{Day 13} Dedication. Consistency and Focus!

I know first hand consistency is really hard. I understand it from a personal point of view.  When I was competing consistency was a major requirement. Click here to read this article. I also understand this from my clients who get ready for big events — weddings, vacations, reunions, fitness competitions, etc and then go back to being inconsistent. This yo yo effect makes losing weight that much harder.

A well thought out fitness plan will go a long way in helping you to reach your goals. To achieve consistency, you will want to think about the types of exercise that you can do on a regular basis. A consistent workout regimen reduces stress and increases your mental well being. When you work out regularly, your body releases endorphins that enhance your mood. Sticking to a regular exercise regimen will keep you to feel revived both physically and mentally. When you exercise with consistency, your muscles will develop gradually and the body that you always dreamed about will materialize.

It’s also important to design a training program that fits your lifestyle and can be followed consistently without upsetting other areas of your life. Make sure your fitness goals aren’t so aggressive that you have don’t have time to train or are constantly running short on time that you don’t finish them. Be honest with yourself regarding how much time you have to work out. Personally I hit the wall at about [1:15]min.

If you are unsure about how to put together a program hiring a coach will help with developing a customized a plan that fits your needs and lifestyle. Click here to see a list of services that I offer that may be of assistance to you.

There are three main components in any healthy lifestyle program that help you to build lean muscle, lose weight fast and lose body fat.

1. Strength training — increase your lean, tone, body mass, thus giving a better shape to the body and increasing metabolism. Review the strength training day.
2. Cardio — help you burn some extra calories that will lead to fat loss. More cardio doesn’t make up for bad behavior or if you missed a day. Just do your normal workout. Review cardio day.
3. Nutrition — this is the hardest for most people. As we talked about on nutrition day, it’s about moderation and making this a lifestyle and not a diet.  Review nutrition day.

I want to spend a little more time on nutrition as this where the rubber meets the road. If you are awesome with your workouts but a mess in the kitchen you will struggle with losing weight. The biggest factor that cause you to fall of the deep end is the lack of convenience. Convenience is a big factor that effects the consistency of eating the right foods.  We’ve discussed preparing your own meals ahead of time. This will eliminate the excuses of stopping off at a fast food place because you have nothing to eat. It will eliminate the excuse for skipping a much needed meal. You can purchase a protein powder, a meal replacement packet, protein shakes in a can already mixed, and protein bars. Again these help eliminate any excuse for not getting the proper nutrition your body needs. I would still rather you eat whole foods, but something is better than nothing at all.

Train hard, train smart and train consistently. This is the only way I know how you can win the weight loss game.

There is no secret routine, there is no magical number of reps and sets. What there is, is confidence, belief, hard work on a consistent basis, and a desire to succeed. ~ Unknown

With fitness slow and steady wins the race, don’t come out of the gate so fast that you burn yourself out. That is one of the reasons why this course is 30 days long it’s to help develop consistency.  Remember there is no short cuts to fitness, despite what you might hear.

Today’s challenge

1. Write down where you struggle with consistency — cardio, strength or nutrition. Name 2 things you can do to help improve that
2. I am a very visual person. I hope you are too. So.. find motivating picture that visualizes your goal and post it somewhere that you have to see it every day. I also like post its. I post my goals all around the house so that I’m consistently reminded of what I’m working towards.

Don’t forget Leave a comment below. Write a facebook post on the Fabulous Fit Squad. If you have a personal blog, write a blog post. Make sure you link back to the site so we can cheer you on and hold you accountable.

Just joining now” Don’t worry you can catch up.
Day 1 — Intro the challenge
Day 2 — Getting your mind straight 
Day 3 — Goal setting 
Day 4 — What’s on your plate
Day 5 — Lift
Day 6 — Cardio
Day 7 — Living on your own terms
Day 8 — Rest day
Day  9 — Forming a habit
Day 10 — Just Breathe
Day 11 — Fat loss secrets revealed
Day 12 — Can you pinch an inch