Are You Ready for Change?

By Angie Gooding
Creating and maintaining a lifestyle takes skill and persistence and dedication.  If you are thinking about making a change for the better in your fitness and your health, there are some specific steps you should take to ensure you are ready for lasting, profound and healthy lifestyle changes.

Element #1 to getting and staying in shape is A DESIRE AND WILLINGNESS TO CHANGE.   Are you willing to give up your junk food?  Are you willing to dedicate time to exercise?  If so, you’re off to a good start.  If not, examine what is holding you back from being willing to make certain changes in your diet or activity level.

Element #2 to getting and staying in shape: REASONABLE, OBTAINABLE GOALS AND A WRITTEN, ACTION-BASED PLAN.  Begin by taking small steps toward your goals; avoid overwhelming yourself by setting unrealistic goals.  Talk to a professional personal trainer or your doctor about how to begin meeting your goals, and then write the goals and the action-based plan on paper.  Tape the paper on your bathroom mirror, or your fridge—somewhere you will see it every day.

Element #3 for getting and staying in shape: THE IMPLEMENTATION AND CONSISTENCY of your action-based, written plan.  There are many topics to consider here: Where will you exercise, and for how long? What will your healthy meals be? How will you make sure you are making progress toward your goal?  For this step, it may be helpful to keep a fitness journal to help you be accountable, and to keep track of your progress.

Element #4 to getting and staying in shape: HONESTY. Are you honest with yourself about what you can accomplish? Are you honest with yourself about the foods that go in your mouth? Are you honest about your willingness to commit to your goals? Agk! This is a tough one!

Element #5 is the final, and perhaps the most important element to getting and staying in shape: RESILIENCE. So, you may have “messed up” on your goals, skipped a few workouts, or eaten an entire apple pie. Get over it. Get back on track and refocus on your goals. Enough of this “I failed” junk. If your goals are important to you, you will recommit and get back on track.

As always, if you have questions or need some help with your fitness goals, feel free to contact me by email.  I love hearing from my readers.  Good luck with your healthy lifestyle changes…Your body will thank you.

Angie Gooding is an educator and a personal trainer certified through ACE (American Council on Exercise), an IFPA professional figure competitor, and owner of Inspire Fitness & Training.  She lives locally, and trains clients in a private location in Marysville, WA.  She can be reached at [email protected] or www.inspirefitnessandtraining.com, or you can find “Inspire Fitness” on Facebook.u, you will FORGIVE yourself and recommit, because your health is worth it.