Start slow – Don’t try to change all your habits on Jan. 1.
Just do a little more than you did the day before. If you don’t eat many vegetables, eat a carrot today. If you haven’t worked out, go for a half mile walk. Do that for a week; an easy minimal adjustment. Next week, build on that; two carrots/1 mile walks.
Don’t push yourself too hard too fast.
You’ll likely cause an injury by doing so,
If you’re not in the habit of working out, an injury will most certainly derail your well-intentioned fitness goals.
Don’t compare yourself to previous versions of yourself. This will set you up for failure.
By doing so you’ll constantly view yourself as not as good as you used to be.
Today is your baseline. Compare every day in the future to today. Are you better than you were today?
Cheat days should be encouraged and viewed positively instead of as failures.
If you eat a candy bar a day and then not allow yourself to have one for a month, you’ll likely give in and go crazy, eating 5 when you do.
Instead give yourself a planned once a week candy bar or 2x/week or only when you go to the grocery store. This way your mind can rest easier knowing you’ll get to have it sooner rather than later.
Rest days should be viewed in the same way.
Rest days are when your body repairs itself; when it heals or moves you towards a healthier state.
Slow change is lasting change.
The body will almost always correct against sudden changes. It is trying to keep you in a constant range.
Slow change will be seen as an acceptable adaptation by the body.
Avoid quick result programs or promises.
See previous comment. The body will swing back from that sudden loss; often it’ll swing back more to prevent another sudden loss.
These sudden loss programs implement unsustainable diet and exercise routines that won’t be kept up as soon as you reach your goal. Once you stray from the program, the results will disappear.
If your goal is to lose weight, don’t be surprised if you gain weight in the beginning as you start to workout.
Your body will start adapting to the increased demand.
The adaptation will take extra nutrients to meet the need.
This increased absorption will temporarily cause you to gain weight.
The increase will be temporary.
The increase is a good increase and not an increase of body fat.
