It's February, Are You Still in the Game?

Well, February has arrived.  This is when most people on the "New Year kick" typically, and unfortunately, give up. What usually happens is one or more of the following:

• Burn-out from starting off too hard (going from not working out to working out 5-7 days/week)
• Their diet doesn't match their workouts (they still have bad nutrition habits)
• They start off gung-ho and go from pancakes and pizza to cauliflower and fish overnight
• They are doing the wrong program based on their lifestyle and current physical condition

 Certainly don't give up.  Here is a step-by-step process that you can use yourself to figure out your own game plan to get back to your fitness goals. This may not be the one-all, be-all list, but it is an approach I used for my own fitness success.

1. Take an inventory of your kitchen and get rid of the junk food (chips, cookies, candy, soda, etc, etc.).  If you feel guilty about throwing it away, take some time to take it to the local shelter.
2. Figure out a diet that best suits you.  I did a blog about different approaches HERE.  This will take some time and a little bit of research.  Your nutrition plan will be your foundation of success.  Be honest with yourself and be sure it is something you can stick to. If you know you won't be able to eat 6 meals a day, then don't plan on that type of diet.
3. Plan, plan, plan. I would rather you miss a workout so that you can spend that time at a grocery store getting everything you need to stick to your nutrition plan.  Then take a couple of hours on a Saturday or Sunday (or any day for that matter when you're not working) and prepare your meals in advance.  That way, when you leave work and don't feel like making anything, you won't hit the fast food joint.  Also, be honest with yourself and know that you can reward yourself with a cheat meal or two each week.  Don't try to be 100% perfect 100% of the time.  Give yourself some wiggle room.  For instance, I'm patting myself on the back on SuperBowl Sunday :)
4. Take a look at your calendar and figure out 3 days during the week that you can make time for exercise.  Make sure you can commit to these 3 days without any excuses.  You can always add days later.  But for now, stick with 3/week for at least a month.  Mark them down in your appt book.  They are that important.

Bonus tip:  If you now have really bad eating habits, take baby steps.  If you only eat 1 serving of vegetables a day for now, try to aim for 2 servings/day for at least a week.  Once you succeed at doing that, then move onto your next goal.

So what if you have slipped up a little bit.  That's no excuse to give up.  We all make mistakes. It's just a matter of bouncing back from them.

To your fitness success,
Mikey