It’s hard to believe we’re a month into 2018 already! It feels like just yesterday we were ringing in the new year and the resolutions we set for ourselves were front and center.
We swore to ourselves that this would FINALLY be the year that we lose the weight, eat healthier and get more active. Now just 4 short weeks later, these intentions have lost their luster and the reality of everyday life has settled in.
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I’m happy to tell you that it’s not all lost. I mean come on… there are still 11 months left in the year and there’s nothing to stay you have to start on January 1 right?! You just have to make the decision that you are going to start NOW and follow these 3 simple steps:
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Get crystal clear on exactly what you want and why you want it.
It’s easy to say you want to “get healthy” but being vague about exactly what that means isn’t going to help you stay laser focused on your goal. Do you want to lose weight, improve your cardio or maybe tone up a bit? Or maybe you want to focus on eating better or getting more rest? All of these things will improve your health. But, like I tell the women I work with, this is your goal so it needs to be specific to you and aligned with what you truly want!
Once you set a specific goal, think about why it’s is so important to you. What will it mean when you accomplish this and how are you going to feel once you do? Having a strong why will help keep you motivated to show up on the hard days – and trust me, they will happen. My trick is to put reminders of my goal somewhere that I will see them daily – like your bathroom mirror, in your car or even the screensaver on your phone. All of these serve as a reminder of what you are working towards and reconnecting with your goal keeps it front and center!
Put a plan in place and track your progress
Now that you know what you want to accomplish, we need to figure out exactly how to make it happen. That means breaking your goal into key steps and specifics actions you are going to take! So if you want to lose weight, think about how many times a week you are going to exercise and what kind of a workout you are going to do. Picking something you enjoy is going to make it easier to stick with. And for added accountability, block the time into your schedule just like you would any other appointment; this ensures that it actually happens because life gets busy for all of us.
Then it’s up to you to track whether or not you do what you say you will! I encourage my clients to spend some time each Sunday to reflect on how the week went.They essentially give themselves a report card on how they did and identify any gaps.This also serves as a chance to set their intentions for the coming week and course correct as needed. Having the discipline for this self reflection ensures that weeks don’t slip away without making the progress towards your goal – because what gets measured gets done!
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Do a postmortem from your past and create strategies for success
If we don’t deal with our past mistakes, we’re bound to repeat them. You can either talk this through with a health coach, friend or family member and sometimes journaling on it can help uncover the real reasons that you keep self sabotaging. So take a little time to figure out why you struggled with your health goals in the past and then develop a plan to break those patterns.
For example, if you have a hard time with snacking at night, it makes sense not to have bags of chips and candy laying around the house. Removing that temptation will make it so much easier on your willpower. Or if poor planning is your demise, plan to pack some healthier snacks to take with you rather than hitting up a drive thru if you are out and about all the time. Remember, simple choices made consistently can really add up to long term results.
Now you have a goal, a clear plan and are set up for success – it’s up to you to put it into action TODAY!
Nicole Santer is a local B.C. mom, fitness lover/coach and life coach that loves to spread inspiration to moms all around her. You can of course get closer to her by joining her Facebook Group – Mom’s on A Mission to get more tips like this. It’s full of amazing women just like you who are looking to level up with their lives – mind, body and spirit!
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Thank you so Nicole for sharing your pearls of wisdom and continuing to inspire moms all over to be the best they can be for themselves and their families!
