Look, I understand you want to get more fit and are intensely motivated to do so. Heck, I've been there myself! I gained a bunch of weight during my pregnancy and was ready to lose it all, and fast.
I did just about everything you could think of. I was on Groupon getting every unlimited pass to all the gyms in my area. I had prepared foods delivered to my house that were the most bland foods I have ever eaten in my life. I dove head first into my fitness journey and got exhausted by it all.
What I noticed was that when my motivation faded (which it absolutely will) I didn't create lasting habits and would struggle all over again. I was so focused on losing the weight that I didn't realize that I wasn't planning to keep it off. The way I was going about it I thought all I had to do was lose the weight and the rest would be easy right? ...Wrong!
If you want change that lasts a lifetime you have to first be honest with yourself. With that in mind I started tracking my foods and workouts. I needed a clearer picture of my life so that I could create habits that worked for me.. and let me tell you, I was WAY off on what I thought I was doing vs. what I was actually doing. At the time I had a new baby to take care of so my life was crazier than I was used to and in order to find what would work for me I first had to see where my starting point was.
When you are on your fitness journey you have to be both the scientist and the subject. On one hand you are examining your life and trying to figure out what might work for you and your desired lifestyle. On the other hand you actually have to do the things and see if it does in fact work for you. Give it an honest effort. I say that at the very minimum give it a month to see how your body responds. Remember, this isn't a race to the finish. This is a marathon and taking this time to really figure out what works is what will give you the results you're looking for.
In the end it all comes down to forgiveness. I know silly right? But, it's true. We are human and because of that we are going to mess up. We are going to come up with, what we think, are great solutions to our problems. When in fact our solutions often fall short. And you want to know what?... That is part of the process. You are going to mess up, you're going to come up with ideas that don't work, and thats okay.
It doesn't have to be all or nothing, in fact it shouldn't be. My mantra when I was losing weight was " two steps forward, one step back is still progress." Be kind to yourself and do what you can to set yourself up for success. Don't give up when you mess up, don't let good be the enemy of great. You ARE worth the effort.
Now pick yourself back up and start right now. The very next choice you get to make will be one that gets you closer to your goals, whatever they may be.
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