Ready for a Restart

I’m tired of myself lately.  I make plans and then don’t manage to execute them.  I keep trying to make monthly goals, weekly goals, 10 days goals but its not working for me right now.

“Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.”

This means I need to do something a little differently.  I started to think about when I initially lost the weight.  Of course, the first thing I realized was that I was a lot less stressed and busy then.  I worked a 9-5 job and that was it.  Even so, I still needed something to keep me going.  One of the tricks I used was from a book I read called Secrets of a Former Fat Girl by Lisa Delaney.  Whenever she would find herself slipping and making excuses, she would tell herself “It’s Not an Option” (click to read more about using this mantra).

This is what I mean by determination rather than motivation.  You have to be determined to do something in order to accomplish it.  Motivation is fleeting.  I was determined to lose the weight, so whenever I found an excuse, I pushed it away with my simple mantra.  There was nothing stopping me!

But of course, it is easier said than done.  You have to start practicing it in order to make it a habit.  For me, it helps to do things to prepare.  Again, monthly and weekly “goals” weren’t working so its time to be more specific.  First, I wanted to figure out my diet (my eating habits).  I decided to dig out my copy of Food Rules by Michael Pollan for a little motivation.  I know how to eat right, I don’t need to read a whole book with a diet plan to figure this out.  I just needed a little reminder:

It is that simple.  We all know how to eat right.  Don’t eat junk.  Eat lots of veggies.  The rest of the specifics are particular to each individual (for me – no grains, for a vegetarian – no meat, etc.).  But we all know the basics to eat healthy and lose weight.  Mr. Pollan sums it up nicely.

Second was to figure out the workouts.  Typically, my exercise schedule say “Run” or “Strength train” but nothing more.  This time, I decided to be much more specific and write everything down.

I stopped short of writing my paces in for my running intervals.  Having such a specific workout schedule takes away the on-the-spot decision making that would need to be done otherwise.  When you are struggling to just convince yourself to workout, the last thing you need (once you decide to do it) is to then stress over what to do!  Also, 4 workouts doesn’t seem intimidating at all.  It is only 4 days and then the weekend.  What’s so hard about that?

So now, its just a matter of execution.  I have everything I need in order to be successful, I just have to set my mind to it!

How do you stay “motivated” and focused on a health lifestyle?