New Year's is upon us and that means new goals and a fresh start to get things rolling in the direction you've been wanting to fo years but could never quite figure out how to stick to the plan. One of the biggest detriments for following through with these new goals is the habits and behavioral changes are not in place yet. That should be the focus when it comes to goal setting, not how much weight can I lose in 8 weeks. A great way to do this is to think about what will work for you and what seems fun and enjoyable.
Having a better understanding of what is normal can help us not feel like we are not progressing, keep in mind we don’t need perfection to reach our goals so don’t strive for it. It is normal to overeat some days, it is also normal to under eat some days, don’t dwell on either one. Sometimes when we are busy or not training our appetite goes down and when we are training hard our appetite can go up, learn to listen to your body and hunger cues and to act accordingly. Don’t limit yourself to only 3 meals if you are hungry from a hard workout and don’t feel like you have to eat everything you normally do if you are not hungry. It is normal to have weight fluctuations, our body can fluctuate anywhere from 2-4lbs up or down on a given day for numerous reasons, that’s why the scale shouldn’t be a such a big predictor of progress. It is also very normal to eat things just because they taste good or it sounds good, we get very fixated on sticking to certain foods and certain meals that the thought of eating something different because it sounds good makes us feel like we are cheating. Or if we eat something that doesn’t have protein than its not a real meal and I should eat more to hit my protein count. This train of thought will make you crave more and overeat. If something sounds good just eat if it has no nutritional value to it who cares 99% of your other foods do and that is what truly matters. It is far better to eat something that tastes good than to deprive yourself and eat everything in sight that taste good.