Staying on track is the harder part of setting goals. It is easy to list down what we want to happen and by when, but executing the plan and making sure we are on schedule is always the tougher part.
In order to help you reach your fitness goal, it is important to understand that your goals will not be met in one go. It is composed of hundreds (or even thousands) of little steps building up to that one goal. How can we make sure that you can do that? We have some 5 easy steps for you to take, which will definitely help you accomplish your mission.
Set a concrete goal
Goals should be measurable – how many pounds do you want to lose in how many months? If you just say, “I want to lose weight” then you are not helping yourself. How will you know if you can celebrate your success? By identifying your exact goal, you can plan your way backwards, to check if you are on track.
For example, if your goal is to lose 10 pounds in 3 months, then this means you need to lose about 3 and a half pounds per month. So that is nearly 1 pound per week. If you put it that way, it does not sound so bad, right? Then you know that if you are not losing 1 pound per week, you are delayed and you need to hustle up.
Stick to your plan!
Once you have your goals in place and you have broken it down to a weekly goal, you can easily create a daily plan. Check your schedule for the week and do the following:
Have at least one prepared meal per day – whether breakfast, lunch or dinner. This meal is made up of healthy ingredients, low in carbs and fat while high in fiber and vitamins.
Schedule at least 3 instances of exercise of at least 30 minutes in length. This can be a morning jog, one evening biking session and at least one visit to the gym or a swim over the weekend. Now that does not sound too difficult, right?
Set one visit to the grocery along with a list of meals that you should be preparing for, so that you don’t need to do fast food at any time within the week
Avoid eating out too much
After you have done your weekly schedule, keep track of what you eat in a food diary. List down the drinks, snacks and meals that you actually have. Check how that compares to your meal plan. One very easy way to reform your eating habits for a slimmer you is to avoid eating out.
When you eat out, you end up ordering things that you don’t really need or want. Meals that you don’t know what kind of fat is placed in there, how much salt or sugar was included etc. By preparing your own meal, not only do you save money, you also give yourself a chance to strictly adhere to your diet plan. You will definitely reap the rewards of this in the near future.
Use low-fat and low-sugar substitutes
Want to occasionally indulge in something sweet and good? You can still do that, especially as a reward after a long week of exercising or a 10k run! What you can do is to substitute your chocolate cakes and sweet cocktails with a healthier alternative.
Some really yummy substitutes are:
Chilled yoghurt with fresh berries, instead of ice cream
Rolled oats with nuts instead of salted peanuts and other bar chow
Lemon water instead of your typical lemonade with sugar
Chilled iced tea minus the sweeteners
Baked fries or if possible, baked carrot sticks, instead of French fries
Find a support group for encouragement
Lastly, a fantastic way to make sure you stick to your diet is by getting a support group. This can be as simple as your best friend who commits to follow a similar diet plan as yours so that you feel that you are not alone in this. A support team also makes it easy for you to report and celebrate your progress while at the same time, prevent you from slipping out of your “program”.
In order to help you reach your fitness goal, it is important to understand that your goals will not be met in one go. It is composed of hundreds (or even thousands) of little steps building up to that one goal. How can we make sure that you can do that? We have some 5 easy steps for you to take, which will definitely help you accomplish your mission.
Set a concrete goal
Goals should be measurable – how many pounds do you want to lose in how many months? If you just say, “I want to lose weight” then you are not helping yourself. How will you know if you can celebrate your success? By identifying your exact goal, you can plan your way backwards, to check if you are on track.
For example, if your goal is to lose 10 pounds in 3 months, then this means you need to lose about 3 and a half pounds per month. So that is nearly 1 pound per week. If you put it that way, it does not sound so bad, right? Then you know that if you are not losing 1 pound per week, you are delayed and you need to hustle up.
Stick to your plan!
Once you have your goals in place and you have broken it down to a weekly goal, you can easily create a daily plan. Check your schedule for the week and do the following:
Have at least one prepared meal per day – whether breakfast, lunch or dinner. This meal is made up of healthy ingredients, low in carbs and fat while high in fiber and vitamins.
Schedule at least 3 instances of exercise of at least 30 minutes in length. This can be a morning jog, one evening biking session and at least one visit to the gym or a swim over the weekend. Now that does not sound too difficult, right?
Set one visit to the grocery along with a list of meals that you should be preparing for, so that you don’t need to do fast food at any time within the week
Avoid eating out too much
After you have done your weekly schedule, keep track of what you eat in a food diary. List down the drinks, snacks and meals that you actually have. Check how that compares to your meal plan. One very easy way to reform your eating habits for a slimmer you is to avoid eating out.
When you eat out, you end up ordering things that you don’t really need or want. Meals that you don’t know what kind of fat is placed in there, how much salt or sugar was included etc. By preparing your own meal, not only do you save money, you also give yourself a chance to strictly adhere to your diet plan. You will definitely reap the rewards of this in the near future.
Use low-fat and low-sugar substitutes
Want to occasionally indulge in something sweet and good? You can still do that, especially as a reward after a long week of exercising or a 10k run! What you can do is to substitute your chocolate cakes and sweet cocktails with a healthier alternative.
Some really yummy substitutes are:
Chilled yoghurt with fresh berries, instead of ice cream
Rolled oats with nuts instead of salted peanuts and other bar chow
Lemon water instead of your typical lemonade with sugar
Chilled iced tea minus the sweeteners
Baked fries or if possible, baked carrot sticks, instead of French fries
Find a support group for encouragement
Lastly, a fantastic way to make sure you stick to your diet is by getting a support group. This can be as simple as your best friend who commits to follow a similar diet plan as yours so that you feel that you are not alone in this. A support team also makes it easy for you to report and celebrate your progress while at the same time, prevent you from slipping out of your “program”.
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