Your plan is your success

Resolving to weigh less, eat well, or get stronger in the coming year? LMQC Nutritionist blogger, Jeni Tackett, urges you to plan ahead and be consistent to achieve success!

by Nutritionist Blogger, Jeni Tackett, RD, LD

Antoine de Saint-Exupery said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” Plan everything, but make sure your plans actually support your goals.

The benefits of planning ahead

making your healthy lunch the night before you need it gives you time to think about the nutritional value of the food you’re giving you or your kids during the day.

For one thing, plan ahead for busy days by preparing a healthy soup in the crock pot the morning of your child’s basketball game. (Or prepare and freeze meals on the weekend.)

Planning ahead like this can prevent trips through fast food drive-thrus and calls for pizza delivery.

On that note, make healthy lunches the night before, for you and your kids. Mornings are hectic enough without adding the temptation to skip the brown bag in favor of unhealthy restaurant or cafeteria choices.

Preparation should be simple

Here are some ways to keep it simple:

Pack for tomorrow’s workout, tonight – Spend a few minutes each night packing your gym clothes for the next day, so after work you can go straight to the gym, eliminating the temptation of your comfy couch at home.

Write down your workout before you get to the gym – Choose a few basic exercises that match your goals, and write them in your training log, so you don’t waste time thinking about what you’re going to do when you get to the gym.

Not sure what you’re doing? Hire a trainer – If planning your own workouts seems too difficult at first, hire a personal trainer until you feel comfortable.

Be consistent, even on the weekend

It can be easy on the weekend to not make it to the gym, when you are out of your normal routine of exercising before, during, or after work. Also, some gyms have shorter weekend hours. Don’t let this stop you from getting your workout in!

You can get a great workout at home, if you have the creativity and motivation. It’s important that your workouts are effective, but more important, that they are convenient and enjoyable, so they happen in the first place.

Also, use the weekend to plan specific things that you want to accomplish in the coming week.

Healthy eating shouldn’t end on Friday night

You need to eat healthy throughout the week, including the weekend. Eating healthy Monday through Thursday and then splurging Friday through Sunday will sabotage any progress. To help with consistency during the weekend, cut back on eating out.

Continue to eat plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, and be sure to eat breakfast. Choose healthy foods to start the day off right!

Keeping a food journal can help you control what you eat and when you eat it.

Keeping a food journal can help keep you accountable and on the road to success. Writing down what you eat helps you see if you do too much “damage” on the weekends or in the evening.

You may not need to keep a food journal forever, but just long enough to pinpoint where you need to improve your eating habits.

Whether it’s food or exercise, keeping a journal helps hold you accountable

Your fitness program might concentrate on different body parts, different exercises or different forms of exercise each time you go to the gym. Keeping a training log or workout program of specific things to accomplish each day can hold you accountable.

For example, you might create a program to concentrate on upper body one day and lower body the next; push-ups one day and sit-ups the next; resistance training one day and cardio the next.

It’s ideal to do some form of physical activity daily to make it more routine, but one full-body workout per week is still beneficial if that’s all you can commit to, starting out.

Also, when deciding what you are going to do each day, make sure you choose things that are enjoyable for you. The type of exercise you choose must fit your personality.

The benefits of planning ahead

making your healthy lunch the night before you need it gives you time to think about the nutritional value of the food you’re giving you or your kids during the day.

Preparation should be simple

Pack for tomorrow’s workout, tonight – Spend a few minutes each night packing your gym clothes for the next day, so after work you can go straight to the gym, eliminating the temptation of your comfy couch at home.

Write down your workout before you get to the gym – Choose a few basic exercises that match your goals, and write them in your training log, so you don’t waste time thinking about what you’re going to do when you get to the gym.

Not sure what you’re doing? Hire a trainer – If planning your own workouts seems too difficult at first, hire a personal trainer until you feel comfortable.

Be consistent, even on the weekend

Healthy eating shouldn’t end on Friday night

Keeping a food journal can help you control what you eat and when you eat it.

Whether it’s food or exercise, keeping a journal helps hold you accountable