After the holidays and the new year begins, many people in Irvine, CA, face the consequences of months of consuming too much food. Others want to get healthier and start on a path to a better lifestyle. It’s when everyone creates fitness goals that often fizzle out in a few months, weeks, or days. Don’t give up. You can make your goals come true in 2024 and see success by making a few changes.
Set specific goals and write them down.
Writing down a goal may seem simple, but it’s a powerful tool. When you write down a goal, you’re using more of your senses and imprinting it on several parts of your brain. It should be a specific, positive goal. Don’t write an, I won’t style of goal like I won’t eat junk food. Make it a positive goal. I will eat healthy meals and include 21/2 to 3 cups of vegetables daily. When you write down a goal, you also have visual reminders you can post throughout your home and read throughout the day, imprinting it more in your brain.
Create a workout plan of action.
Schedule your workout and make it a permanent appointment with exercise. If you’ve previously vowed to exercise daily but that vow only lasted a few days, it’s time to change your approach. Put exercise on your schedule as you would any appointment. If your workday is hectic and you’re never sure when it ends, schedule your workout before it starts, first thing in the morning. If you’re not a morning person, find a time later in the day or break your workout into several shorter sessions daily.
Make small changes to boost the potential of success.
Everyone is different and has different goals. You may want to lose weight, while your neighbor or family member may want to increase their endurance. Each person’s goal varies, and so will how they increase the potential for success. Getting more active boosts endurance. Add activities like taking the stairs to your day. If you want to lose weight, start meal planning and have healthy snacks ready to eat when you need an energy boost.
- Identify other areas in your life that impede progress. For example, lack of sleep can make you hungrier by increasing the hunger hormone and reducing the satiety hormone. It can make you too tired to workout or experience an effective workout.
- Don’t overdo it at first. Don’t cut calories to a starvation level if you’re trying to lose weight. Instead, learn how to eat healthier. Don’t overdo your first few workouts or overtrain. It will leave you too sore to continue.
- Take it easier on yourself if you have minor failures along the way. If you overate one day, all is not lost. Just start fresh the next day. Don’t give up if you miss one exercise session. Start again the next day.
- Keep score. Video games are addictive because they track your progress and provide a goal. Tracking your fitness progress does the same thing. Record your workout, including the number of reps and sets, creating a visual record of your progress.
For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness