Game Planning

Author Karen Lamb said it best when she said, “A year from now you may wish you had started today.” 

And last year that’s exactly where I was.  After a year of not paying attention to what went into my mouth, I finally came to the harsh realization that summer was creeping in and needless to say I was far from feeling comfortable struttin’ my stuff around the pool.  I was frustrated, embarrassed, and fed up with myself.  I absolutely had to make a change, although making a permanent lifestyle change is never easy especially when it comes to food.  Whether you are trying to lose weight or just trying to start living a healthier lifestyle you have to “Sacrifice what you are, for what you will be become” –Eric Thomas.  I think THE most important thing a person can do when starting this journey is to remember that it is a JOURNEY.  It’s a process and it’s far from easy, but it’s completely possible to achieve those dreams and goals.  There will be good days and there will be bad days, there will be easy days and there will be hard days, but a year from right now will you be so happy that you started today.

The Mental Part 

For me personally there has always been an emotional attachment to food that I never realized I had before I started to cut certain things out of my diet.  For example, I like going out to eat on the weekends, I enjoy curling up on the couch with some popcorn while watching a movie, and when I find a sweet recipe on Pinterest that I can make for others, I feel like I hit the jackpot.  When I started to cut those things out of my life, I almost started to feel empty! How weird is that?!  On Friday night (a night that I would typically go out to eat with my parents) staying in felt foreign.  This to me was the hardest part about continuing to live a healthy life-style…. The mental part.  I’ve heard many people say before that diet is 80% of losing weight and the gym is the other 20%.  Well, my own personal opinion is that diet is 98% and the gym is 2%.  I constantly have to remind myself of a quote by Bill Cosby “Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it” because that’s what it really comes down to…We are afraid of missing out, or not afraid of not tasting something.  We MUST cut ties with what our “norm” was and accept the new!

Getting Discouraged

We all get discouraged at times.  It’s just a part of the journey.  Getting discourage can hit us out of nowhere and sweep us right off of our feet!  These are the times we have to remember why we started in the first place.  If you fall off track with your diet… it’s not the end of the world. It’s so important to take BABY STEPS.  If you eat healthy for one day, you are not going to see results immediately (very unfortunate, I know) it’s a process that takes time.  And likewise, if you have been eating very healthy… one “bad meal” will not cause you to gain 10lbs.  If you end up cheating at lunch that doesn’t mean you have to cheat for dinner as well.  Someone once said to me, “If you dropped your phone on the floor, would you keep smashing it until it was completely broken?”  Of course my answer was no, and their reply was, “Well then why would you do that with your diet?”  It’s something that we all do at times… We have a slice of pizza that we weren’t intending to have and we think “well I already cheated… now where’s the dessert?!”  There will be days when you give in but that doesn’t mean you should give up.  Keep going, keep striving, keep dreaming, and keep reaching to achieve those goals!

Making a Game Plan

I am a firm believer in game planning.  It’s so important to sit down and actually take the time to write out your goals.  “A goal without a plan is just a wish” There is something about writing your goals down on paper that makes them so much more realistic.  I highly encourage you to do this! Once you have your goals written out, hang them somewhere so that you can look at them everyday! I have mine on my bathroom mirror and I read them every morning while I brush my teeth.  I also like to set mini goals.  If my ultimate goal is to drop 10lbs by a certain month I will divide the pounds by the amount of weeks I have and then I will set mini dead lines.  For example:

(Let’s say you weigh 135)

You want to weight 120
by May 1^st, 2014…Which means you have to lose 15lbs in 3 months.  That is about 1.25lbs a week. 

 I like to make mini deadlines so every two weeks I would set a different goal.  This
helps keep you on track and holds you accountable. 

I also like to sit down on Sundays and write out my meal plan.  I mean like, to the T! Every meal and every snack down to the portions! If you do this, there will never be any question on what you are going to eat, leaving minimal room for error! We fall off of our diets when we’re confused and unprepared.

Create A Dream Board

I know this may sound like a silly and tedious task but I am telling you it’s so worth it! (and I think it’s fun :) )  Make a copy of your goals and paste them into the middle of a blank poster board.  Once you have done that go thru magazines and cut out anything that inspires you! It could be a quote, a food item, or maybe someone’s physique.  I also like to print out pictures of people who are close to me that inspire me.  Giving your dream an actual vision is a powerful thing! Hang your poster in a place where you can look at it everyday and constantly be reminded of why your making
these changes!

What You'll Need 

I'm not finished yet but here is what my dream board is starting to look like. 

 I hope you all have a wonderful, wonderful week! 

xoxo

-Ashley

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