June is the springboard to summer; a time to reveal ourselves to the world as we take off the layers of clothing and excess weight gained over the winter months.
This is the most popular time of year for people to engage in exercise and a weight loss program. People join fitness clubs, running clubs, group fitness classes and hire trainers in the desire to shed this unwanted weight so that they can look, feel and perform their best, and become the best version of themselves. While 80 percent of the population knows that they need to move more and eat less, the majority of this group do not know where to start and, or they struggle to make eating healthy and moving more a priority in their daily life.
I encourage you to leverage this time of the year to set out a plan for the next three months. Begin with the end in mind. Choose your goal date to accomplish your goal. Make a list of all the reasons why losing weight, getting fit, becoming healthy and achieving your fitness goals is important to you. Visualize this goal being achieved and identify with the emotions that will accompany you achieving that goal—joy, bliss, peace, happiness, pride, etc. Ask yourself why achieving this goal is important to you? Dig deep to establish a “why” that you can get emotionally motivated by. You need to have a strong, emotional reason for wanting to achieve any goal in order to take action on a daily basis. Without a strong and emotionally based “why”, you will most likely struggle to stay on track with your plan and without a SMART plan written down, broken down into weekly and daily goals, you will struggle even more. Consistency is KEY to achieving any goal. As I always say in the fitness classes that I teach, “it is not how much you do, or how hard you do it, but what you do and how consistent you are, that will make the difference long term.
Those who are successful in achieving fitness and health-related goals do three things:
- THEY MAKE NO EXCUSE! Nothing stands in their way of achieving their daily, weekly and monthly goals. They prioritize what’s most important and to ensure they succeed they do the following:
- They have an ACTION plan (with SMART goals written down-Specific, Measure-able, Achievement, Relevant and Timely). They report their progress on their activities to someone who asks to be accountable to, on a daily or weekly basis. Having a coach, trainer or ‘accountability’ person to report their progress to ensures that they achieve the following:
- They are CONSISTENT! Those who achieve their goals are consistent over time. They exercise 5-6 days per week to achieve their fitness goals. They invest in makes needed to support them on their journey to achieving their goal. They prepare their meals and snacks for the week on Sunday (ahead of time). They build their exercise and healthy eating into their life, as a ‘lifestyle. Those who are consistent find a way to fit their pro-actions into action every day. They proactively choose and prioritize their day versus react to the day in front of them.Take action and achieve your fitness and health goals this summer.