How often have you started a new fitness plan with the best of intentions, only to fall back into old habits within a few weeks?
Have you ever been so motivated to change your life and lose weight that you do every to the “T” for the first two weeks?! Yep me too!
But then what happens after those first couple weeks when the weight plateaus, you feel tired, the same day in and day out is starting to get annoying??
Do you stop? Quit? Give Up?
The key is to identify the things that are standing in your way or holding you back, so you can start to avoid “common roadblocks”.
#1 You’re overcomplicating it!!
Keep it simple, especially to start with. Follow a workout plan, have someone make it for you or use an APP to formulate one for you. It is important to have a plan daily so you are not guessing what you’re doing for the day and have the direction! Stick to the basics and focus on consistency.
#2 Track your foods!!
Do you track your foods for a solid week or two and then start to “forget” OR you have never tracked your foods before! Using simple APPs to track like I advise on are key to your food success. You can scan in the foods from barcodes, make and save recipes, as well as copy whole meals from day to day if you’re a creature of habit or have left overs.
#3 Exercise is BORING!
Yes, the same routine and the same workouts do get boring. I will be the first one to admit that! This is why is it important to recognize this ahead of time so you can easily plan for this and switch up movements.
For example, who wants to walk on a treadmill everyday. Nope. Choose activities you enjoy doing to switch it up such as swimming, biking, go for a hike, dancing, yoga, etc. Anything to change the scenery up a little.
Also, create a motivating playlist, listen to an audiobook, listen to a podcast, talk to a friend or family member. Anything to help distract you.
#4 Lack of Motivation and Failing yourself
Let’s start with an example. If you and a really good friend had a lunch date and they didn’t show or stood you up, you would be hurt and disappointed. Well, guess what you’re doing to your body every time you plan to go to the gym or workout and don’t. You’re letting yourself down.
Look for ways to increase your motivation in your daily routine. Create a vision what you want and who you want to be, then work towards it! Find a picture similar to what you are working towards and but in the effort to make that happen. Try focusing on the daily actions it will take to get there instead of only focusing on where you want to be and becoming overwhelmed from the thought of how long it will take.
#5 Make a daily list
I have found more times than none when I don’t have a plan for the day I am less productive. Yes, we do need those days sometimes but as humans we are meant to have structure and work better when we have it.
Start your mornings making list of promises to keep to yourself or a tasks to fulfill. Check them off as you go. For example:
I will track my macros
I will not go into the candy drawer
I will workout today
I will drink a gallon of water
Anything that you want to focus on for achieving the day. Write it down and make it happen. When you don’t check these things off you’re telling yourself you’re not important.
#6 Not enough time in the day
We are all busy and especially in today’s world I feel like there is always something to do or somewhere to go. Take the kids to school, go to work, pick the kids up from school, homework, sports, dinner, pack lunches, etc. 24hours flies by before we know it.
The good thing is the myth that we were told years ago about you have to go to the gym for results or you have to work out 60min every to see results is in fact that, a myth!
What’s awesome is you can do a 20min HIIT class and be sweating more than a grown man playing football!! There are other options are available for workouts or even working out at home to cut down on the travel time to and from the gym.
#7 Your goals and your actions are not matching
When you start your journey usually you have a goal in mind. Something you are working towards. Here’s the thing though, when you have that goal in mind are you doing the steps and actions to work towards that goal??
If you want 100% results, you have to do 100% of the work.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result… but you if you want the result, you have to break the cycle!
#8 Not tracking results, even the small things
It takes weeks for us to actually start seeing changes in the mirror because we see ourselves daily so subtle changes are easy to overlook. A tip for this is to take daily or weekly photos!! Photos are soooo important to your journey because you can SEE the progress and that’s when all of the feels start.
Other ways to track are weekly weigh ins, body measurements, food tracking, self assessing daily habits, workouts, etc.
Small victories are still victories and are important to “keep track of” during your journey!
It’s important to get back on track! Start today!
Self assess, make a list and get back on track. Why wait for the new year… that’s allowing 3 months of bad habits to continue. Make the change today.
PITYFitness is committed to providing you with the knowledge, tools and resources to reach your goals.
Our mission is to Change Lives to Change the World!
As always reach out with any questions!!
EARN YOUR WINS
Chelsea Young, BSN, RN
1 LT USAR
NASM CPT Certified Personal Trainer
NASM Youth Exercise Specialist
IG: @pityfitness_
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