How to Crush Your Goals

How To Crush Your Goals

So you've decided to lose weight and get your body back in shape! Awesome, right? But how can you actually go about it and really stick with it this time? I get asked this question all of the time, and I hate seeing the ones who don't have a plan, jump straight into losing weight and jump right back out of it, feeling like a failure. Having goals and staying on point to achieve all of them are two entirely different things. 

You must have a plan of action to take, not only to reach your goals but to stay around long enough to achieve them, without wasting your time or energy. You don't want to feel as if you're on a nonstop merry-go-round, never seeing any results. 

I know what it's like to announce to your loved ones that you've finally decided that you've had enough of being out of shape and feeling miserable. You think by telling others they will hold you accountable and be there cheering you on, every step of the way. However, you need to have a clear path of action because their enthusiasm may not hang on during your weight loss journey. 

I want you to succeed and surpass your initial goals, so you can see what you're really capable of achieving. There's nothing more rewarding than helping someone understand and put to action a plan that helps them lose weight, not only changing their external selves but their internal happiness as well. 

Let's break down exactly how to crush your goals, so you can achieve all of your goals, one by one, without looking back. Once you have this roadmap down, and you're ready to go, there's nothing that will stop you! 

CHOOSE YOUR GOALS WISELY

You've probably been daydreaming about how you want your body to look. You look at others with envy and think if only your stomach could be that flat, or your booty would be perky like that seventeen-year-old walking by. You look in the mirror and wonder how in the world did I end up like this. 

The truth is, we are own worse critic, and the way we view ourselves is a lot worse than what we actually look like, so let's get that straight right off the bat. I want to get this out of the way because if you're suffering from negative self-image issues, you're more likely to put unnecessary pressure on yourself, setting too big of goals. 

I want you to dream big, and I want you to believe in yourself, but I want you to reach goals before you lose confidence. If you set a goal of losing a hundred pounds and in all reality, you only need to lose forty, you'll be disappointed if you don't come close to the hundred-pound mark. 

Here's another example of choosing a goal that will be extra hard for you. Let's say you work ten hours a day, you have children who are involved in many activities, and you're in charge of keeping up with your household. You've decided that you want to lose thirty pounds in six weeks. You decide that you will run outdoors for five days a week, for about an hour each jog. 

Here's the problem. You don't have time to invest in that much running. Do you really like to run or are you choosing this route as you think it's the only way to lose the weight? You have to take into consideration weather conditions, your energy levels after working all day, and your time getting the kids to where they need to go. You may try this for a few days and burn entirely out, and you'll soon start thinking you'll never reach your goals. 

Be realistic with your goals. Start with small, bite-size pieces and take baby steps. You're more likely to stay with your plan and actually stick with it until you reach your goals. Each step, no matter how big or small, is a step towards your goals. If you want to lose fifty pounds, start by trying to reach ten pounds, then your next goal will be another ten pounds. Don't make the goal so big it feels daunting and unreachable. 

Let's go back to losing thirty pounds in six weeks. How can you be more realistic and make this goal achievable? Consider your daily schedule and find a workout regimen that fits your day. Think about an early morning short jog, followed by a twenty-five-minute weight training session before bed. Decide how many days a week you think you can do it, realistically. You could also implement a better eating plan, keeping your foods prepped and packed on Sunday evening, so you're sure to reach your goal. 

It may take you a couple of weeks to settle into what works for you, and that's ok. You have to have a plan that fits into your lifestyle and a doable routine, or it won't work, especially for the long-term. Take your time to figure out what's best, but set realistic goals from the start. Baby steps will become your best friend. 

MAKE A PLAN

Know from the beginning that reaching your goals is going to be difficult at times and not a path of perfection. There will be great days along the way, and there will be days you wish you never thought about doing this. However, having a plan in front on you will propel you forward on those days of doubt. Here are a few simple tips to help you create your plan of action. 

Write your plan out on paper so you can see exactly what it is you want and exactly how you're going to go about it.  Schedule the days and times you're going to do your exercises. Block out time to prep your meals, so you have healthy food choices at your side at all time, so you don't fall prey to choosing something quick and easy. Decide how you're going to exercise, whether it be with fitness classes, hiring a personal trainer, purchasing an online program to follow or joining a gym, and creating your own workouts. Treat your exercise and dieting as you would making a dentist appointment. 

Let your loved ones know that you're serious about reaching your goals and how you're going to go about it. Tell them your schedule and how much time you plan on putting towards your goals. Ask them for their support and understanding of how important it is to you to reach your goals. Let them know how to help you reach your goals. Having them on board will make a big difference. 

If one of your goals is to clean up your diet by making healthier food choices, take an hour to clean out your pantry. If you're going to be serious about reaching your goals, you must take serious action towards achieving them and having food around that will continuously tempt you to make bad choices, is only making your path harder. Get rid of all of the junk food and replenish your shelves with better decisions, so it's there, ready for you to eat. 

Print a blank calendar, and begin checking off every single day you exercise, eat within your new meal plan or reach another goal. This visual will help keep you focused and motivated towards working on your goals. Be sure to highlight your end goal, printing a few months if you need too, so you can see how far you've come and how close you are to achieving a new victory. 

I like to set daily, weekly, and monthly goals, all leading to my "big" goal. I will print my blank calendar and write down my daily goal of getting my workout in, and then my weekly goal of eating five days of healthy eating. My monthly goal may be to lose seven pounds in thirty days. All of my daily and weekly goals ensure that I reach my monthly goal. You see, I'm breaking my goals down into bite-size pieces. 

EXPECT DETOURS

You go from daydreaming about losing weight to putting your plan into action, and you're ready to see results. You envision how you're going to eat great, workout often and all is going to be well. Most days, this will be the case. However, you must prepare yourself for the bumps and bruises you will endure on this new journey. 

There will be days that you're full of motivation and energy to tackle your goals. Other days, you'll regret ever signing up for this task in the first place. On the down days, I want you to remember me telling you, it's ok and to be expected. You're allowed to have days that just don't add up to your initial expectations. You're not less of a person for it and these days are not going to derail you from your goals.

You may incur a small injury that holds you back from ultimately finishing your exercises. It's not the end of the world, and you have to expect detours like this, especially if you're new to dieting and exercising. If you have a sprain, allow yourself to rest and take care of it. Once you heal, you'll be right back on track. On those rest days, be sure to keep your diet in check so that you don't move backward. That's it. 

Family issues will arise, and you will need to learn how to navigate around them. Let's say your child joins another team and their practice schedule changes. Don't freak out that this will mess with your workout time, calmly look at your planner and find other ways of getting your workouts in. All of us go through this and learning how to work around it, instead of quitting, is what will make you more successful in losing weight and keeping it off. 

KEEP TRACK OF YOUR BODY

One of the biggest things I regret, when starting my fitness journey, is not making an actual record of my starting point. I'd love to see, with real numbers, how far I've come. Not only that, but allow my clients to see where I began and how far I've come myself. Visuals are not only inspirational to others, but they will be very motivating to you as well. 

A lot of people depend solely on the weight scale to give them the gratification of losing weight, and that's ok, but there are so many other indicators of progress that we miss out on. I'm sad when my clients can't recognize how far they've come because the scale is not dropping as it had or how fast they wish it would. However, I see their small victories weekly and want them to feel and appreciate them. When they do, their motivation is through the roof, and they are ready to tackle another goal. 

Be sure to take pictures, measurements, and journal about how you feel, today before you begin. Be honest with yourself when you journal. Do you feel sad, depressed, insecure? How are you sleeping at night? Do you feel lousy throughout the day? What are your eating habits? Put them in a safe place so you can reflect back on all of it anytime you feel drained or uninspired. 

Have your pictures done in a sports bra and shorts, even if you dread the thought of it. If you can't bring yourself to allow someone else to take them, prop your phone up and hit the self-timer button. It may take a few minutes to dial it in, but get the pictures! You'll be glad you did, trust me. Do your measurements thoroughly, waist, chest, hips, thighs, arms, and most importantly, your neck. Your neck girth is an excellent indicator of weight loss, more so than any other measurement. 

Documenting your starting point will be worth gold when you begin transforming your body. As you may very well know, we are own worst critic, and we pick ourselves apart, denying ourselves of recognizing or celebrating our individual victories. We are so quick to cheer others on, but yet we never pat our own backs. By truly knowing your starting point, you can see where you have changed and not allow yourself to deny your excitement. 

BE CONSISTENT

Anyone that hires me as a trainer knows my most significant piece of advice in fitness and nutrition is to be CONSISTENT. No, not perfect. No one is perfect or will be perfect at working out and dieting, but if you show up consistently, you will be successful with all of your goals. Consistency is key to all things fitness, that is a fact. 

You can't clean your house once a month or two and be puzzled why your home isn't clean. You can't show up for your job whenever you feel like it and wonder why you aren't getting pay raises or promotions. Everything you do that you want to succeed in requires consistency. You don't have to scrub your house from top to bottom, every single day, but you do need to consistently tidy up to keep your home looking and feeling clean. Just like you don't need to live at work to be a valuable employee, but you do need to show up daily and work as best as you can. 

When it comes to exercising, you don't have to be soaked in sweat and so sore that you can barely walk every week. However, even if you don't feel like exercising, at least go for a quick walk. Keep your body moving in some fashion and stay focused on your goals every day. You can't eat whatever you want all weekend long and then Monday morning start your diet all over again. Your results will be hindered, and you'll be disappointed with yourself when you're not reaching any of your goals. 

Again, you don't need to be perfect, and there will be meals that you break and eat something out of your meal plan. That's ok, and I do expect you to treat yourself to something that you enjoy. Splurging from time to time, will not derail you from your goals. Consistently eating bad and skipping your workouts will keep you from obtaining all of them. 

Know going into your new plan, no matter what, you have to work every single day to get your body to change the way you want it to. You will lose weight, gain muscle, or whatever your goal is if you consistently work towards it. Remind yourself that skipping out on your scheduled workouts and avoiding your prepped food and choosing fast-food will have the opposite effect on your body. 

DON'T REPEAT YOUR MISTAKES

Starting a new weight loss plan can be an all-new experience for you, or you may have nightmares from your previous attempts. There's a lot to learn and a lot of mistakes that will be made, especially during your first month. Every mistake made is an opportunity to learn and to grow. You must be open-minded and ready to try new things to better yourself for exciting results, not possible if you aren't willing to experiment with. 

The nutrition part of weight loss is undoubtedly the hardest part. There are many pitfalls when it comes to dieting. There are many temptations at every turn, especially when eating out with loved ones. If you've struggled with overeating, dieting can be grueling, leaving you feeling deprived and starving. When you feel this way, the most natural thing you can do is to grab whatever is there, ready to eat, no matter what it is. 

Here is a mistake that everyone has experienced. What you need to learn from this is that you must have your food prepped and ready. You may also need to find a small, healthy snack to munch on in between meals, to keep you from being in the starvation mode, where you fall prey to caving on your diet. If you find that every night before bed, you go crazy and eat chips and cookies, only to wake up in the morning, riddled with guilt. 

Here you need to decide to either go to bed earlier or find something low-calorie to snack or chug cold water until the hunger passes you until you head to bed. For every mistake, there's a simple solution that won't keep you from succeeding. It will all depend on how bad you want to reach your goals. 

Every client I have, I ask weekly, what is it that you're struggling with, and I quickly give them several different ways of getting around them. How? Because I've made all of the mistakes, people make when trying to get healthy. I've struggled with all of it, but I never quit. I remained open-minded and calmly found ways not to repeat them, over and over again. 

Ok, it's time for you to get your thinking cap on, clear your mind of all things going on with others, grab a notebook and pencil and focus on you and exactly what YOU want. What is it that you want to gain from a new healthy lifestyle? What excites you? How hard are you willing to work towards your new goals? What are you going to do to get there? Get all of it on paper and sketch out your plan. 

Be excited. Be hopeful. Your body is ready and willing to change exactly how you want it too. You need to be realistic about how you're going to go about your plan of attack and what your daily life will allow. Once you have that established, get moving. Get those pictures and measurements, even if the thought makes you cringe and remember, you'll be grateful you did it. 

I'm here cheering you on, and I know you can do it! If you need some fun, simple ways to keep you on track and inspired, please sign up below to be on the inside loop of tricks and tools to fast track you to all of your goals. I'd love to be a guiding light on your path to greatness. 

Aimee Schwinabart is the founder of The Purely Fit—online workouts, nutrition, and fitness coaching that actually work! She specializes in short (super effective) daily workouts combined with customized nutrition plans to help real people shed excess fat to reveal toned, lean muscles. The Purely Fit approach to looking and feeling great prioritizes small, steady, super efficient workouts and nutrition upgrades to help you stay with it once and for all!