Starting can be daunting. So my advice is this, break it down and start small.
FOOD – Focus on one day at a time.
Where can you get your protein in at breakfast? Eggs? Protein shake? Then move onto lunch. Can you add some chickpeas or tofu to your salad? At dinner, can you prepare some fish or chicken?
What veggies or fruit can you add to breakfast? lunch? dinner? Keep it simple. You can eat them fresh, steamed, grilled, roasted or make a stir fry.
Then move on to carbs. What will be the easiest carbs to incorporate. Oats? Rice? Potatoes? Quinoa?
The same goes for working out. While it can be great to know what you’re going to do for the next 8 weeks, if you can’t get through the first week, having an 8 week plan doesn’t mean much. Set aside 15 minutes to make a plan for 3-7 days and BE REALISTIC! Schedule in movement/workouts that you can stick to! It might be a 10 minute walk, it might be a 25 follow along home workout from YouTube. Schedule your workouts like important appointments you need to keep. No matter how short or long it is, it’s an appointment with yourself that you need to show up for. I generally recommend planning your workouts out in advance. If you’re going to do 3 home workouts, email yourself the 3 video links so there’s no question about what you’re going to do when the day comes.
Some people get disheartened or feel like a failure when they can’t get in 5 workouts a week. There is nothing wrong with working out 2x a week. If you can consistently workout 2x a week, you will still see progress (especially if you also make an effort to pay attention to what you’re eating). Once you can consistently do that, you can always add another day. You might also find 2 days works really well for you. Don’t ever be ashamed of what works for you. Consistency is what is going to get you results. Some people try to do too much too fast and end up so sore and run down that even though they worked out 5 days their first week, they end up taking 2 weeks off because it was just too much. Sometimes less really does equal more long term.
Start where you’re at and build healthy habits slowly. Being goal oriented is great, but focusing on only 1-2 goals a week is what works best for most people. Sure, you might have 10 things to work on but when healthful habits aren’t yet habits, it can be too much to remember to drink lots of water, get sufficient protein, get in your micronutrients, pay attention to your portion sizes, eat slowly, chew your food, stretch, increase your daily NEAT by parking further away and taking the stairs more.
Pick 1-2 goals and focus on them daily! You might need to focus on those goals for 2-6 weeks before they’re habitual. But when they are, you can confidently add a new goal and know that the other two won’t be neglected.
I’d love to know what you’re going to focus on this week!