Let’s jump right into it….
For this topic, let’s not try and figure out what you are doing right but possibly what are you doing wrong.
1. Not enough sleep. Are you still trying to stay up and watch that next last 30 minutes of Survivor? Or maybe waiting to clean up downstairs after everyone else has gone to bed.
Sleep is by far one of the biggest attributes to staying at a healthy weight and keeping it off. There is no true number on how many hours of sleep one should get on regular basis but the goal is to get deep continuous sleep. While staying up late may be the norm, this is also the time where your brain pushes you in the direction of foods not to eat. And what are you gaining by another hour or so? What is the benefit? If there is no benefit, then go ahead shut it down and get some rest.
2. You are not really tracking what you are eating. You use to track all your calories on MyFitnessPal, Lose It, Fat Secret or simply pulling pulling out a piece of paper and tracking it yourself. (I like the pen to paper rule). What happened? That thing that happens to all of us. Whether it’s a out of town business trip, a vacation, or spending a weekend with kids a their sporting events any of these one things can thrown you off. Simply put, start back tracking your food.
3. You are doing the same old work out. Maybe it’s time to switch it up. Instead of doing the same old run on the treadmill, try pushing the treadmill to the highest incline at the fastest pace you can walk for a few minutes. Maybe even do some sprint drills on the treadmill. How about get completely out of the gym and do some roadwork down at the local park. Just mix it up.
And for those lifting the same weights and doing the same 3 sets of 10 or the 12/10/8/6 split try doing something crazy.How about for the next couple of weeks you take on exercise and you go 100 reps at a med/light heavy weight. (I call it Hundos…) Whether it’s a machine lift, barbells, dumb bells, pull-ups, or even dips, try doing “hundos” to mix it up a bit.
Break it up into reps of 10 or reps of 25. If you suck at pull-ups, then work at it. Legs are feeling kinda puny, then blast them with hundos. If abs are you focus then see how long you can hold a plank. Change up the pace and you will soon see the results.
4. Lost sight of your goal. Was it really your goal in the first place? Did you really want to run a half marathon or were you doing that for someone else? Do you really want to compete in your first physique competition or do you just want to look good at the beach this summer? Let’s write down your SMART (Simple Measurable Attainable Relevant Time-Sensitive) goals.
– I want to accomplish “what” by “when”. (7 Days / 30 Days / 90 Days / 1 Year)
– I am here and I want to be here by this point in time.
Maybe you have fallen short in one of these four areas and need a reminder to fix it. You could even create one of those handy-dandy Microsoft Excel spreadsheets for tracking your meals (For you type “A” personalities). Or maybe you need to take some time to figure out what your true goal is? Are you looking at a pants size, a number on the scale, or maybe running that 5K in a few weeks.
What ever it is, just make the necessary adjustments to change what you’ve been doing to get on track.
Get back On The Grind….
Believe me if I could do it, any one can….