12 Week Fitness and Nutrition Challenge- Week 1
I'm sure you are all wondering how Laura is doing since she began her 12 week challenge 3 weeks ago? Well, I can tell you that she has documented every step of the way which will be shared with you later this week; but first let me outline the factors that have played a critical role in the success of the plan so far.
Where did we start?
I’m sure this is not the first time you have heard someone talk about the importance of setting goals; and it’s not going to be the last but this is where our discussion began.
When you have a specific aim in mind it automatically creates a focal point for you, in which to direct all your hard work and effort. Although Laura’s goals are written down and will act as a constant reminder of what she wants to accomplish, the goals were more for me to implement behavioural change strategies to fit in with her lifestyle. I want her to focus more on the consistency of those behavioural actions rather than the outcome goal so that when the programme ends, the healthy habits that have been established will remain.
Behavioural goals are entirely focused on what you do; those are the actions that will enable you to achieve your outcome goals.
So, once you have figured out what those goals are, you will need to implement a strategy to get there. We’ve all heard of SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-Based) but you’re not going to get anywhere if you don’t actually do something. Remember, there is not only one way to get to reach your goal- a small number of your actions will make a big difference- in fact 20% of what you do can make 80% of the difference if you get it right.
My Tips for Success
Set your goal and establish the ‘actions’ you need to take to get there.
Create habits/actions that you will perform every day. There is no way you will achieve your weekly or monthly goals if you don’t break it down to what you will do each day.
Put in place strategies to eliminate any obstacles that might get in your way.
Forget about your goal and focus on the process; your goals will then become a by-product of the habits you have formed.
Creating Laura’s Action Plan
The success of this programme will not only be influenced by nutrition and training but this is where it began. Everyone is different and there are various methods that will work even though the concepts remain the same. Each plan I devise takes into account specific goals, lifestyle, food and exercise preferences, time availability, weight, height, age and fitness levels. Some are great at sticking to a specific plan whereas others want a bit more flexibility and just stick to the key principles.
Laura told me that she finds it easier to stick to rules; so she will be so easy to work with but she also needs to find the way that works for her. This is why I never write specific food plans. I don’t find it the most effective way of helping my clients develop their own strategies to sustain their new lifestyle.
Each week I will create a list of mini goals and a ‘plan of attack’ in order to achieve them.
Week 1
Mini goals
*Only eat the food from the specified list.
*Eat whenever hungry. No restrictions.
*Plan and prepare meals in advance.
*Resistance Training 3 times.
*Track food intake with MyFitnessPal app.
*Track activity and sleep with JawboneUP 24 wristband.
Action
*Take the food list to the supermarket and stick to the food on it.
*Cancel school lunches
*Set aside Sunday evening to prepare meals for the week
*Buy enough suitable containers to transport food
*Scheduled Resistance Training sessions in the diary
*Download MyFitnessPal app onto phone and learn how to input food
*Download JawboneUP 24 fitness app onto phone and learn how it works.
Resources
*List of foods to buy and recommended places to buy some of the more unusual foods.
*JawboneUP 24
In the next blog we will be hearing how Laura got on in her first week of the programme; how she feels, how difficult it was to change her habits and any obstacles that got in her way to stop her from achieving her mini goals.