In my last post, I gave some of the common complaints I hear when people make the choice to improve their health.
From now on, I don't want you to focus on losing WEIGHT. I want you to retrain yourself to think and say, LOSING BODYFAT.
You don't want to simply lose WEIGHT because then you could also be losing muscle mass which we don't want. Losing muscle mass means jiggling and sagging, body parts dragging the ground, and a slower metabolism.
Notice this model is about 10lbs heavier in WEIGHT, but she's leaner. She's leaner because of increased lean body mass (muscle). I'll take 10lbs heavier and everything is up where it's supposed to be. Yes, muscle defies gravity. It's the fountain of youth. (More on this later)
While we're on the subject, let's get it right: MUSCLE DOES NOT WEIGH MORE THAN FAT. MUSCLE IS MORE DENSE THAN FAT AND TAKES UP LESS ROOM. Think of it like this: 5lb dumbbell vs. 5lb feathers. Muscle is the dumbbell, fat are the feathers. Both 5lbs, but the feathers take up a lot more space. Even better here's what it looks like.
OK back to "It's already been 6 weeks, I've been exercising, and eating salad. I've only lost 3lbs" example. There are two things wrong here.
1)Unrealistic Timeframes
2) No real plan.
Unrealistic Timeframes
How long did it take you to gain weight? During my "wilderness" season of life, I put on 30lbs in about 4 years.
Breaking it down that's:
7lbs a year
.6lb per month
How did that happen? It was a slow and steady accumulation of bad habits. I didn't just decide to eat the whole buffet one day and put it on overnight.
Brace yourself for this next bit of news. Ready?
Give yourself about a year to lose the fat and keep it off.
Before you stop reading and go back to the informercials and shows that tell you that you will drop
50 lbs in 2 weeks, keep in mind that there will be a LOT of progress in that year if you are CONSISTENT and form good habits.
Give yourself at least 3 months of CONSISTENT clean eating and effective exercise to begin to see a permanent change. This is a LIFESTYLE makeover. Life is going to happen and there will be obstacles and setbacks. You aren't on the Biggest Loser...this is real life.
Action Steps
1. Set your Big Goal and give yourself a realistic timeframe for progression
*WRITE IT DOWN...THIS IS NON NEGOTIABLE*
Big Goal: Where would you like to be one year from today?
Set goals for thing such as: Clothing size, waist size, fitness level, etc. Refuse to limit yourself to just cosmetics: Do you want to lower your cholesterol? Run a 10K? Run a Half Marathon? Be able to do a pullup (that's one of mine)
Example: By January 2014, I will fit into size 25 jeans , be able to do a pullup, and I will exercise 5 days per week.
2. Set Quarterly, Monthly, Weekly, and Daily Goals
I measure my clients once every quarter. 3 months is enough time to see REAL change. In our fast paced society, we get very discouraged when we don't see results in 10 minutes. People don't get too excited when they've lost 2 inch in 1 month, but when people see they've lost 10 inches in 3 months, that really does help them realize how much progress they've made.
Your weekly/monthly goals should focus more on habits than metrics. Changing your habits is the KEY to long term success. A year of exchanging bad habits for good habits guarantees results.
Examples:
Weekly Goal- I will Buy Fresh Produce and use it each week
Monthly Goal- I will work out 15 times this month.
Daily Goal- I will Drink 64 oz of water per day
ALL OF THIS SHOULD BE WRITTEN DOWN SO THAT YOU CAN HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE AND CELEBRATE YOUR PROGRESS.
At the end of the day, week, month, quarter check in: How did it go? What works? What didn't work? How can you improve?
In Part 2: We will be discuss Clean Eating and Exercise Plans
Fiercely Yours,
C. Fierce
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