You’ve decided that you want to better your life so you started coming to the gym a few times a week. That’s great…but what else? Do you have a plan for what you will be eating? Where is your mindset in this whole process?
Getting to the gym to join a class or to get a workout in on your own is a great first step, but the saying “you can’t out work a bad diet” is quite true. If you are not eating a healthy balanced diet or not eating enough, getting to your goals will be an uphill battle. Life is busy and it’s easier to just skip breakfast, order your meals out from a restaurant or cook up some mac n cheese from a box. But how is that going to help you? People often say that their days are too busy to prepare meals or to eat breakfast. But the reality is that you do have the time, it is just whether or not you are making it a priority in your day. All it takes is an hour or two in a day to set yourself up for success for the rest of the week. There is a total of 168 hours in a week and all you need is one to two of those hours to prep…so there is time. Meal prepping is a great way to really reach all your health and fitness goals. Pick one day during the week to prepare your meals for the week. With meal prepping you will have healthy meals all ready to go for the next several days, making it so much easier to stay on track.
One important factor when working towards your health and fitness goals is your mindset. No matter how many times you come to the gym or the amount of salads you eat, if your mind is consumed with negative thoughts or self-doubt the process will be less successful. Health and fitness is a journey that goes beyond the gym. It’s a journey of self-discovery and growth. It’s the process that often begins with self-doubt to an end result of finding self-confidence. Pushing through the process with a positive mindset will amplify your success. Instead of telling yourself that you have to go to the gym because you have to lose weight, tell yourself that you are going to the gym because it makes you happy and feel strong. Making the gym a happy place where you go to de-stress from the day or to start your day off will make a huge difference. Positive thoughts leads to confidence which creates more motivation. Having that motivation means you’ll work harder and push yourself more in the gym. That confidence and motivation will push you to try new exercises or workout equipment that intimidated you in the beginning. Make it a conscious effort to stop the negative thoughts such as instead of saying “this is hard, I can’t do it” say “this is hard, but I will get through it and it will make me stronger”.
It makes a tremendous difference when you put in the effort and time to set yourself up for the week or day ahead. Meal prepping will help you stay on track with your diet and positive thinking will keep you motivated. You either set yourself for success or prepare to fail, it is your choice.
