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Part 3: Staying Determined
1. Get motivated. This is where it all starts: with you. You cannot start a workout schedule without being 100% motivated and dedicated. Try to write self-reminders to keep yourself motivated. Stick them around your house, in your planner, wherever you think they might be helpful. Things like "five more lbs!" etc. can be just that last bit of motivation you need.
It's one thing to want to lose weight; it's another to want to lose weight and build muscle. It's going to take a lot of work on your diet and a lot of discipline in the gym, but it is doable. Motivation will be key as this won't be something that happens overnight. Be patient, stick to your plan, and you'll see results.
2. Write out a formal schedule for your workouts. Going from work to school to the house, our everyday planners can be quite busy. If you are going to get that body, it is critical that you write out a schedule that you can physically look at. This helps you plan out your day and not find yourself "having no time for the gym." You should plan on going to the gym about four times a week.
That 4x a week thing is for strength training. Feel free to do cardio more, but know that cardio can deplete your calories, which are necessary to build muscle mass. So do stay active, but don't kill yourself over it. That's self-defeating to the max.
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3. Plan out your meals. It's fairly simple to go to the gym. You drive there. You throw on your headphones. You start working out. You leave. But for meals? You wander into the grocery store. You stare at the aisles. You leave having succumbed to impulse buys. Don't do that! Plan your meals ahead of time, stick to your dieting regimen, and stick to your budget!
This is probably going to involve some cooking. The only way to truly know what goes into your food is to prepare it yourself. So load up your shopping cart with lean meats, eggs, oatmeal, veggies, tofu, berries, low-fat dairy products, and nuts. Then get home and work out what you can create in the next few days. No stress necessary.
4. Keep a journal. This should be for your workouts and your diet—especially if you're aiming for some muddled-up low/med/high carb routine and throwing cross-training into the mix. Eventually, you just forget where you are on your path to awesome. And if you add your weight/measurements in there, you can see your progress to boot.
If you have a trainer or a friend who can hold you accountable, this is a good way to streamline the process. Instead of sitting down with them and going over your diet and activity, you just hand them the book. Knowing someone else is judging you is super good motivation to staying on track!
5. Find a friend. Aside from holding you accountable like just mentioned, they can keep your spirits up, too. When a friend is meeting you at the gym, not only do you feel pressured to go, but you also know that the gym time will be more enjoyable as well. And if you can diet together, it'll be that much easier. Dieting and still being social is half the battle!
Women and men often lose weight and gain muscle at different rates. Biologically, it is difficult for females to gain as much muscle mass as males. Female gymgoers shouldn't worry that certain workouts will make their bodies "bulky", or less feminine. Above all, it's important to avoid comparison in fitness journeys. For example, females naturally have a higher body fat percentage than males. Because of that, it's unfair to compare your weight loss with a male partner, as it occurs at a different rate.
In this section, I talked about motivation, as not everyone can maintain it and therefore quits training. Keep going no matter what.
Artemus Vazhui