10 steps to conquering your goals

These are not just for new year resolutions, this is for your LIFE’s solutions! Let’s jump in…

1- FOCUS & DECIDE. Instead of choosing several goals to work on all at the same time, focus energy to your top 1-2 main goals. Which are you most

2-BIGGEST WHY. Which are you most emotionally connected to?
3- COMMIT (No, Really) Commit the right amount of resources (time, energy, Finances, attention) to make your goals reality.

4- MAKE A PLAN. Every Sunday, set aside 15-30 minutes to plan out your week and make sure you have what you need on-hand and ready to go.

Then every night take 3-5 minutes to make sure you’re in track for the next day. This makes a huge difference 🔑

5- TAKE ACTION. This is actually the most important step of all. You won’t reach your goals without consistent action.

DO SOMETHING EVERYDAY THAT MOVES YOU CLOSER TO YOUR GOAL.

6- GET SUPPORT/ACCOUNTABILITY. Tell trusted friends and family members what you’re working toward. Or even better, work with an experienced coach who will help you get (and stay) on track with a proven program.

7- SET DEADLINES. Don’t skip this one. Without having a specific date to shoot toward, you dint have urgency to take action. When you feel a clock ticking down toward your goals, it will help you light a fire of motivation.

8- GIVE YOURSELF A REWARD. When you meet milestones along the way toward your goals, reward yourself with a healthy payoff! New shoes, workout gear, a book, or a massage are great choices!

9-MANAGE EXPECTATIONS. Making changes and going after goals can take time and effort. Be patient and stay the course! (You’re changing lifetime habits)

10- REEVALUATE. Do a quick evaluation of where you are every few weeks.
Are you killing it and staying on track? ✅

Are you following the plan?✅

Are you following the plan and it’s not working? 🤔

This is where a coach or accountability partner can make a big difference- because they have an experienced, big-picture view of your goals and can help you accelerate your results.

Trust the process. Keep going

When your results are taking forever!! 😩😩

Let’s say you’re following a proven plan to get the results you want. Except you feel like you aren’t getting those results!

 What should you do if that happens? 

It can be so tempting to push even HARDER into your plan by cutting things out of it or changing it up … 

…. or to start all over again with a completely different plan that your coworker or friend can’t stop raving about.

I’ve got THREE THINGS to check before you take any action!

First: Are you really SURE you aren’t getting results? [For example, if you are working towards losing weight but the scale hasn’t moved … know there are other methods to track your results beyond the scale, like your bodyfat% or skeletal muscle, how your clothes fit, or my favorite progress pictures. Our bodies are finicky and don’t always respond in a straight-line manner.]

Second: Have you given your plan enough time to work? [Especially for women, it can take a week or two for the results to kick in.] 

We have been programmed by reality TV (and a little social media) to expect instant and dramatic results, but the reality is, that’s not a healthy or sustainable approach.

The goal is to get results you can maintain for a lifetime, right? Those take a little time.

OK, so now for the third tip, which could be the most important. 

Ask yourself … 

Are you REALLY following your plan? By that I mean, are you switching things up or making adjustments here and there? 

This is a really common issue and it can quickly stall your progress. 

Do a review and make sure your actions align with your plan .. and then if you need to, readjust!

OK … so let’s say it’s been 2 or 3 weeks and you’ve been following the plan and you’ve gotten NO RESULTS. 

What should you do?

First, if you have a coach, definitely work with them on all of this.

Because this is when you should think about changing ONE THING in your plan to help nudge your results along!

What that thing is, depends on you and your particular goals. If you change too many things all at once, you won’t know what actually made the difference!

And then give it a week to see the changes. 

And then you just keep repeating.

This process can help you over the long-run because it helps you create real, healthy habits that will help you maintain all those hard-earned results!

Overcoming your weight loss plateau

Why are your results flattening? 2 reasons. Metabolic adaptation to your current diet and exercise routine. “Homeostasis” which is just a sexy term that describes your body’s preference to stay the same or you body has found its comfort zone.

2- there have been accumulated changes in your current exercise and eating routine that are causing you to eat more or burn less calories with exercise, and you aren’t aware of it. This is why I stress importance of doing assessments.

At the beginning of your program the weight may seem to be melting off (this happens a lot with individuals who start running) but as you get more fit, your body is going to require more of a workload to be challenged and get uncomfortable again which causes response. This is when new stressors need applied.

Adaptation is a disadvantage to us as we improve fitness levels. Don’t try to change too many variables at once, this will lead to confusion for yourself as to what’s working or not.

START WITH THESE SIMPLE STEPS⬇️⬇️⬇️
1- Drinking more water- this will help with appetite control, improve workout performance, speed recovery and keep you from overeating or eating out of boredom

2- Increase workout intensity- add more reps, add just 5 more lbs to weight your currently using, variety in rest intervals

3- Increase daily activity- don’t confuse busy with active. Add mobility and stability work daily to insure joint and muscle health

4- Improve food quality- like movement, we over estimate how well we eat. Decrease sugar intake, and start eliminating processed foods is a great place to start.

5- Sleep- my favorite! 🙌🏾 This secrets weapon we all have access to and misuse it. Sleep is key to recovery allowing you to be more active and train harder during your training sessions and keeping metabolism on point!

Tis the season of cravings!

Almost everyone has cravings. Cravings are intense desires for specific foods, and with our season changes come appetite changes. When it gets cooler, we’re craving comfort! That’s normal, but now more than ever it’s time you become aware of it, prepare for it, and plan for it! I will be giving you 9 craving crushers you can use to start incorporating into your process and continue progressing in your health and fitness journey.

Craving Creator 1- Not eating enough: One sure way to set yourself up for cravings is not eating enough (I see this more with clients than anything else that is killing their results). This will set you up for a vicious cycle of cravings and overeating. How to crush this craving creator- Eat more on a schedule- If trying to lose weight, remember lasting results come from consistency not crash diets.- Anticipate when you’ll be hungry, and have healthy foods on hand before it gets out of control.

Craving Creator 2- Not having a plan: There’s a sneaky reason it’s a good idea to come up with a meal plan for the next few days or check in your meals with your trainer. This will help you have food on-hand when you’re hungry. Yes, you might choose healthier foods by planning ahead. And yes, you’ll probably save money by avoiding last-minute binges. How to crush this craving creator- make a plan for your meals and snacks ahead of time and prep as much as you can. - As much as possible, stick with your plan.

Craving Creator 3- Being thirsty: Staying well hydrated can help ward off cravings. When your body is thirsty, you can interpret that feeling as hunger, which can spark a craving. How to crush this craving creator- Track your water intake. ( I have my clients shoot for a gallon daily) If you feel a craving coming on, drink some water and wait a few minutes to see if the craving goes away.

Craving Creator 4- Being tired: I know it’s hard, I’m working on it myself. Getting that 7-9 hours of sleep. ( I shoot for 6-8) Yes, this is another piece of advice you probably hear a lot, but that’s for good reason. That’s because your appetite is affected by hormones. Leptin and ghrelin that go up and down over the course of each 24-hour period. How to crush this craving creator- try to track your sleep- schedule your bedtime- No tv in bedroom

Craving Creator 5- Out of balance diet: Drink a lot of soda or other sugary beverages? Focus on calories vs. quality of calories? Eat a lot of processed foods? How to crush this craving creator- Avoid drinking soda, sugary juices or artificially flavored drinks- You want your carbs to be as close to it’s natural state as possible- adequate protein intake.

Craving Creator 6- Skimping Protein: Studies show that eating protein can reduce your appetite stopping you from overeating and helping reduce cravings. How to crush this craving creator- spread your protein intake out over the course of the day- mix up protein sources- start early with protein intake.

Craving Creator 7- getting stressed: Stress doesn’t just put you in an overwhelmed mood, it affects your hormones in a way that appears to be linked with cravings, especially for sweet foods! To add insult to injury, stress causes your body to release excess cortisol, which can lead to weight gain, especially in the belly region! How to crush this craving creator- Don’t wait to deal with stress, hit it head on- Make stress management a part of your daily routine

Craving Creator 8- Your environment and your emotions- For example. You might associate sitting down on the couch at night with specific foods. Afternoons with a sweet pick me up, or mornings with brunch foods. These triggers seem automatic, so you don’t even think about them. How to crush this craving creator- take note of your cravings and the circumstances surrounding them. Watch for patterns- Avoid keeping trigger foods in your home.

Craving Creator 9- Underfueling your tough workouts- You might notice that certain kinds of exercise or if you do resistance training workouts, working certain body groups, like your legs, make you hungrier than others. How to crush this craving- Don’t ignore the hunger, usually after strenuous workouts your muscles will let you know they need fed and replenished- if can’t keep up with the intake, scale back a bit from the workouts to decrease your chances of injury.

The more you say NO, the more you’ll grow….

I want to talk about something that will make you feel more in control of your time and also your actions … and it can have a spillover effect into other areas of your life.

● It’s saying NO more often – that’s right, all you have to do is JUST SAY NO to things you are not wholeheartedly interested in doing!

● In fact, you can even take it a step farther and ONLY agree to things that make you say HE$$ YES!

● If your schedule is usually jam-packed and you sometimes wonder how you’re going to accomplish everything on your list, it might be time to take back control!

● What does this have to do with health and wellness? A lot!

● Here’s why: Overcommitting your time and mental energy can leave you feeling overwhelmed, stressed and drained. It can even take a toll on your wallet … and your health!

● After a while it becomes challenging to do everything on your list WELL– and that can mean everything suffers, including your own quality of life!

● Also, a lot of people say they don’t have time for their own self-care, but that’s because they put everything else ahead of it on their to-do list.

● But the truth is, if you limit what you do to the things you truly value and are excited about, you bring up the level of quality and also the level of enjoyment.

● One way to start saying NO more often is to think about what your priorities are. 

● What are you working toward right now– building better relationships, your family, your health, or maybe your career?

● I know all of those things sound great, but working toward all of them at the same time is very challenging. It doesn’t necessarily mean you ignore the things that are not your priority, but they do fall lower on your list (right now!).

● Once you have your priority in mind, it’s easier to say YES to the things that fall in line with it … the things that make you excited and will add value to your life.

● For example, if your family is your main priority, that can still include career and health activities, since providing for them, being a role-model, and being healthy are part of the equation.

● One way you’ll know that saying NO to something is the right thing to do is to trust your instincts – if you feel a sense of relief at the thought of not doing it, then you’re probably better off without it! 

● And if actually SAYING the word “NO” is hard for you, one trick is use definitive words, instead of a vague excuse or apology. (This was hard for me at first)

● Some samples: “I don’t have time to bake brownies for the bake sale.” “I don’t go out for drinks during the week.” “Weekends are family time.” “I work out every morning.”

● You get the picture! Basically, using that language helps you set a clear boundary, which means people are more apt to understand and give you less push-back when you say no.

● Remember, along with your health, your time is one of your most precious resources.

● You never get back the hours you spend doing something you don’t want to do!

● Guarding your time is one of the best ways you can take care of yourself! (And many results will follow!)