I have run into one problem that holds me back consistently, results. For months I have been preaching a “lifestyle.” For months I have maintained another lifestyle. However like anyone else my goals and results have a large motivating factor in my everyday lifestyle. I have attained many of my goals, my three month goal took four months, my two month goal went accordingly and my week to week goals have had a high success rate as well. All that said, it is easy to reach a goal, take a break and another break and soon back to square one.
The hardest part about making goals in the beginning is attaining them. As we persevere through that very difficult stage we find ourselves reaching goals and knocking them out one by one. However as I now enter the sixth month of my lifestyle transformation, I find my goals becoming faded and vague.
At the start of this lifestyle, my goal were very detailed. i.e.
- I will take my multivitamin
- I will six egg whites for breakfast
- I will drink 16oz. of water with all my meals
- I eat six times today
- I will make all my meals tonight
These were and still are a lot of my daily goals. As I began to make those goals apart of my everyday routine, I began making my goal slightly less detailed but still very particular.
- I will consume 550 grams of carbohydrates today or 100 grams for my first 5 meals and 50 grams in my last meal.
- I will consume 430 grams of protein. I will stick to whey after my workout, casein, chicken and eggs will consume the rest of my proteins.
- I will do 100 repetitions of ab exercises.
By this point I knew what foods to eat and would weigh pretty much everything to make sure I was getting an accurate count. Likewise, my exercises were particular and had a pretty solid routine. As time went on, my goals were being attained one after another, so I would look at some of my long-term goals.
Long-term Goals
Varying goals from a month out, to two months out, to a year and so forth can definitely work both ways. I am more of an advocate for short term goals simply because of the urgency behind it. The long term goal can be defeated quite easily with the sword of time. I think it can be very beneficial setting a goal for a year, however I think that years goal can be broken down even further. My suggestion, the old “Pyramid” put your main goal at the top, break that down by each month and week. By following this plan you are drawing yourself a map to success.
When Goals Go Stray
It is no secret, writing or making a mental note of those goals it a great map, however sticking to those goals can be a difficult feat. So here are some common roadblocks I face:
- Time
- I reached a goal now I can cheat or kick back
- I didn’t want to be left out (Parties, fun occasions, etc.)
The biggest one and the most difficult to admit…..I am Lazy!
I lack the effort and often time will assume convenience in place of the effort. Maybe I got a little extra money at the end of the month, therefore I will go spend it on a good meal (More often than not I go to fast food joint…..really great meal…sigh). When I stick to the plan, the results that come about can be motivating and invigorating, on the other side when I do not stick to the plan I feel wasted and begin to doubt myself.
Keeping on Track
When I veer off the track and find myself going downhill fast, I just stop and get back on track. I know that for the past two days my lifestyle has not been what I want it to be. The biggest thing I learned about from that is get right back on. Even if the whole day you didn’t train, eat well, do anything well. The only thing to do is restart. If you go on a binge for a week, sure that may seem like a long time but your body has not fully given up and nor should you.
Start back slow. Do not overwhelm yourself and risk falling back into the rut. Take your time and reevaluate your goals and hop right back on. Do not start on Monday (After this weekend is over….blah blah blah) everyone does that, start now. Not next week, or when you get back, start now.
The worst thing I will find myself doing is losing focus of what I first started with and just going back to old ways because I do feel like I am looking better and feeling better at that.
