You’ve read some of my story, and soon, you’ll see my transformation in the new Oxygen Fat Loss special.I’m sure many of you have similar dreams, stories and struggles. Maybe you’ve had success with weight loss in the past, but then life throws you a curve ball and you put it back on again (and then some!). Or maybe you’ve tried time and time again to stick to a diet or exercise regimen, only you can’t pass the drive-thru without stopping or you can’t seem to get off the couch to get to the gym. Sound familiar?
Trust me, I’ve been there and take it from me: you can do it. Just decide the time is now, and take it one day at a time. Don’t even wait for your copy of Fat Loss to get started. Grab your sneakers, lace up, and get outside.
While you walk, or jog, think about your goals and how you want to achieve them. When you come back refreshed and minus a couple hundred calories, do a brain dump into a journal or planner. Start by listing your goals. Mine looked something like this:
Kirstyn’s health and fitness goals:
• Gain body confidence
• Get down to a healthy body weight
• Improve strength
• Rock skinny jeans
Once you’ve listed your goals, make a plan. Start small and break it down into bite-size, realistic strategies that will work for you and your life. I started with a three-month plan:
Month 1: Diet Overhaul
• Eat clean
• Eliminate white sugar
• Start food journal
• Eat 5-6 small meals daily
• Drink more water
Month 2: Incorporate Exercise
• Yoga once a week
• Spin once a week
• Take walks after main meals
Month 3: Crank it up
• Join the gym by my house
• Hire trainer
Keep it simple. After those first four weeks of just eating better and keeping track of it in a journal, I dropped eight pounds!
I have to be honest. The idea of this blog and sharing my personal story with all of you has been pretty intimidating. But I hope as we get to know each other, you’ll feel you can share your stories with me too. I’m sure I can learn a lot from all of you. What does your list of goals look like? In the past, what has kept you from achieving them?
• Start food journal
• Eat 5-6 small meals daily
• Drink more water
Month 2: Incorporate Exercise
• Yoga once a week
• Spin once a week
• Take walks after main meals
Month 3: Crank it up
• Join the gym by my house
• Hire trainer
Keep it simple. After those first four weeks of just eating better and keeping track of it in a journal, I dropped eight pounds!
I have to be honest. The idea of this blog and sharing my personal story with all of you has been pretty intimidating. But I hope as we get to know each other, you’ll feel you can share your stories with me too. I’m sure I can learn a lot from all of you. What does your list of goals look like? In the past, what has kept you from achieving them?
Hello Kirstyn,
ReplyDeleteCongrats on reaching your goals! That's amazing! I'm tried for about 7 years now to reach my goals, but I've never made it yet. I keep waiting for something to sink in and for everything to work out, but there seems to be something that sets me back. I exercise and eat better, then I get sick or work or family life gets in the way. I have been reading so much information about diet and exercise, but having a hard time with applying it. Maybe I've set goals that are too high.
I want to run faster. I ran my first 5K this 2010 year and am training for my first half marathon in 2010 with the hopes of completing my first marathon in 2011.
I want to tone, build muscle, lose fat. I would like to do regular push ups.
Like I said earlier, I believe that maybe I need to reassess my goals and the steps I took in the past to reach them. I need to set new goals and small steps to reach them.
I need to figure out how not to get sick and how to stick to my exercise plans so I don't work out for two months, get sick, take two to three months to begin working out again.
I look forward to learning more about you and how you've succeeded. When is the Fat Loss issue going to be avaliable for sale? Thanks!
Hi, Laura!
ReplyDeleteI hear ya. Good intentions are the easy part, it's staying motivated and on track that's the constant challenge. I too have struggled for years to stick with plans to get in shape. And even though I've reached many of my goals, I still have days when I just don't have it in me.
One thing that helped me stay focused was avoiding setting my sights too high and keeping my goals attainable. I think the reason I failed so many times at weight loss was because I'd say: "I want to be skinny" or "I want to wear a bikini." It was when I started setting smaller, reachable goals, that I started having success. (Your goals for a faster running time and doing push ups are good starts!)
Every time accomplished something I'd set out to do, it motivated me to keep on truckin'. It's actually the subject of my second post, so check it out, believe in yourself and stay in touch.
I'm so excited for the Fat Loss special to come out. It hits newsstands January 4.
Thanks for reading!