As a fitness and nutrition coach, I am often asked what supplements I recommend. This question is usually prompted by the latest gimmicky fat-loss pill, which fabulous new diet to try or reports of how quickly can a person lose ten pounds. The context of these questions generally relates to an outside influencer giving advice that may have short-term gains – but it never lasts. Quite often, those same people find themselves yo-yo dieting or moving from one pre-planned exercise regime to the next with no consistency which usually ends with frustration that forces them to quit before they even get started. What follows are three reasons you aren’t fit and how to make a change.
1. You haven’t yet made yourself uncomfortable
It’s very easy to settle in and just go with the flow. The status quo keeps the stress levels low because it’s far easier to stay comfortable. I mean, just a year ago I was doing the same thing; eating the zero nutrient-dense foods (and I do love kettle chips) but justifying that by saying I was working out. I was comfortable doing that, but it wasn’t until I was uncomfortable in my pants that I took a hard look in the mirror and knew I had to change. Get uncomfortable.
2. You haven’t defined your “why”
One of the founding principles of the Hii360 Coaching method is knowing your “why”. Only you can define why you want to undertake the journey and that reason can shift over time. Your “why” defines your purpose for the actions you’re about to take. Understanding your why allows you to use your internal motivation versus outside influences (not to include the advice from your health care provider). Once you define your why, you will have the ability to dial in goals.
3. You haven’t set any real goals
I need to lose ten pounds, or I want to run a marathon are noble plans, but they lack real definition. If you want to lose weight you really need to be two things: specific and realistic. Think about setting a specific goal like, “I want to lose one inch of fat from my waist before my next birthday (which is coming up in 90 days).” This becomes specific and attainable while giving you focus. This is what I did to lose more than 50% of the fat I was lugging around. Take ownership of your goals and get realistic about what and when you can achieve them.
4. The one thing you can do now
You have too many choices. Gary Keller and Jay Papasan’s book The One Thing discusses focusing your workload onto the most important task. While making drastic changes could be necessary under the advice of a medical/heath professional; set your sights on changing one thing. If you're leading a sedentary life, start by walking 30 minutes everyday. Once you are walking daily and feel comfortable, add a day of cardio. Build a base slowly and overtime you will make drastic improvements. It's the same with nutrition. Don't stop eating all the things you know you shouldn’t, but focus on serving sizes and eat only one small serving of those things.
It’s never too late to start a fitness and/or nutrition journey. Attaining your best life relies on finding your proper motivation, having well-defined goals, and trusting a process that takes time. Focus on one area that you can change and increase the intensity over time. Soon you’ll be a new you and living your best life.
