I recently posted this photo showing my progress in 82 days, which is shy of 3 months. In return, I have gotten a lot of response asking what I changed besides my environment to keep me on track. Here’s a few bullets to break it down.
- Stick to a route
I generally go to bed around the same time each day, and if I don’t.. I still wake up within 30 minutes of the same time: every day. The alarm goes off between 4:45am-5:30am. By 6am I have eaten, and at 7am I am warming up for my workout. I keep my agenda Monday to Sunday. If you are keeping to your routine (workouts and nutrition) Monday to Friday, blowing off your consistency for Friday night to Sunday: It WILL impact your results and usually contribute to a yo-yo effect.
- Find a support system
This is why I genuinely love my 7am crew that I work out with. Full disclosure is that I do own my gym, but at 7am when I’m working out.. I’m working out with my friends. A solid group of individuals that are here for the same things in that very moment. To sweat, to feel good, to have fun. It makes getting accountable easy. My friend and trainer Caley delivers the best energy. Group sessions truly are pivotal in a lot of transformations for the accountability.. because you have that time reserved as an appointment, and you know as soon as you walk through the doors- you’re putting in work.
- Stick to the script
Some workouts are stronger than others. That is completely normal- but still showed up. A dear friend once called these ‘maintenance’ workouts, and it’s so relatable. It’s better to come and move, than not move at all.. but chances are, if it’s emotional or tiredness, within the first 5 minutes, you’ll be soaring (..flying 🎶). Again, when you workout with familiar faces, they’ll notice if you’re missing. It’s such a bittersweet!
- Watch your extracurriculars
What you do in your home, and in the gym, are incredibly important simultaneously. This includes where you spend your time, who you spend your time with, and truly protecting your energy. Since I was a small girl, my mother always said ‘you are who you hangout with’, which I never understood until the realities of life came to pass. I love reading non-fiction, and one thing the self improvement and entrepreneur gurus teach- You become like the 5 people that you spend the most time with. Look around and access the situation. Want to be positive? Spend time with positive people. If we only spend time with those who struggle, and get comfortable struggling together- it becomes tough to branch off. I’m not saying that all your contacts need to be perfect, not at all. We are all far from perfect.. but limiting time spent, and spending time with those who engage in positive behaviours truly does go a long way.
- You don’t need to be extreme. You need to be consistent
This is by far my favourite quote right now. A few people have asked what diet that I am on. There is no diet, no deprivation. I focus on my protein intake (generally between 150-250g of protein, keep in mind it varies per person), and my carbs/fats are moderate but it depends on the day how much I intake, but I don’t calculate those although I am aware of my servings. Keep in mind, this is my profession. I have lost 200lbs before.. I know what to do since I always have (including helping people internationally lose 100s of pounds at a time over the past 15 years). I genuinely needed to take my head out of my ass, make choices for myself, and get consistent. No diet. No over exercising. I had a friend (a fellow coach) who helped me get accountable for a month in May, and oversaw my original macros.. it helped to jump start me but I wavered and put that weight back on because my mental game wasn’t there. I was miserable. I was looking for accountability, to help change my state, but in reality, it took me to get back to me. The picture on the left is July, and the one on the righthand side- was yesterday. September 29th. I adjust my macros accordingly while monitoring my results. Tweaking things here and there, but never extreme. Sustainability, consistency.
LAST THING
- Learn to cook and love the foods you consume
If you don’t like it, you won’t eat it consistently. There’s nothing worse than choking down foods that you don’t enjoy. I found foods that fit within my goals, and I prepare them at home. I do, maybe once or twice a month, go out for lunch. I always go to places that have options for me to eat according to my macros- but I don’t skip the dishes, and I don’t do drive-thrus. This became an environmental habit over Covid, and spring time, which aiding in my weight gain. So keeping away from takeout, keeping away from regularly consuming even diet pop, even the occasional alcohol.. is a huge impact on my success. Each day, my partner (who has lost 120+ lbs herself, and has gone from a size 22/24 to a size 4, from 50% body fat, to 15% body fat) and I calculate our protein intake for the following day. Both of us prepare our meals mostly together, even though we have different schedules. If she’s working, I prep. If I’m working, she preps. If we have a chunk of time in the day together (which we 99% of the time do), we prep together. But we have fun with it, enjoying our foods, and sometimes resulting in a water fight. Another quick tip plug-in, is your home support system. Having your partner in your corner can definitely make a huge impact ❤️
I hope you can take what you need from this post today, and apply some of these tips to your every day life for your own personal successes.
Best wishes and warmest regards,
Christina
The Transformation Station 