As you are seeing ad after ad of all the easy claims to lose a lot of pounds in no time, and ad after ad of what superfoods to eat to build muscle and cut fat, and every new online group workout device you can join in from the comfort of your living room, it must be evidence that the calendar has flipped to another year. You, like many people, must be contemplating a New Year’s resolution - again. You recently raised a glass to a new year and a new approach to making yourself a better human in 2022.
If your new year’s resolution is to lose weight, you can absolutely lose exactly how many pounds you want. You can spend money on programs like Weight Watchers and Sanford Profile and Jenny Craig or whatever. You can spend money on a Peloton or a new treadmill. You can get an expensive watch with a workout app. I promise that no matter which one you pick, they only work with one required main ingredient that doesn’t cost anything: DISCIPLINE.
A recent documentary that featured legendary Alabama Head Football Coach, Nick Saban, showed one scene where he was addressing a group of players and said, “It’s not about what you want, it’s about what you are willing to do to get it.”
If your goal is weight loss, it is not about that alone. It is about your actions and what you are willing to do to achieve your goal. In other words, don’t focus on losing 20 lbs. If that’s your goal, fine. Set that and move on. Set your goal and think ahead to what you are willing to do to achieve it. That’s the hard part. It will not be easy. You can never falter from your chosen path, and that will require you to make the harder right choice and forgo the easier wrong choice.
Simple, daily disciplines that when successfully achieved day after day, get you to that goal.
Just like Coach Saban said, it is about the process. What are you willing to do to get it? Here are some specific recommendations to supplement your weight loss program. These tips also contain the concepts to help you with any other goals you have whether they are financial goals, productivity goals, savings, sales, etc.
Have a weekly meal plan. In order to lose weight, you cannot rely on exercise alone. You can lose weight without much exercise if you strictly follow a diet plan. That means you need to “meal plan” weekly. Avoid impulse buys at the grocery store by designating one day a week as your grocery shopping day and stick to that day. Buy for the whole week and stick to a daily, healthy eating plan. If you fall out of constant meal planning mode and get unorganized, then your busy lifestyle will get the best of you and the next thing you know you are just throwing in an unhealthy frozen pizza or hitting the fast food drive thru.
Only measure results once a week. If you try to weigh in every day, you will get frustrated. You will dwell on minor setbacks and you will get complacent with minor victories. Measure your results once a week and move on day after day until it is weigh-in day and see how you are doing. Wednesdays are good for this because it gives you some cushion if the weekend happened to throw off your routine. However, Wednesday also puts the weekend in the middle of the cycle, so you must be disciplined throughout the weekend in order to stay on track. Keep in mind that healthy weight loss is typically only 2 lbs. a week. So, a weigh-in with only 2 lbs. lost is a victory.
Just say no. Say no to the snacks between meals, unless a healthy snack between meals is a part of your plan. Say no to beers with the guys. Say no to the fries when you are out to eat. Say no to the donut box that’s available at the work meeting. You know the actions or behaviors that will instantly get you off track from your goals. Keep them in mind. You will feel peer pressure. Overcome it. Do not give in.
Let $ be your motivator. If you stray from your plan, it will cost you money. You will be wasting money. Then it will take you longer to reach your goal and cost you more money in the process. Several weight loss plans require you to buy certain food bars or shake packets. They prescribe when to eat the bars and drink the shakes. When you are diligent with following those plans throughout the day, but you overeat at your evening meal, it is a waste of the money you spent on those food bars and shakes. Simply follow the plan day in and day out and make the little things that you are doing count. Every day.
Have a partner to support you. Your chances of success are infinitely greater if you have a partner along on your quest. Talk to your spouse and ask them to put forward an effort to help you with all the above. Holding you accountable does not mean that your partner must be the bad guy. Talk to them about helping you to make sure Sundays are your grocery days. On weigh-in Wednesdays, your partner should ask you how it went and offer some words of encouragement or praise. If you have to eat a specific meal each night, your partner should eat the same thing (heck, maybe this will force them to eat healthier too). It doesn’t have to be your spouse. Your friend or family member on the other side of the country can be your support. Weekly, or twice weekly check in phone calls, share recipes, share weigh-in results, talk about strategies for eating out at restaurants and being away from home on work trips. There will be tough days when you and your supporting cast may not be on the same page. Work through it and communicate constantly.
With any goal that is worth it to you, the process in achieving it will include bad days. Maybe reaching the finish line will take until August. Have discipline. By working through those bad days and constantly planning, measuring progress with patience, saying no, tracking the dollars in the investment, and having a partner to support you, you will be successful. Happy New Year! Now get after it.
