- Mindset
“Once you change your mindset, everything on the outside will change along with it”- Steve Maraboli
“Whether you think you can or think you can’t — you’re right,” Henry Ford.
Your mindset is your life heartbeat, the mind steers almost everything.
What mindset do you have about fitness? What significance do you attach to your health and wellness? A wise person once told me that you can tell a lot about someone by ‘what’ they spend their time and money on. That sunk in!
The thing with weight loss or switching up your life to adopt a healthy lifestyle including fitness is that you have to want it for yourself! Yes, not because your mother, father, husband, bae, sister or bestie lured and convinced you to sign up for that workout program and how good it is for you. Despite the fact that they have your best interests at heart, you have to want it for yourself! Unless you reach that point of really being tired of the unhealthy lifestyle or extra weight- I mean really TIRED, FED UP! How badly do you want it? That deep and strong state of being disappointed and probably annoyed is what will propel you to take action. I insist because the journey you are taking will push, stretch and challenge you to become the best possible version of yourself physically and mentally. It will teach you what it means to be disciplined, consistent, resilient, committed, more empathetic and perhaps test your emotional intelligence. The right mindset, coupled with consistent action is the key to achieving and sustaining the success.
Did you know that your mindset can affect your life expectancy? People with negative mindsets are less likely to proactively engage in healthy behaviors such as eating healthy, exercising or living in the moment.
Until your mindset is ready and changed, you are not ready!
2. Plan and Set aside Finances
The same way you set aside finances for food, rent, clothing or medical bills is the same way you ought to plan for your fitness/health and wellness goals.
A few years ago, I decided to slot a new line item into my monthly budget excel spreadsheet. This was close to the emergency medical bills line item. I noticed a peculiar trend about my medical bills line item at the point of budget reconciliation after my first year of consistently working out and sticking to my meal plan (OK, I cheated sometimes). The total actual expenditure on medical bills had significantly reduced- I had a surplus in my budget! It hit me that because I had gradually changed my lifestyle including keeping fit and making better eating choices, I was no longer falling prey to low immunity infections, remember those alien viral/and bacterial infections that just show up unannounced? I noticed I had less colds occurrences than I was experiencing before. My immunity had shot up. I then realized I had just relieved my medical bills for my gym cost.
You may also want to invest in some comfortable quality work out gear particularly gym shoes and apparel. For ladies, on days you won’t feel like hitting the gym (Yes, those days are real), this may be a great motivation for you to get you there. I do this lots and it has worked wonders for me. Sometimes the routine of going to the gym can get boring and switching it up with some new colored workout gear or apparel comes in handy.
Do you need to add color or style in your fitness collection? Check out the P3.8 Shop for some amazing goodies….
3. Find a Support System
“You can’t achieve anything entirely by yourself. There is a support system that’s a basic requirement of human existence…” Michael Shur
You need a good support system when you are trying to make positive lifestyle changes. This may consist of a few people (or even person) to provide support, accountability and encouragement (S.E.A) for you during the journey.
While some people may find this in their partners, friends or family, others may get it from communities or networks of like-minded people. You will need that safe space or community where you can safely share your small wins, struggles and experience without being judged. A good support system will extend encouragement, motivation, push you to smash those fitness goals or simply remind you to put that cookie down and pick up an apple instead.
It’s unfortunate that we live in a culture of ‘tough it out – that’s strength’, one that has acclimatized us to view asking for help as weakness. Contrary to this culture, saying ‘I need help, I can’t do it all’ is a sign of strength. The truth is that we all have gifts to share; time, talent, connections, experience, insights, skills, resources, a listening ear, words of encouragement or just a shoulder to cry on. Amazingly, most people love to share them!
However, when choosing the support system, you may want to consider people who either share similar values like yours, or just people that care about your personal development and well-being.
Surround yourself only with people that are going to lift you higher” Oprah Winfrey
If you are looking an authentic community for support, encouragement and accountability (SEA), the P3.8 Membership package comes with this. You can sign up here.
I have to warn you about the naysayers though. Avoid them like the plague- cut them off any cost. These may look sound like:
“But you look better fat…”
“I prefer you with some extra fat…”
“You are too fat, why bother? Why waste money on gyms- you can invest it instead…blah blah blah.”
Some may even try to project their past failed fitness endeavors on you “I signed up at gym X and didn’t get any results” yet they will leave out the part of where they didn’t follow their diet or show up consistently. You know all that unsolicited for advice, wait for it! You may want to work on and put up some boundaries to counteract such.
Just remember that you are directly responsible for your life choices and consequences. Suffering a stroke, getting a doctor’s report that you have diabetes, hypertension, a blood clot or that cancer that could have been avoided in the first place is all on you as an individual. The naysayers won’t be directly affected.
Do it for you, work on you for you.
Fitness is hard and so is obesity. Choose your hard!!
4. Scout around for a Good Gym
A good gym is more than a facility or the equipment therein. How do you know a good gym?
Besides crucial aspects like convenience and proximity for ease of accessibility, security, parking and reviews, you may also want to look at other value-based aspects that are usually overlooked. These may include professionalism, results-oriented and accountability among others. As much as these may be intangible, they usually form what the gym stands for including the core of its value proposition and discipline. If you look closely, the same values often times permeate into the gym staff, culture and service.
I am sure you have heard of or even experienced unprofessional gyms or fitness coaches/and trainers. If one is and acts unprofessional, chances are high one won’t facilitate you to get the results you want. Unprofessionalism may show up in vices such as poor time management, little or no boundaries at all among others.
A good gym ought to be professional in every sense. Fitness is expensive – ensure you are getting value for you money.
5. Find a Professional Fitness Coach
Fitness is quite wide with a diverse range of specialties. These vary from athletics or sport specific performance; behavior, nutrition, weight management and lifestyle; clinical disease prevention, management and recovery; mind-body fitness; musculoskeletal rehabilitation and special populations among others.
Not every fitness coach you meet will get you to your destination most efficiently and effectively. Notice I use coach and not trainer- there is a difference! A coach empowers you as they train you so that you understand what you are doing and why you are doing it; there is less co-dependency. A good coach works to draw out of you what you are capable of. He/she aims at empowering you to take personal responsibility and accountability for your fitness and wellness journey. On the other hand, a trainer may just give and show you a set of instructions/exercises to do, without necessarily explaining the ‘what’ and ‘why’. The chances of co-dependency are higher in this case.
Besides being good at their craft, a good fitness coach ought to be and act professionally.
Bottom line is – do your due diligence to find someone who is knowledgeable and experienced enough to walk the journey with you.
6. Set a SMART Goal and Get Started
Now that you have secured and engaged a professional coach, the journey starts with being clear on what you want to achieve, by when, how, and how you will be able to track it among other strategies. Yes, weight loss requires a strategy. A good professional fitness coach will facilitate and support you to set a SMART goal before you get started.
Remember it’s a collaboration between you and the fitness coach. Both of you have roles to play to get you to the desired results. If you don’t pull your side of the weight, the coach’s efforts remain futile.
7. Be Patient and Enjoy the Journey
I have had the opportunity to work with individuals as well as groups including setting and facilitating their fitness goals. The first meeting is usually characterized by a get to know each other session. One of the questions I ask is what one specifically wants at the end of the road. The answers I usually get go like – “I want this tummy and back fat all gone in two (2) weeks!” “Can I do a split net week?” “ I need abs next month” “I want Mitchell Obama arms next week”. When I probe with a follow up question asking them how long it has taken to get them to their current state, they usually respond less zealously…’well, maybe 8 years’…
I shall leave it at that….
Dear Friend, patience is very key in this journey particularly if you are targeting sustainable results. It’s a journey, not a sprint! One with highs and lows- that’s what makes it worthwhile and beautiful ultimately!
Unless you go for non-conventional means and methods such as surgeries, the natural way takes time. Besides being costly, the non-conventional means and methods usually come with very high and lifelong irreversible risks. Like all beautiful and lasting things, weight loss, body toning or body conditioning take time and effort. There is no way around it- you have to put in the work and time. If you want quick fixes and results, this is not for you.
Remember, fitness is a lifestyle…
Most importantly- Be kind to yourself, trust the process and enjoy the journey…