Map

You probably wouldn't consider taking a long road trip without checking some sort of a map that showed where you were headed, and carefully planning out the best route. The same goes for weight loss. Before beginning you need to have concrete goals in mind and at least a partial plan in place of how you intend to achieve those goals. Goals are very individual so it's impossible for me to tell you what to strive for or the exact route to take. So much depends on your current fitness level and your personal likes and dislikes. We will talk more about specific ideas later on, but for today I'm keeping it general and leaving it to you to tap your own brain and heart. It could be a weight on the scale. Or a lower dress size. Or to improve your blood pressure. Or a smaller waist measurement. Or all/none of the above. It is completely up to you how many goals to set or what they will be. This is YOUR journey so you get to choose your own destination. But it's important that the goals be both specific and realistic. They need to be easily measurable (something like "look better" for instance is too general and far too subjective). They need to be trackable too so you can watch your progress happening over time and pat yourself on the back along the way for each little victory.  Take some time to ponder on what is most important to YOU. Not what goals you think you SHOULD shoot for. But really what matters most inside to you personally. What will motivate you to do the hard work ahead? What will make the sweat and effort worth it? Then I want you to close your eyes and picture yourself exactly how you will look and feel after you have reached the goal. What will you be wearing? What activities will you be able to do that elude you currently? Whatever your finish line is see yourself in your mind as already having crossed it. Feel how you will feel. This will be an important vision to recall and draw strength from going forward so make it as real  as you possibly can. Embrace it!!! Put your goals in writing as a firm commitment to yourself, but also remember to be flexible as you go along if they need to be altered.  I realized that some of my goals were not too realistic after I got started, and others I ended up surpassing by far. Don't worry too much about that today though. Just do your best to decide where you want to go, and then brainstorm as many ideas as you can on how to get there. Have fun with this. Nothing is set in stone so don't obsess too much. But do try to get as clear of a picture as you can of what you want and have a few ideas in your head of how to get started.

Starting Line

You can't figure out how to get where you're going if you don't know where you are right now. So before you begin a new workout program or set any goals it's important to take the time to do some assessments of your current state. A visit to your doctor can be very useful in determining which types of exercise programs are appropriate for you to start with. Find out if you have any underlying health issues that might require you to modify your activities or take medication. Conditions such as anemia, depression and thyroid disease for instance can hinder your progress when not controlled properly. So identifying and addressing such things early on will boost your chances of success.

I can't emphasize enough how critical it is to record your baseline statistics. At a minimum take your weight and measurements for chest, waist, hips, upper arms, and thighs. If you wish you can also record your body fat percentage, blood pressure and cholesterol level. This provides you with a solid starting line from which to track your progress. Each week you will retake these measurements and the new numbers will prove that your body is changing even on weeks where you don't notice much difference in the mirror. Weight loss happens slowly over time so it's difficult to see it happening without some kind of tracking system in place. Kind of like how you don't really notice your children growing because you see them every day, but a relative comes over that hasn't seen them for awhile and comments on how much they have grown. Gradual shrinking works that way too! There will undoubtedly be weeks where you think you look exactly the same and even the scale weight isn't budging. This can feel so discouraging that you may even be tempted to give up. But then when you check your body measurements you find that you've lost a 1/2 inch from your waist or hips and it keeps you going. If you go to my beachbody website (beachbodycoach.com/fitnessmamax9) and sign up for either the club OR the free membership you have access to a great goal tracker program there. Or there are many other online programs you can find to use also. But a simple sheet of paper works just fine too. As long as you can clearly see your start line stats and have a place to record weekly progress.

Now I know I'll get groans for this, but the last thing I highly recommend doing at the outset is taking a "before" picture. I didn't formally do this and I regret now that I did not. When I was very overweight I would have preferred to walk across hot coals rather than be photographed so I avoided cameras as much as possible. Therefore when I went back later to find a good snapshot there were very few photos to choose from. I wish now that I had put on a pair of shorts and a tank top, and been brave enough to take a real "before" shot. I know it's uncomfortable when we don't think we look our best to put that on film for posterity, but as your body slowly changes you will begin to forget what you looked like before which makes it hard to recognize how far you have come. Having a picture to reference later on will be very satisfying. I promise. My kids came running up from the basement the other day with one of the rare old photographs of me. They kept saying how they could barely remember me looking like that anymore. That it seemed almost like a different person now even. They were delighted and found it hilarious. But for me it brought tender tears to my eyes remembering where I started and the journey I had taken. I wanted to throw my arms around the woman in the picture and say, "See...you made it! It all turned out ok." The woman you are at every stage of your life remains a part of who you are forever. She deserves to be remembered.

So you've set your starting line in place...get ready, get set....

Excuses

Excuses Excuses!! We pile them up one by one like rocks until they form a wall that prevents us from moving toward our goals. We become trapped by barriers of our own making. When I finally decided I was ready to make significant changes in my life I knew that the first thing I had to do was tackle the excuses. It would have been faster of course to take a bulldozer to the wall and dismiss them all at once, but I am a stubborn woman.  My excuses and I had been together for a long time. There was a certain comfort they provided for me, and I wasn't ready to let them go too hastily. So I did things the hard way and dismantled my wall one rock at a time. Taking each one down and examining it before setting it aside and moving on to the next. The first few were the hardest. I wasn't very strong yet and the weight of my whining was a heavy load to lift and toss. But once I got going the work became lighter and before long I was chucking rocks right and left with abandon, until one day the pile was low enough that I leaped right over the top of it and never looked back. Honestly I believe the burden of the excuses on my back was far heavier than the pounds of fat I was lugging around. Freeing myself from those constraints was step number one toward freedom!
The thing about excuses is that sometimes they are based in reality and fact, so we like to translate that in our own minds and call them "reasons". This gives them an air of credibility that we can then hide behind. But I'm here to boldly proclaim that if something in your mind is holding you back from reaching your full potential, it is most definitely an EXCUSE! Plain and simple. If a rock is too big to move out of the way completely there is almost always a way to go around it or over it if you are determined enough to do so! Some are pebbles and some are giant boulders, but one way or the other they all must be met with grace and faith and...sweat!
My most challenging rocks and the answers I found for myself that helped me to overcome them:

1) I have a thyroid condition - Yes this does complicate things, but a visit to an endocrinologist and a daily dose of synthroid got me back on track. Taking a pill every morning is a small price to pay to feel so much better physically.
2) I am too tired - Go to bed earlier and take a nap if needed. This will get better over time as your body gets stronger. But push through it for now. The rewards are great if you do.
3) I don't have enough time - We all have the exact same amount of time available to us. The question is how we choose to spend it. How much time do we waste every day on TV or surfing the internet or moving at a snail's pace because we are so out of shape? I found that by taking an hour a day to focus on my health I actually got MORE done every day thanks to the increased energy level and enthusiasm I had for living. So turn off the television and get moving!!! Or watch it from the treadmill. :-)
4) It's not fair (double whine) - In the proverbial words of mothers everywhere...Life isn't fair. Deal with it! The sooner we learn this lesson in life the happier we will be, because it's a universal truth that we all must accept.
5) It's too hard to start, because I am so out of shape - Start slow. Baby steps. Don't try to run a marathon on day one or you'll burn out. See your doctor for an assessment and begin at your current pace. Just try to do SOMETHING even if it's only walking for 15 minutes at a time at first. Ramp it up over time. You're building good habits and mindsets that will serve you well.
6) I hate exercise - Get over it! I figure that if the alternative is remaining overweight and dying young than a little sweat is not so terrible. I may not love it all the time, but I DO love the results so that's what I choose to focus on.
7) I have no willpower - Time to learn then. One day at a time. With a powerful enough "Why" driving you the willpower will follow.
8) My family doesn't understand how hard this is -  Bummer. Find a friend. Join a club. Read a blog. There is a lot of support out there to be found if you look for it. So many other people just like you who need a friend too.
9) I can't!!! - Yes...you can! If you want it badly enough you definitely can.
10) I'll just fail again anyway so why try? - That was then...this is now! Repeat after me - I have fire inside of me. I can do anything I set my mind to. Many things in life I have no control over, but this I actually do!  Dig deep and find your personal power!!! It's there just waiting to be discovered.

What are some of the excuses you've wrestled with and solutions you have found? I would love to hear your comments!