The other day I was doing a coaching consultation with someone and I asked them what their biggest health and fitness struggle is.
They had this to say…
Inconsistency and procrastination may as well be my first and last name. I have over an hour drive each way to work, I don’t take a lunch and eat at my desk every day. Then by the time I get home, get dinner made/eat/clean up… Usually I’m so exhausted by the time my food is digested enough to work out, I have no desire to. Curled up on the couch watching Netflix with my lab and Dobie sounds a whole lot nicer than working out, having to take a shower, etc. etc. etc.
I’ve tried the SAD (standard American diet) and just watched calories to make sure I stay at 1200, I’ve not paid too much attention to calories and did paleo… Neither of those work very well for me. Whole lot of effort with very little weight lost, feel like I’m starving all the time, no energy… I’ve switched to Keto, which does seem to work a lot better for me, but takes a lot of planning to hit the proper macro’s. Plus – it is really hard for me to get the fat. I just cannot eat the fat on my pork chops, steak, chicken skin – gag. So it ends up being lots of avocado, eggs, butter, bacon, MCT oil, coconut oil, nuts/seeds. But that gets old.
I end up losing 10 pounds, then I ultimately self-sabotage and gain it all back. (I love pop and McDonald’s Sausage Egg McMuffin’s like a fat kid loves cake!) It is irritating and frustrating. I just want to look polished and presentable in my work clothes, look decent in a swimsuit and lose the round chipmunk cheek thing I’ve had going on the last 5 years…
Sounds pretty frustrating right and I bet you can probably relate. After our call I sent her some homework to do for me… yeah, I give homework… and I thought I’d share it with you.
I call it the Sunday ritual.
MINDSET EXERCISES
Step 1: What does a body you’re proud of look like, feel like, what can it do? (How will you know when you’ve built a body you’re proud of?)
Step 2: What does a “good enough” workout look like to you? (What do you have to do to feel happy about the way you moved your body? What does a good enough workout feel like to you?)
Step 3: What are you trying to do and why does this matter to YOU? How is achieving it going to make your life or the lives of those you love better?
Step 4: What are some of the trade offs you’re going to have to make to build a body that you’re proud of?
Note: The cool thing about these questions is you can also use them outside of the fitness world. For example, what does a relationship you’re proud of look like? What does work your proud of look like?
START PLANNING: THE SUNDAY RITUAL
Step 1: Plan your schedule for the week and made your training an appointment with yourself?
Think about what you’ll do (Strength, cardio, combo, 20 min workout, etc…) when, and where.
Note: 7 workouts is not necessary. Look at your week and decide what you can get in.
·Workout #1: day, time, location:
·Workout #2: day, time, location:
·Workout #3: day, time, location:
·Workout #4: day, time, location:
·Workout #5 day, time, location:
·Workout #6 day, time, location:
·Workout #7 day, time, location:
Step 2: Plan at least one super simple healthy meal per day?
·1-2 palm sized servings of protein (chicken, beef, eggs, tofu fish, etc.)
·1-2 fists of non-starchy vegetables or low sugar fruit (broccoli, spinach, bell pepper, berries)
·1-2 thumbs of healthy fats (olive oil, avocado, coconut oil, nuts/seeds)
Post workout only: 1 fist of starchy carbs (sweet potato, banana, rice) – Didn’t workout? Then no starchy carbs for you.
Step 3: Go to the grocery store and buy food for the next few days
- Yes ☐
- No ☐
Step 5: Updated any body measurements and progress photos (or other measures of progress)
- Weight
- Girth measurements
- Photos
- Body fat
Step 6: Taken a look at your schedule and identified any “difficult” days you may have this week. Do you have everything you need in order to follow your schedule? Are there any adjustments that you need to make (trade-offs)? What are they?
If you’re struggling with your health and fitness try using this template as a place to get started. Answer the mindset questions and practice the next action exercises for the next 2 to 4 weeks. Let me know how it goes.
Chat soon,
Justin
PS: I also asked this client to print out a calendar and cross of the days she did a workout and ate meals she was proud of. The idea is to build consistency first before focusing on intensity. Most people try to do too much at once and end up either hating what they’re doing or burning themselves out.
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Photo credit – Sanders Smeeks