Are you doing some funky, not-so-constructive things?

January 8, 2015 By

Going Around in Circles Words on Circle RibbonsIt’s a new year!  I’m very excited.  I am all about doing something different so that I get the results that I want.  I know that if I continue to do what I’ve always done, I’ll get what I’ve always gotten.  And while there are things that I would like to continue, there are many things that I want to change.  Some of that is in my personal life and some of that is in my business.

I’m a big fan of TV shows The Profit and The Biggest Loser – why?  These shows allow the viewers to see the personal side of the people involved.  While The Profit revolves mostly around money as the focal point and The Biggest Loser around weight, both of the shows have a very heavy dose of emotion driving the actions, decisions and behaviors.  What is fascinating to me as a coach and someone who helps others with transforming their life, is how people get themselves stuck into situations that are mind-baffling and feeling as if the weight of the world is on their shoulders (no pun intended).

On The Profit people create financial chaos for themselves and their business, and on The Biggest Loser people create unhealthy chaos for themselves and their loved ones.  The beauty of both of the shows (and yes I know there are lots of behind-the-scenes stuff that we don’t know about) is that in the end, each person has their own breakthrough or aha that gets them seeing their situation in a new light — and that is where the transformation takes place.  Emotions and feelings hold us back if we aren’t aware of them and they can hold us prisoner and make us do some really funky, not-so-constructive things.

Dolvett once said “You don’t have to be great to start but you have to start to be great.”  I had to write that down.  Now I say it to myself every day and it has helped me to get started when I’ve been stuck.  It helps me to keep taking the steps daily, weekly, monthly so I reach my goals that I set for myself both personally and professionally.  It’s both emotionally grounding and awe inspiring.  We can use our emotion to create positive, sustainable change and results.

So what do you need do to start on your road to greatness?  Lose weight, get in shape, straighten out your money madness, be better at something?  Whatever it is, just do one thing.  We all have greatness, and if you are not sure what your greatness is, click here http://amzn.to/1xyBhoe and get my colleague, Jay Forte’s amazing book, The Greatness Zone.

May 2015 be your greatest year yet!

Filed Under: Reaching Goals, Weight loss Tagged With: , , ,

Top 5 Tips for Eating, Drinking and Being Merry!

December 11, 2013 By

cookiesThe number one habit to “go south” this time of year is health.  Suddenly there is no time to do your exercise program yet plenty of time to eat, drink and be merry.  While eating, drinking and being merry are fun and exciting, it often reverses all of the hard work that has taken place over the course of the year.  Whether you celebrate or not this holiday season, use my five tips below to keep all the success you have had so far from going down the drain.

  1. Make a Plan.  Planning is the number one secret to staying on your fitness plan, not gaining weight and not having to start over come January.  Plan your workouts.  Put your workouts in your calendar.  Even though you have a standing class or training session, when you see it in your calendar you will be more likely to keep them.  Plan your eating.  If you have ever have said “I shouldn’t have eaten all of that” you know it has the potential to happen again. So before you hit any party (or sweet tray), plan to do it differently and it will be different.
  2. Write down and share with a trusted friend (or even your fitness instructor) what your plan or goal is for the holiday season.  Whether it’s deciding to eat festive foods in moderation or not at all, or cutting your exercise routine down by half instead of discarding it entirely, when you commit to something and share it with others, you are more likely to follow through.
  3. Know your serving sizes.  You know what you like to eat—and therefore might overindulge upon.  Instead, plan to eat a healthy serving size.  When at a party or even at home, before you fill your snack, dinner and dessert plates, look at the choices first and then choose wisely.  Use http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthtool-portion-size-plate to look up what a healthy serving size is if you are not sure.  Being aware of what and how much you eat is key to staying on target.
  4. Drink non-alcoholic beverages.  When you overindulge in alcohol, all bets are off as you almost always will eat more.  Drink a healthy non-alcoholic beverage while you enjoy your favorite food.  If you wish for an alcoholic beverage, have it after you have eaten and drink it slowly and mindfully.  This keeps your mind aware of your actions and easier for you to ‘be good’.
  5. Prepare ahead of time.  Before heading out to a function, party or even the grocery store, have a small healthy meal first.  This can make sure that you are not starving when you arrive and therefore you will not dive into the bowl of chips, eat a tray of cookies or buy junk food.

This time of year there are extra temptations to lure you away from your regular healthy diet and fitness routine.  Do not be one of the millions of people who every year say “I need to lose the weight I gained from the holidays” or “Next year will be different”.  This is your year to do things differently!

Also, feel free to share your thoughts, insights and revelations below… you know I love hearing from you!

Filed Under: Self Worth, Weight loss Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

So You Want to Lose Weight

April 22, 2013 By

day plannerCongratulations, you made a decision to lose weight!  Once you lose it, my guess is that you would like to maintain that healthy weight loss.  If so, that’s another fabulous decision on your part!  Okay then, what have you decided to do about setting the time aside to lose weight?  Oh right, you forgot about that part.

In my experience, the number one reason someone fails to begin a weight loss program is because they feel it is going to take a lot of their time.  It’s true; it can if you let it.  However, with some planning, weight loss doesn’t have to take up your day.  And once you get into a new routine, you create a habit and it becomes second nature.

I always tell my clients, “In the beginning, you will struggle.”  Whether they realize it or not, usually that is the reason they hire me.  They know I am there to hold their hand, help them figure out ways that work specifically for them and to pick them up when they fall down.

Here’s a tip: the joy in reaching any goal is in the journey.  That’s right, the good stuff as well as the not-so-good stuff.  See, it is in the not-so-good stuff where the greatest accomplishments lie.

Trying to change a habit, a behavior, a way of being is not easy but it is so worth it.  Until it becomes ‘just what you do’ and you no longer question it or struggle with it, you need to figure out a plan to make it work.

Here are three things for you to think about as you set off on your journey to losing weight and keeping it off.

  • Change how you think about time.  You might think time is limited – but is it really?  You do only have a certain number of hours in a day – everyone does – so how can you utilize time to work for you?  Try this.  List out what tasks you do in a day, then approximate how long it takes you to do each.  Before you actually begin a task, note the time and write it down.  When you end a task, note the time again and see how long it actually took you.  Seeing how long things truly take you will be big eye opener.  Most people are shocked at the time they lose during a day because they think something is going to take ‘just a moment’.
  • Are you satisfied with how you spend your time on a daily, weekly or monthly basis?  On a scale of 1-10, rate your level of satisfaction with how you spend your time.  Go back to your list and rate each of your daily tasks.  If something isn’t an eight or higher, challenge yourself to stop doing it.  In other words, if you are wasting your time on things that do not bring satisfaction, you will have no time for the things that will bring you satisfaction.
  • Map out your day in time blocks.  It’s easy to say “I don’t have the time”, but you do.  When you know how long your tasks actually take you, schedule them on your daily calendar.  It will help you visualize where your time goes.  You will see where you are losing time and also where you can fit in exercise, shopping for and preparing healthy foods, and taking time for yourself.  If you don’t have enough time for everything, then you need to re-evaluate your priorities.

Following my tips above will help you create the time you need for your weight loss success.  Truly, time is on your side.  Tell me your new plan or share your thoughts, insights and revelations below!

Filed Under: Reaching Goals, Weight loss Tagged With: , , ,

When Nothing Else Works

April 8, 2013 By

This week’s article is courtesy of my colleague, by Jeanna Gabellini, CPCC – MASTERPEACE Coaching & Training – http://www.MasterPeaceCoaching.com.  Enjoy!

When Nothing Else Works, Use This Strategy for Weight Loss and Increased Profits

 

I recently posted on Facebook that I lost 15 pounds in six weeks. Of all the topics I’ve covered before, this one received the most “likes” and comments. I was shocked. Naturally, people really wanted to know my secret.

The short answer: I went on a raw foods cleanse and joined the gym.

The majority of people who tried this would not get the same results. That’s because there is so much more to the story than diet and exercise.

The real story about my long-desired weight loss?

When I got pregnant with baby #2, I set the intention of manifesting my ideal body after his birth. I lost a ton of weight in those first few months, but my body would not release those last 25 pounds.

My baby’s sleep pattern kept me from sleeping through the night until just recently. And that lack of sleep made me feel very unlike myself. I was out of balance with two kids, a business to run and no energy.

When you feel like that, you begin manifesting lots of stuff you don’t want. I got sick more often; I was cranky; and while my gross income kept rising, so did my expenses.

Every day I looked in the mirror and was irritated by what I saw. The same thing happened every time I looked at my expenses. There came a point where I said, “My mission is not to lose weight or decrease expenses. I have to be okay right where I am right now —tummy pooch and sky-high bills included”.

By the way, it wasn’t like I wasn’t doing anything to solve my weight and overhead issues. I consistently exercised, from the moment I healed from childbirth. I also implemented all the strategies my team and coaches suggested to increase my profits and decrease my expenses. But I still saw no huge improvement in either department.

However, once I stopped complaining — inwardly and outwardly — about my situation and made peace with myself, things began shifting. I was inspired to do a raw food cleanse because I felt for years that my diet was out of balance (I rarely ate fruits and veggies).

As I prepared for the cleanse, I realized I wasn’t truly enjoying the exercise program I’d been doing. I immediately stopped and joined a gym to do one thing: lift iron — my favorite way to exercise since I was 16. I hadn’t been in a gym like this for over five years. It was exhilarating!

Then I was challenged by my team and coach to hire more help. I did but it fell apart before we made traction. However, it led to new choices that made me feel better about outsourcing.

And during the month that I was making all these changes, I redid my entire schedule so it was 100% supportive of my desires concerning family and business.

The results: weight loss; a huge shift in the way I related to time; profit margins significantly increasing; and … I am extremely happy. I feel more at peace than I have in years.

So what’s the strategy?

  • Stop whining and complaining about what is. Make peace with it, even if you want something very different from your current reality.
  • Make small changes to create peace in your life right now, with what you have.
  • Take action on your inspired ideas to feel fulfilled, not because you’re desperate for results.

A very important part of my success was because I didn’t base my joy on my results. There were many days during this process that I had to release irritation when the scale, my bank account or free time didn’t look the way I wanted. After I created my ideal schedule lots of things threatened to push me back into my old mode of operation.

I made peace with the mission, not perfectly implementing my cleverly crafted plan. I’m still a work-in-progress but I have no doubt where I’ll be a month from now … and I’m not attached to the outcome. =)

Jeanna Gabellini is a Master Business Coach who assists high achieving entrepreneurs, corporate leaders & their teams to leverage fun, systems and intentionality for high-octane results. An entrepreneur for 25 years she has a treasure trove of kick-butt tools to give you peace & profits. Get your complimentary audio “Transforming from Chaotic Entrepreneur to Conscious Leader” here: http://www.MasterPeaceCoaching.com/freecd.

Filed Under: Weight loss Tagged With: , ,

Want To Lose Weight? Start Paying Attention To Yourself.

March 25, 2013 By

SelfIf I told you that taking time for yourself would lead to weight loss, a better body and improved self-image, would you do it?  Many of my clients are super busy in both their personal and their professional lives.  However, when I work with them, they come to realize when they put themselves first they start to lose weight, feel great and look great.  They didn’t think they had time to do something for themselves, but once they saw that they did and what it did for them, they soon changed their tune.

Taking time for yourself gives you that pause.  In yoga we talk about the pause between the inhale and exhale, and wow, it is luxurious—you only need to experience it once to know how absolutely amazing it is.  In life we talk about that pause as peace of mind.  When you rush from one thing to the other, things get overlooked and you get overlooked.  In our quest for doing more, getting more done, and pleasing others we leave a lot of stuff out or just plain forget.

To demonstrate my point, have any of these happened to you?

  • You get out the door and realize you don’t have your car keys.
  • You realize that you forgot to brush your teeth as you drop your kids off at school.
  • You left the dog outside (that’s my personal opps) and he’s a barker.
  • You race to pick up the kids and they say “We thought you forgot us.”
  • You glance at yourself in the mirror and see that you look like a madwoman because you haven’t had your hair cut in oh-you-can’t-even-remember- when.
  • You forgot the presentation… or worse, you forgot you had a presentation.
  • You notice you have on one black shoe and one blue shoe.  (No lie; my female executives have this happen all the time)
  • Or again, worse, you realize you forgot your shoes and only have flip flops on with that beautiful business suit (which happens to be wrinkled) on the day of your important presentation.

Yes, many of my clients have had those things happen.  You didn’t think I made them all up did you?

However, many of these same clients have gone on to create their ideal image of themselves and their lives… and now live those ideals!  You can be exactly who you want to be, feeling great and looking great.

I know you are wondering how my clients have created—and now live—their ideal life.  Here are the three most important principles they followed.

  1. They created a vision of their ideal life.  They took the time to write out what they ideally wanted to have in their life.  Spend sometime this week and write out what you want from your life and in your life.  Write how you want to be, what you want to do and how it will look and feel when you have it.  Then keep it close and look at it regularly.
  2. They changed how they talked to themselves.  When we are unhappy about ourselves, it usually means there is a lot of negative self-talk going on.  “You are so stupid, how could you forget that presentation?”  “Oh sure, there you go again, eating all of the chips/cookies/candy, you’ll never lose that weight.”  Stop berating yourself for careless mistakes and remember you are human.  Change how you talk to yourself and about yourself and watch that bad body image and unwanted weight disappear.  And in its place you’ll find a new, beautiful you!
  3. They BOTHERED.  When you don’t have a clear vision of what you want your life to be like and look like and you engage in negative self talk, you are usually in a place of “why bother?”  You feel that nothing is going to change anyway, so…why bother.  People who are successful in their weight loss (or anything for that matter), do bother.  They take the time to make plans and then they carry them out.  To be successful you have to bother, you have to take action and you have to follow through.

I have so many clients who have bothered.  They bothered to take the time for themselves to make themselves look and feel better.  Take the time to bother with yourself.  Take the time to go to the hair and nail salon or the gym.  Hire a personal trainer or a coach.  Take your suits to the dry cleaners or get the iron out and do it yourself.  Organize your closet so the blue shoes are with the blues and the black shoes with the blacks!  Begin to eat better and look at yourself in a whole new light.

You’ll find that the self talk becomes more positive – and the results are amazing all because you bothered.  Weight loss, stress reduction, happiness and so much more will follow!  Watch it all work out in such remarkable ways!

So tell me, are you going to stay in that bad body image and negative self talk, being overweight, in ill health and ‘why bother’ state… or are you going to shed it all and shine?

Now if you pardon me it’s time for my manicure.  See, I practice what I preach.  It is important for me to take good care of myself.  I know it is such a big factor in my success both to my personal and professional life, so I’m off!

I would love to have you share what you do to take care of yourself!

 

Filed Under: Personal Development, Weight loss Tagged With: , , , , ,

Three Steps to Success

March 11, 2013 By

goals listIt’s a small, four-letter word and it isn’t even a bad one, though most of us shy away from it!  When we do, sadly we also fail to reach our goals.  I know you are eager to know what that word is.  It is PLAN.  It also means: map, chart, diagram, sketch, and arrangement.  Simple enough, right?  Well then why do people not plan for their success?

This is a subject that constantly comes up.  We all have heard the quote “when you fail to plan you plan to fail.”  And it means that when you don’t set goals, wants, or intentions (or whatever you like to call them) you have no way of getting what you want!

With my coaching clients, we set specific plans together.  They know exactly what they are going to do, when and how.  When I work with my in-person fitness groups, they also set a plan for how they are going to reach their goals while they are in my program.

Let’s take weight loss… or even eating better.  You might not need to lose weight but I can almost bet at one point or another in your life you have said “I would like to eat better” or a variation of that.  (However, if you haven’t, please reach out to me.  I’d love to hear how you eat healthy on a regular basis; you are an inspiration!)  Most people say “I need to lose weight, I want to lose 10 lbs, I want to eat better, I need to eat better…” you get the idea.  And then that’s all they do.  That is as far as they get and then wonder why nothing happens.  Oh sure, they may go to the gym, walk, or cut back on certain foods, but there’s a missing piece.  There is no target, no date for when they will do this, and there is definitely no action plan.

Let’s see if I can’t help you move forward.  Here are three steps (I’m keeping it simple) for you to use to make your plan, follow through and experience the results of your plan.  By the way, this can be used for anything that you want to get or have in your life.  My big AHA was when I realized that I can use planning to get anything I want in my life – eating better, exercising more, and planning for a trip or an event.  Anything!

Step 1 – State what it is you want.  This is your goal, intention, target, purpose, and aim.  Get out some paper, a notebook, or your laptop and write this down.  This is your starting point.  Be as descriptive as possible.  “I will lose 10 lbs by eating healthy and exercising.”  State your end date, and make sure you give yourself ample time but not too much time.  You want it to be do-able but not so far into the future that you forget or don’t have anything to push you.

Step 2 – Create your roadmap.  This is where you write down all that you will do to reach your goals.  Using the goal above, here is an example:  “I will lose 10 lbs by eating healthy and exercising.  I will do this by going to the gym 2x a week and taking a cycling class and a muscle conditioning class.  I will plan out my meals and snacks for the week so that I know what I am eating and can shop for healthy ingredients.  I will drink 6-8 glasses of water a day.  I will keep track of my actions on my log sheet that I will create to hold myself accountable.  I will check in with my accountability partner weekly (or daily if I feel I need more support).  I am successful and I am already feeling great.  I am happy with my results.”  Make sure you end your plan with how you want to feel by using an “I am” statement.  It will help you stay on target to reach your goals!

Step 3 – Be accountable.  Another word for accountable is responsible.  Be in charge of your results and your destiny.  If you can’t trust yourself to do this, then you need to have a trusted friend or hire a coach.  This is the part where the rubber meets the road.  If you aren’t taking your steps, why?  When we tell others our goals, we almost always follow through.  It’s key to not try this on your own.  I recommend getting a notebook for you to track your actions and the results.  If you say you are going to drink 6 glasses of water a day (remember to be specific), how do you know that you did it?  Write it down; record it in a log sheet.  Keep yourself on target with useful tools like logs, plus they make it fun to report to your accountability partner.

That’s it!  The best part is that by keeping track of your goals, you see the results even if the scale didn’t budge.  You can see you are working at your goal and that by itself is such a great feeling!  It is all there and you can course-correct and make changes when you see something not working and do more of what is working.  That’s a beautiful thing!

I would love to hear how you do with following my three steps.  It doesn’t just have to be related to health, I’d love to hear how you have used them—or any tips—to be successful! Please share your thoughts, insights and revelations below!

Filed Under: Personal Development, Reaching Goals, Weight loss Tagged With: , , ,

Do you like to be challenged?

February 11, 2013 By

Female boxerWhen it comes to exercise, most of us do not like to be challenged.  We are happy that we just made it to the gym, never mind exert extra energy!  Heck, we might even hurt ourselves and we wouldn’t want to do that.

Exercise brings up a lot of negative feelings for some people.  I have worked with women who can barely get to the gym.  And one of my clients tells me that she hates to exercise, but then in the same breath says “But I love the feeling afterward.”  So every week she comes to class and when I ask her to amp it up, she does.

Some people have very positive feelings around exercise.  Another client has experimented with a number of different classes and programs because she enjoys moving her body and loves the idea of going and doing new things.  I’m proud of both of them!

There are many reasons why people exercise.  Some want to:

  • Lose weight
  • Increase energy
  • Look good
  • Fit into their clothes
  • Increase self-esteem and confidence
  • Reduce cholesterol
  • Reduce high blood pressure
  • Reduce stress
  • To interact socially

Not many realize that by exercising you can change your physical body and health as well as stretch and challenge your mind too.  You can change your outlook on life, your viewpoint on a certain situation, and even have a brainstorm about an issue you have been facing.

When we challenge our body, we also challenge our mind.  It’s being open and receptive to new things, fresh exercises, pushing ourselves to lift more and move faster, or do the same exercise perhaps in a new way that allows both our body and mind to grow and improve.

When you do the same routine day after day, month after month, you get the same results.  Many of my clients tell me “I need to do something different.  I need to change something.  I need to be pushed.”  This is because they want to grow, they want to experience something new, and they want to be challenged.  And yes, there are some that don’t want to grow or change but that’s another article for another day.  I’m guessing that you are in it for the change and that you want to be challenged – even if you are saying you don’t – because you want to improve, to feel great and to look fantastic.

Here are four tips to challenge you to exercise differently:

  1. Workout in a group.  If you are used to working out on your own, try a group class.  There is a lot to be said about working out with others; you naturally will push yourself just a little bit farther.
  2. Hire a Personal Trainer.  If you are someone who needs that extra push, find a trainer that you connect with.  Tell them your goals and have them support you with them; often being directed is easier than trying to figure out what to do alone.
  3. Take a new class.  If you always take the same class (spin, Zumba, kickboxing), try a class with a different instructor.  You will not only learn new moves, you will hear different cues that will keep your attention focused on what might come next.
  4. Go to a new environment.  If you have been going to the same gym for a long time, check out another gym even if you just go for a trial or single workout.  You will be exposed to a new atmosphere which will get your brain to function differently and you’ll look at things with a fresh perspective.  They also may have innovative equipment that you have never seen or used before.

What is important is that you challenge yourself to not only work your body in a different manner but to think differently to expand your world.  There is such value in that – you never know, you may meet your future spouse, business partner or new best friend.  When you challenge yourself to step it up, the world opens up to you!

I would love to hear any experiences you have had or will have as you step forward into a whole new world!  Also, feel free to share your thoughts, insights and revelations below!

 

Filed Under: Reaching Goals, Self Worth, Weight loss Tagged With: , , , ,

Do you gain when you lose?

January 21, 2013 By

turn gain into lossWhat happens when you lose?  Lose weight that is.  When you lose weight, you gain so much more in your life!  It sounds too good to be true, right?  But it is true.

Admittedly, when you are constantly struggling to lose weight, you feel stressed, lose time, often have low self-esteem from feeling like you failed again, wondering why oh why the weight won’t come off and if it does, why doesn’t it stay off.  All of that and the negative feelings that surround your circumstance really can drag you down and keep you from living life like you want.

Yet when you do lose the weight and keep it off, you gain so much!  You gain the good stuff such as (and of course this is not an all-inclusive list):

  • Fitting into your favorite clothes with ease
  • Having a flatter stomach and smaller butt
  • Getting rid of those love handles, saddle bags, sandbags and not to mention that ugly back fat
  • Feeling really good about yourself
  • Enjoying the reflection of yourself and looking the way you want
  • Having stronger muscles
  • Experiencing more energy
  • Breathing easier
  • Moving freer and easier
  • Having more fun in your life
  • Gaining confidence and increased self esteem
  • Feeling happiness and peace of mind
  • Being able to get down on the floor and play with your kids or grandkids
  • Eliminating the need for medications
  • Having fewer doctor appointments

As you can see, losing really means gaining!  And what you gain is completely up to you.  You get to decide what it is you want to gain in your life.  Which of these do you want to have?

When I work with my clients, we begin by determining what they will gain in their lives.  It serves as motivation—their Big Why—and ultimately is the driving focus behind their weight loss success.  This ensures that success lasts longer than a day, a week or a month.  The results are long-term because they finally address the real issues as to why they did not have success in the past.

It is one thing to say “I want to lose weight” but entirely another thing to actually do what it takes to follow through on that desire.  The follow-through comes on the heels of the Big Why.  The Big Why keeps you from eating four slices of double cheese and pepperoni pizza or a bucket of wings all at once.  Of course, I am not saying this is easy.  Nothing worthwhile is.  Yet it also does not have to be as hard as you might often make it out to be.

I’m sure you are thinking “Okay, so why then does it seem so hard?”  It’s because as humans we like instant satisfaction rather than satisfaction over time.  We don’t want to wait to lose weight, we want it gone now.  Yet just as it did not take mere moments to put on, it does not take moments to take it off.  Eating that juicy cheeseburger or chocolate cake now is way more satisfying, but only for the moment!

So then which would you rather have, that moment of instant gratification by eating the junk food or the new gratifying lifestyle of when you finally reach your goal-weight and maintain it?

Once you discover your Big Why, your mindset will become clear and losing weight will actually become easy.  What will you gain when you make up your mind to finally lose the weight that has been holding you back in your life?

Please share your thoughts, insights and revelations on below!

Filed Under: Self Worth, Weight loss Tagged With: , , ,

Are you here again?

January 8, 2013 By

Here we are, it’s January, a whole new year.  How exciting!  Or is it?  Are you one of the millions of people who make resolutions around your health?  And are you one of those millions who year after year make the same resolutions?  It’s exciting and satisfying when you reach your goals and downright depressing when you don’t.  There is a better way.  And it’s even easier than you might think.  Your year can be different: you can reach your weight loss goals!

I want to share with you a step-by-step plan to implement into your life.  The beauty of this strategy is that it works for everything–not just your health.

  • First, change your wording.  Use the word ‘goals’ instead of ‘resolutions’.  ‘Resolution’ to me immediately invokes thoughts of failure.  Goals = aim, end, purpose, and aspiration.  These words sound a whole lot better than resolution, don’t they?  So the word ‘goal’ should automatically put you in a better frame of mind and not make everything seem so daunting.  Also, stop saying “I have to” or “I should” and change it to something more uplifting like “I choose.”   I choose to lose 10 pounds this year.
  • Second, state your goal and then put an end time on it.  This makes your goal definitive and gives you ‘finish line’.  You will know exactly the timeline in which you have to accomplish it.  Get out your calendar and put your start and end dates in it as well as milestones along the way.   I will lose 10 pounds by March 31.
  • Third, determine what you will do to reach your end result.  When it comes to weight loss, there are many places to start and two really good ones are watching what you eat and exercising.  In order to lose 10 pounds, I will figure out how many calories I currently eat and then determine what healthy calories and foods I need to eat.  I will find an exercise that I enjoy and know I will do.
  • Fourth, make a plan.  Take what you learned and determined in step three and create a plan for the next several months. Remember that it will take time to reach your goal, whatever it is, so you need to road map to follow.  I will eat 3-5 servings of fruits and vegetables during the week and I will go to exercise class 1-2 times per week.
  • Fifth, find a support system.  Enlist a buddy, family member or coach that you trust and ask them to hold you accountable.  Share with them your goals and steps you are planning to take to move you to your end result.  You might think this is unnecessary but it’s actually quite important!  It’s too easy to fall back on old habits and procrastinate if you don’t have someone checking in with you to make sure you’ve done your homework. Jane, I choose to lose 10 pounds by March 31st and I need your help to make sure that I eat 3-5 servings of fruit and veggies each week and also exercise 1-2 times per week. Will you check in with me periodically to make sure I’m sticking to my plan?
  • Sixth, be flexible with your plan and with yourself.  As you work on your plan know that obstacles will show up.  There will be times when you will eat something that you think you shouldn’t or you won’t make it to your exercise class.  This does not mean you have fallen off the wagon; you merely hit a bump in the road.  It is how you deal with the bumps that count.  I wish I didn’t eat that piece of cake but I did. It doesn’t mean that I failed; it only means that I am human. Tomorrow I choose to do better.

These steps will help you get on track and stay on track for you to reach your weight loss goals.  Remember to set small, attainable goals and keep the timeframe in the short-term because when you have all the time in the world, it takes all the time in the world to complete a goal.  A shorter timeframe keeps you honest, on target and constantly seeing results.

Reaching your weight loss goals takes thought and planning.  It takes motivation, focus and determination.  It also takes a personal awareness and a knowing why you want that end result.  Do you want to lose weight to improve your health or maybe get off medications?  Do you want to fit into your clothes better?  Do you want to feel good about yourself?  All are valid.  What are your reasons?  What is holding you back?  How can you reach your weight loss goals this year?

Feel free to share your success, thoughts, insights and revelations below!

Filed Under: Reaching Goals, Weight loss Tagged With: , ,