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 5 Things You Should Know When Starting Your Fitness Journey

  1. You must have patience. You didn’t get where you currently are overnight and you certainly won’t get where you want to be overnight, in one week, in two weeks, or even in one month. You must know and understand that reaching your goals will take time. In my experience, clients who are impatient usually hinder their own success. Why? Because they have unrealistic expectations from the beginning. They think the weight will just fall off immediately and they will be in the best shape of their life in no time. What happens when they aren’t? They get frustrated and stressed, and neither are helpful. Then, they decide it isn’t working and just quit altogether. And, there they find themselves again, at ground zero, searching for something that will work. Moral of the story? You must have patience. When you hire someone to help you must give the plan time to work and your coach time to figure out your body. Everyone’s body is different and each body responds at different rates so you can’t compare your results to someone else’s. If you have hired a coach you must trust them. Trusting your coach is just as important as sticking to the plan they have you on. Having confidence in your coach goes a long way and doing what they say goes even further. Feel like your results are slow? Feel like some days there are no physical manifestations of change? Keep going. Be patient. Be consistent.
  2. Consistency is KEY. Half-way sticking to your plan does not produce optimal results. Nibbling on snacks here and there will not help you and neither will 50% effort in the gym. Day in and day out you must be consistent. This means sticking to your meal plan each day, even when you don’t feel like it. This means giving 100% in the gym even when you are tired. Sounds tough, doesn’t it? Yes, it may be difficult. There will be days when the last thing you want to do is go to the gym or eat Meal 3, but you do it anyway. You do it because you keep your goal in the front of your mind. You do it because it’s just what you do. Become consistent.
  3. Always be prepared. What will help you be consistent? Being prepared. The first way to fail is to be unprepared. Ever heard the saying, “If you fail to plan then plan to fail”? This is 100% true. If your goal is to lose weight, be leaner, get stronger and/or become healthier overall you must start with a plan. How are you going to reach those goals if you don’t have a plan in place? How do you plan to stick to your meal plan if you don’t prepare your meals first? Ever skipped a meal and then been famished several hours later only to eat everything in sight when you get home that evening? That is what I am talking about. You must prepare your meals each week, you must have a plan when you walk into the gym so that your workouts are helping you achieve your goals. Going out of town one weekend? Are you prepared to continue reaching your goals while away from home or are you prepared to throw your hard work out the window? Always have a plan and be prepared for anything life throws at you each day. Prepare your meals, pack your snacks, have emergency snacks on hand, and plan your workouts. Having trouble doing this? Maybe you should have some accountability!
  4. Accountability is important. Who is holding you accountable each day? Do you have someone you to answer to when you don’t make it to the gym? Do you have someone making sure you are sticking to your meal plan? If not, you should! I don’t recommend your husband or your wife, unless you have an awesome dynamic and you can handle that, but with most couples that doesn’t work well. I suggest a close friend who can be completely honest with you, or hire a coach. Heck! I am a coach and I even hire a coach to hold me accountable when it’s time for me to get leaner.
  5. Money spent on your health is never wasted. Think about how much money you spent last month on eating out? How much money did you spend on alcoholic beverages? How much money did you spend on sugary coffee drinks from Starbucks? Seriously. Add it up. My guess is that it is well over $200. Could be over $400 or more! I know that is normal for the average American and I am not saying you should never go out to eat or enjoy a beverage every now and then, but, think about how much you are spending. People always say things like, “Eating healthy is expensive” or, “I can’t afford to have a personal trainer or coach.” What if you used some of the money you use to indulge on your health? Recently, two of my personal training clients said these words, “I mean, think about how much money we spent to look the way we do now.” WOW. Powerful words. It’s so true. What if you were more intentional with your money and spent it on reaching your goals? Whether this means hiring a personal trainer, hiring an online coach, purchasing higher quality food at the grocery store or getting a massage for your sanity! If you don’t spend money on your health now I can guarantee you will be spending it on doctor bills and prescription medicine later. Be intentional and invest in yourself!