weighing on your heart more. Answer this question for yourself and write it down as a statement: I am committed to _________________. (ex: I am committed to prioritizing exercise starting today. Or, I am committed to change my eating habits starting right now.)Look at your statement, how does it make you feel? I hope excited! Keep judgment and fear at arm’s length+; they will shut you down if you let them win. No matter how hard the road ahead may feel, remember that babies crawl before they walk and people walk before they learn to run. Weight loss is a journey and it’s a worthwhile one; decide that you’ll embrace the whole experience. - Decide what information you will need to be able to move forward with either decision.
Do you need to make arrangements with your family so you can get to the gym? Do you need to clean out the fridge for a clean slate? Would you like to call a friend who could be a great accountability partner? Look on Pinterest for some healthy recipes? Check into a dance class? Search For a dietician or a personal trainer? Buy some new tennies? Rearrange bedtime so you can get up earlier?
Action Step: you guessed it. Write down what you need to do to move forward. Be sure that you’re clear about it, we are looking for doable items. (Be really honest with yourself, don’t let not knowing be a stall tactic.) If the list has things that you can do immediately, get excited and make them happen! (Think in terms of quick check marks, don’t overthink the easy ones.) If you need to do a task at another time, set the alarm on your phone for a time that you will be able to make that call or clean your fridge and do a “ready, set, go!” when the alarm goes off! - Whether you choose to exercise or diet first (not going on a diet, but figuring out your diet), make today your starting day.
Small steps matter more than you know. Below are some additional action steps that you can take today- prove to yourself that you are ready NOW.
Action Step: YOU CHOOSE!
- Walk for 10 minutes (in place if you can’t venture out)
- Choose a veggie or piece of fruit over your bread, chips, or sweets (for the rest of today.)
- As soon as possible, share what you’re committed to with a trusted friend or family member.
- Look up “whole food recipes” on Pinterest and let yourself browse.
- Do squats or counter push-ups while waiting for the microwave to cook or your water to boil.
- Walk or run up and down your stairs 3x. (or 5 or 10!)
- Chug some cool water and set your phone alarm to remind you to do it again in an hour.
- Clean out one drawer of your fridge. (bet you’ll keep going!)
- Find a podcast or two on your smartphone that can keep you inspired! (Hit me up on Facebook if you need suggestions!)
- Throw away tempting food that you know you don’t want to have in your space right now.
- Do 20 jumping jacks (or step out jacks) or burpees, or, or, or!
- Remember this phrase: “you can’t outrun your fork!” (exercise has so many amazing benefits, but weight loss and weight gain depend very much on hand to mouth habits!)
Every single action you take that gets you closer to your stronger body or eating healthier food is a win. Small wins stack. Persistent small wins eventually create big wins. It’s called momentum; just like a locomotive, it takes some steam to get moving, but soon it’s going full force and can’t be easily stopped!
These 5 steps and extra starting ideas will get you in forward motion. Keep adding to them, and promise yourself that you’ll show up for yourself every day in some way.
Here are a few extra pointers for your weight loss or wellness journey:
- Think of your heart as a muscle, the more exercise it gets, the more efficiently it works! Get it pumping and get the added benefit of extra endorphins —> energy! Bonus; when you work up to HIIT workouts, your weight loss will include extra fat loss!
- Be disciplined about your sleep. Being intentional with your diet and exercise takes energy and focus which can both go out the window when you’re tired.
- Remember that your arteries need to stay clear to carry blood and oxygen to and from your heart and brain. Be kind to your body and watch the crap food. (we all like it, it just does a ton of damage when overdone!)
- Sit and be still for 5-15 minutes/day (longer is even better when possible). Get in touch with who you are, how you feel, and what you want to stand for. I call it slowing down to go fast.
- Keep your goals on your front burner, come engage with me on my Facebook page!