Ahhh..Spring camps!  I always see a new crop of clients coming back or restarting after a long time away.  It always gives me more energy when I see everyone’s newfound enthusiasm!

Spring IS a time of new beginnings. As we start to move into the warmer weather (hopefully), our minds feel energized, refreshed and ready (seriously..give it a few weeks LOL). The question is “Does your body feel the same way”?

If you haven’t been working consistently on your fitness and health this winter, your body may be struggling to keep up with your mind. It’s hard to make a new start when you feel like crap, you’re out of shape and you’ve been eating everything that isn’t nailed down.

Well…I’m here to help!  If you have tried and failed, then maybe you’re feeling a bit hesistant right now.  Motivating people to get healthy is what I do best. But you have to let me help you…

A quick look back

We are going to focus mainly on what is ahead for you; the past is the past and it is best to leave it there. However, in order to make the best start, we need to take a look at what may have sabotaged your previous efforts to get in shape

• Impatience. Because we live in a society that is used to instant gratification, it can come as quite a shock to find that fitness doesn’t happen fast. I don’t care how many infomercials you watch that promise you a 6 pack in 6 weeks, it is not going to happen. There is no short cut to fitness. If you grew frustrated in the past because results didn’t happen as fast as you would like, prepare yourself now for a different attitude: we will applaud small results and be patient as the transformation happens.

• Lack of planning. The biggest sabotage in any fitness plan is lack of planning. If you tried and failed, I’m pretty that you came up short in the area of planning. Without forethought and intention, you cannot eat a healthy diet, get enough sleep each night and stick with an exercise routine. So please have a plan before we start.

• If you have attempted to get fit with little support, you are not alone. Many people try to change their lifestyle on their own. The trouble with this approach is that those around you will probably not value what you are doing. They will unintentionally or intentionally sabotage your efforts (husbands, wives and those pesky kids can be a nuisance to your diet).  They may resent the time you take to workout, or they may ridicule you for the radical changes you make to your diet. However, you will have support this time, and the difference will shock you.

Forward from here

Today you start fresh and leave the past behind. Yes, you may have quit during your previous attempts to be healthy. That doesn’t matter now. What matters is what you do today, tomorrow and next week.

What is your goal? Do you want to lose 20 pounds? Do you want to run a mile? Do you want to eat a diet that energizes you? Maybe you want to exercise for 6 days a week.

Do not let the distance you have to cover cause you to give up before you even begin. Recognize that this will take some time. Every single fit person you know started somewhere short of where they are now. How did they get to their current condition? By taking it one day at a time, celebrating every victory and getting up when they fall down. You can do the same.

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.” -Alan Lakein  – I actually hate this quote because it is SO TRUE.  And everytime I fail to plan – I FAIL.

Without a plan, your own health will always take a backseat to what seems the most important at the moment—and that could be as simple as a television show that you want to watch! Having a plan will keep less important things from creeping in and sabotaging your health.  Count on it: if you do not plan, will not happen. This time, make a plan.

           Before you even start, decide:

• When and how you will get your exercise (bootcamp (of course)? running in the mornings? going to the gym at night?)
• What foods you will eat and how you will ensure that you have access to those foods (do you have a small cooler that you can take along with you? What will your breakfasts consist of? Did you go grocery shopping??)
• How you will arrange your schedule so that you get at least 7 hours of sleep each night (do you need to get the kids in bed sooner or prepare your lunches on the weekends to save time in the morning?

Without a strategy, you set yourself up for failure.

It is no secret that the biggest predictor of whether a person succeeds in their fitness and weight loss efforts is whether or not he has accountability. I’ve said it before,  getting fit is not easy. If it were, we would not have our current epidemic of obesity. If it were easy, more people would be doing it! In order to make sure you succeed this time, get some support. That support could come from a few friends who are making a new beginning with you, ME, or a family member.

The people in your support system will be genuinely interested in how you are doing. They will encourage you when you lose your motivation. They will clap when you get up early to exercise (maybe?). They will talk you out of eating those brownies. They will expect you to tell them how you are doing. And they will not let you fade out of the program: they will come after you if you start slacking.

So what are you waiting for??