The Reason Why You Don't Achieve Your Fitness Goals...

The most common reason why motivation goes away is because you forgot to pick a goal. You know you should start having a healthier lifestyle, a more active routine and better eating and sleeping habits but you don’t actually have a goal. 

Your goal is to do “better”. 

But as soon as a stressful week at work arises… or you catch a cold and take a few days off… or your best friend has a birthday party… and indulge on ice cream cake and drinks, you kind of give up because you failed at “doing better”.

This is why it is important to pick a goal.

Many of the new “mindfully” health coaching influencers on social media will tell you NOT to pick an aesthetic goal. This is bullshit. 

Because if all you want is to fit better in your old jeans, you will have a hard time feeling successful if your shoulders feel less tight after following a workout routine for 2 weeks (even though this would be a huge success if your goal was to fix your shoulder pain). 

If aesthetics are important to you, then this is what your goal should be, because this is what will make you feel successful.

However, if you feel better keeping yourself away from focusing too much on aesthetics, your goal should still be specific. 

Pick something that would make you feel like you are healthier and better version of yourself (don’t worry about how realistic on unrealistic this sounds right now). 

An example would be to increase muscle mass to promote hormonal health including blood sugar levels and mood swings.

Once you picked a goal, think about a timeline. 

This is where you are going to make your goal realistic and achievable. 

For example: if your goal is to get visible abs and gain 20 lbs of lean muscle mass + get rid of your shoulder pain, but your timeline is 4-weeks, you will likely fail and get discouraged. However, if your goal is to focus on lean muscle gain and feel better during shoulder exercises in 4 weeks, you will likely see and feel more success.

Once you have your goal and your timeline, think about if it is something that would fit into your lifestyle. 

You need to start with something small that you can implement in your daily routine. 

Maybe start with something small, such as including protein in every meal instead of cooking and measuring dry chicken breast and force-feeding yourself for 5 meals a day. 

Or if you know you have a busy life and no time to go to the gym, schedule 30-mins workouts a couple times a week that you can do before work. Create a plan that does not feel overwhelming to stick to.

Plan! Consistency will make or break your way to your goal. 

Without a plan, consistency is impossible. 

Have a plan for your next meal (even if its not 100% super healthy), have a plan for a workout, for recovery etc. 

Think about this: How many of you drink a lot of water throughout the day without planning on drinking a lot of water during the day? You need to make sure you have your water bottle, and actively remind yourself to drink your water. If you forget your water bottle at home or not planning on hydrating, you will likely won’t do it. This is exactly how it works getting healthier and improving your fitness too.

Don't expect to always enjoy the process.  - A lot of people quit because they don't enjoy working out. 

Guess what?! Most of us don't. 

You are doing something new that challenges you, and what challenges you usually makes you feel uncomfortable. 

This is totally normal especially at the beginning. You will feel tired, frustrated and sometimes embarrassed and confused. Also, this is when it becomes important to create a routine. A routine that does not overwhelm you, but can become part of your life, even at times when it's hard to show up. 

And example I can think of is walking my dog. Sometimes it feels very hard, especially when its early morning, dark and cold. But I take him because I know he needs it, it is good for him, and it became my routine. It is part of my life.

Similarly with fitness. 

Create something that can be part of your life, do it because you did it yesterday, even though it does not feel fun today.