You’re heading out for a weekend camping trip.

You pack up your car with a tent, a sleeping bag, bug spray, some food, and of course toilet paper. You determine (ahead of time!) when you will be leaving for camp and when you’ll be headed home. You find a campsite and grab a map of some sort to get you there. 

Partly due to all of your careful planning and preparation, you have an awesome trip!

So, what’s the difference between a camping trip and a healthy lifestyle journey?

I know.. usually marshmallows and chocolate are not a huge part of weight loss, but there are some similarities here. It’s essential to make plans and prepare before even hitting a treadmill. Setting yourself up for success is not cliche, but is really, really necessary.

Here are a few things that I think are essential to your preparation prior to starting off this journey.

1. Sit Down

Grab a journal, a cup of coffee and a quiet place. Start by writing today’s date and scribble out your goals. What do you want to accomplish? Be completely honest with yourself and think about the following questions:

• Do you want to lose weight? If so, how much and how much time are you going to give yourself? Make sure to keep this practical. Don’t set yourself up for failure by expecting to lose 40 pounds in 3 weeks. Aim for losing 1-2 pounds a week to sustain the loss with time.
  • Food: Figure out a food program that works for you. Commit to this program! Don’t overly restrict caloric intake as this will slow your metabolism and make it even harder to lose the weight. Talk to me about finding a program that will work with your lifestyle if you need help! Examples of food programs include:
    • Intake tracking apps (I’ve used MyFitnessPal and love it!)
    • Shakeology (Replace one meal a day with this nutrient dense shake) –> Email me or click on the picture for more info!
    • The Paleo Diet – Eat like a caveman and avoid processed foods. Info here!
    • The Daniel Plan – Bible based food plan. More info here!

• Exercise: Aim to workout 3-5 days a week for 40-60 minutes. Workouts should include both cardio and strength training! Beachbody has some awesome workout programs (P90X, Insanity, Core de Force, etc.) that can help you attain your goals.
• Water: How much water should you be drinking a day in order to lose weight?
  • Multiply your body weight by 2/3 to find how many ounces of water you should consume daily.
  • For every 30 minutes that you exercise (per day), add 12 ounces of water to your daily intake.
• Sleep: It is essential that you get adequate sleep each night while trying to lose weight. Most adults require between 7-9 hours of rest.

• Do you want to be free of alcohol/cigarettes/caffeine/dependancies? 
  • Figure out aspects of your life that are negative or hindering your health and performance. Cut these out! Again, make these goals realistic in order to help them to stick. Maybe instead of having 3 cups of coffee, stick to 1 or grab a decaf. Chew gum/drink water if you are tempted to drink or smoke.
• Do you want to maintain a more positive outlook on life? 
  • This was a big one for me. I really wanted to actually wake up in the morning. I wanted to go through my day with a smile and genuinely enjoy life. I wanted to lose my lethargy as well as the weight.
  • Read: Turn off the TV before bed or early in the morning and grab a book. Read the Bible and reflect on it. Find a personal development book and devote yourself to reading a chapter each day (examples below). Fill moments of your day with inspiration and love.

           

• Spend time in reflection and meditation. Pray. Be silent and listen. Tune out the noise of the world and breathe. Mental health is key to physical health.

2. WHY

• Figure out WHY your goals matter. Ideas and more information on how to go about this can be found here!

3. The Wall

• Print out at least 3 blank month calendars. A link for a FREE calendar can be found here!
  • Label the month on the calendar and title each one (Workout, Water, Ate Clean, Drank Shakeology, whatever your goals are for this month!)
  • Hang the calendar on the wall near your refrigerator or even on the fridge! Every day of the month that you workout/drink all of your water/eat clean/drink shakeo/etc., check off the day.

• Hit up Pinterest/Facebook/This blog for motivating quotes. These can be anything that push you to get those checks on those calendars, and work hard. Tape these quotes up on your wall.

• Write out your GOALS and your WHYS! Tape these up on the wall near your calendars- when you don’t want to workout, just take a look at those goals and those whys. I firmly believe that this step is ESSENTIAL to success!

4. Purge

• Have a box of doughnuts sitting in your cupboard? What about a pint of your favorite ice cream in the freezer? Get rid of it. Don’t have tempting goodies right under your nose. Rather, throw it out and start new. Start fresh. You’ll thank yourself in the long run!

5. Shop Smart

• First off, never hit the grocery store hungry. Period.
• Head to the store with a list, and stick to it.
• Stock up your freezer/fridge/pantry with healthy fats/oils/carbs/proteins and lots of veggies and fruit. If you are interested in Shakeology, order it in advance (Talk to me about a 25% discount too!!)
• If you are interested in a Beachbody workout program that allows you to get a full workout in your own home, talk to me! Beachbody OnDemand is FREE for the first month (~10 a month after that!) and gives you access to tons of workout programs that you can instantly stream on your computer/TV/phone! This is WAY cheaper than a gym membership, and the results can be astounding. For more information on this, look here, or shoot me an email!

I’m here to help you prepare and start this journey off right. I’m still working on this lifestyle myself and have found tons of resources to help me along the way. You can do this! Let me help! Let’s achieve some success and some goals together!

Alice