You’re trying to make a complete-180 with your life – all in one jump…STOP
You’re excited about your new workout regimen. You bought new gym shoes, some amazing new workout gear, as well as an entire grocery store of “healthy foods.” You’re ready to do this!
Love the enthusiasm, but hold on a minute. Going all-in too fast isn’t the best idea for long-term success. Let me say that again – Going all-in too fast is NOT the best idea for long-term success. Remember, anything you do is based upon a foundation of your ingrained habits.
If you’re not used to eating chicken breast, broccoli, and blueberries on a regular basis, news flash: Your palate isn’t going to suddenly love those foods. Plus, that initial excitement fades as quickly as a child’s fascination with a new toy. YOU WILL GET BURNT OUT. Same with exercise. If you try to do too much, too fast, you may see some results, but they won’t last and neither will your enthusiasm. You have to have a plan, and some random plan you found on Pinterest won’t cut it for long – it has to be something that is right for YOU and something you can stick with! Otherwise, you guessed it – YOU WILL GET BURNT OUT. What do I mean by that? Mentally, physically, emotionally – all of it – if you find yourself dreading the days’ workout or your next meal you aren’t likely to stick with it long term. Likewise, if you try to push your exercise routine too hard or flip your eating habits completely, your body isn’t going to respond properly…long term. Short term, maybe, because of the intense shock to your system. My guess, though, it will be very difficult and highly unlikely that you will sustain the changes over a long period of time.
The good news is that there’s an easier and less stressful option.
Instead of eliminating all of your so-called bad habits, focus instead on building positive ones: eating quality protein and extra servings of veggies daily and drinking more water is a good start. Once you start getting the hang of those things, maybe you start to keep a food journal. After keeping the journal for a few weeks, perhaps you start to analyze it a bit – looking for an additional item or two that you can cut from the menu. Aside from nutrition, try going to sleep at a reasonable time, and keeping up with consistent training…just focus on getting more quality sleep and hitting those workouts regularly. The workouts may not be perfect and you may feel like you don’t know exactly what you are doing when you start – THAT’S OK! Just get moving and then make it a priority to be consistent with that movement – DAILY! Master that and then begin to educate yourself on the process of developing a sound/purposeful exercise routine (you may struggle with this one…that’s ok, most do. The good news — we have amazing trainers and coaches at 8 ONE 8 who love this stuff, and happen to be really, really good at it)! Remember, just focus on one habit at a time, and keep adding to it over time and you will begin to see results!