Sunday, April 7, 2013
Will YOU be ready for summer?
Well, the countdown to summer is ON! We are 7 weeks away from Memorial Day - the "un-official" start to summer. I know - you're scratching your head, double checking my math and Yep - the mouth has dropped open. It will be here before you know it...will you be ready ?
The biggest issue I see when it comes to one's fitness journey ( or lack thereof) is the art of planning. Nobody ever got fit by just thinking about it. Workouts happen because you set an appointment with yourself and you kept it. Eating healthy foods happen because you planned ahead with a trip to the grocery store and made friends with your stove, oven or outdoor grill.
So- here are my tips for a successful week:
1) Review the calendar for the week and sync with other family members. Plan your workouts & put them on the calendar and your family's calendar if necessary AND KEEP THE APPOINTMENT. If you leave working out to a "how I feel when you I wake up" mentality, it will not happen. There will always be something to get in your way. Pack a bag with your clothes, IPOD, gloves and get to work. Don't plan your workouts for 5am if you're not a morning person. You couldn't pay me (well maybe) to workout before 8am. I know my body and I don't function well before that time.
2) All crap food gets thrown away on Sundays. Crap food manages to make it's way in the house with entertainment leftovers, cheat day splurge meals, etc. We don't always plan for crap food to make it's way in the house but it does....throw it away and make a fresh start.
3) PLAN YOUR DINNERS FIRST. Say what Kathy?? You want me to plan my dinners for the week? What about the other meals? This has always been my "trick" when working with my clients from a nutrition aspect. And this is why....so many times we go along in our day and eat great, right? Healthy breakfast followed by your healthy snack followed by your healthy lunch followed by......UH OH - WHAT AM I GOING TO EAT FOR DINNER? Welcome to your Diet Disaster Hell.
So-normally this is the time of day most people are starting to feel their blood sugar crash, they are pissed at the world for eating all this healthy food and not getting to eat their 3:00pm M&M's . Maybe they are hungry & experiencing cravings because they've started to cut out the crap and the instant gratification isn't what it used to be (for now) ? So- they say "middle finger to this" and eat poorly- which leads to choosing the wrong foods for dinner.
Try this instead:
- Sync calendars so everyone is on the same page re: the commitments for the week.
- Plan for the number of meals to be eaten in the home & how many family members will be in attendance. Get everyone's input for meals & plan ahead for possible leftovers to use for lunch the next day.
-If cooking isn't your bag and you're used to eating out or take out - invest the same money into healthy takeout meals made fresh each day. Many companies have order forms online. You place your order and have the food delivered to you or you pick it up once/week. And don't buy Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice or Weight Watchers frozen meals - it's sodium laced processed junk. Invest in yourself and buy fresh meals.
4) And drink your water! Carry around a gallon jug if you need to but drink your water. I don't have to tell you all the reasons why. Unless you've been living under a rock, you know why the water is important.
Bottom line, there is a solution to every problem. And I hear ya, planning meals is a challenge. It was my biggest challenge when I started my fitness journey. But, I realized that if I was going to ever reach my goals, I was going to have to suck it up and learn to plan ahead.
If you have some of your own tips, feel free to leave a comment. Thanks for reading!
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2 comments:
Planning my dinners first is a great idea. After riding my bike I am so starving that I could eat all my fridge!
Thanks for the comment Janet! So glad the info was helpful!
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