5 Tips for Succeeding at Your Healthy Goals!

Never give up on yourself.

We all make mistakes. We stumble, we fall, we slip-up now and then. Guess what…. we’re human and that is perfectly NORMAL. What’s not normal, is expecting to be perfect, all day, everyday. While it’s great to hold ourselves to high standards, expecting ourselves to be perfect is a great way to set ourselves up for disappointment.

All too often, I receive messages from girls who are new to clean eating and exercise, telling me how gung-ho they are about changing their unhealthy-ways. They swear off all junk food, alcohol, sodas… they force themselves to never skip their 5 a.m. cardio and 4 p.m. weight training. They avoid social interaction for fear of being lead into eating & drinking temptations. In a matter of days, they try to eat, sleep and breathe a lifestyle that takes many people years to learn how to do. I receive follow-up messages several weeks later from these same girls asking me what to do about the binge they just had or the injury they just incurred. Trying to be perfect will burn you out and FAST.

Those fitness models and competitors you see? Believe it or not, they aren’t perfect either! They have a treat now and then, they take rest days, they occasionally skip a workout. It’s nothing to feel guilty about, honestly!

Set yourself up for a successful transition to a healthy lifestyle by implementing the following tips! 

• Set realistic goals – Things like drinking more water each day, cutting down your 3 sodas-a-day to 1-a-day, including more vegetables at dinner, increasing the weight you lift on a particular exercise, or adding an extra ten minutes to your cardio are all attainable, healthy goals. Once you succeed at these, make new ones and continue to build and expand on the solid foundation you’ve lain.
• Transform at your own pace – Just because someone else is able to eat chicken and broccoli every day or do two-a-days at the gym, doesn’t mean you have to do that too! If you don’t like chicken and broccoli, there are other options! If you don’t have time to go to the gym twice, go once! Don’t follow cookie cutter routines that you hate… create something you enjoy so that it will LAST!
• Challenge yourself, don’t overwhelm yourself – Just because the fitness models you see in the magazines can bench or squat a certain amount of weight, doesn’t mean you will be able to do that too. It took these people months and years of training to get to the point they’re at. Build up at your own pace!
• Be patient – It took more than a day to put it on and it’s going to take more than a day to take it off. Transforming your lifestyle and your physique will take time. The sooner you recognize and accept this, the better!
• Be positive – Instead of beating yourself up over mistakes, try doing the opposite. For example, if you slip and eat a slice of cake, don’t tell yourself cruel things like “I’m a pig” or “I can’t do this”. Instead swap those negative affirmations out for positive mantras like: “I can do this”, “I had a treat and now I’m getting back on track”… and MEAN IT!

What’s important to realize is that holding yourself to a high standard is great! Fantastic even! But expecting perfection is not. When you slip-up, move on. Don’t allow one mistake to become a habit or a reason to quit. *Smile* <3