Failing to plan is planning to fail...

For the past two weeks I have been focusing on making smaller changes but haven't had a game plan.

Succeeding at something is easier when you have a plan as you know where you are heading and what you need to do.

A lot of people feel like a plan means a diet and being restricted, in fact this is not the case.

Like any goals in life you need to know the steps you are going to take to achieve them. This applied to short term goals such as losing weight and long term goals such as maintaining your weight loss.

Steps to making a plan

There are some things we need to consider when making our plans.

1. how long is your plan valid for?  I try to make my plans no more than a month long. This allows me to change my plan on a monthly basis to keep things fresh. I can evaluate the last month and see what went well and what failed, if I need to do more exercise or change my eating plan.
2. what exercise are you going to do? cardio, weight, yoga, classes etc. know what you are going to do and what days you are going to do it. Don't try and do everything on the same day. For example: Tuesdays are only cardio, Wednesdays are only weights etc...
3. what day is going to be your rest day? pick a day a week where you don't work out at all.
4. What are you going to eat? know your calorie allowance for the day, know what you are going to eat. It doesn't mean you have to eat broccoli and chicken for every meal. you can basically have anything - so long as it fits in with your calorie allowance.
5. Set your goals. What do you want to achieve and by when? make them achievable but something you have to work for and something you can measure/ know when it has been accomplished  Your goals don't have to be weight related, they could be something like fitting into your old jeans or going to the beach in a bikini this summer.
6. know if you want to keep track of your weight. if you do remember that it is not the be all and end all of everything!! Weight will fluctuate depending on what you have eaten, water retention, whether or not you have "used the bathroom" or not today.
7. keep track!! jot down what you ate each day - and yes, this means everything eaten or drunk!! It is harder to lie to yourself and pull the wool over your eyes when you are writing things down.
8. keep track!! know where you have come from and how far you have come. Take weekly.monthly pictures in your underwear or bikini, this gives a good indication of how your body has changed.  

What is my plan

Length: 1 month -  November

Exercise and rest:   

Monday - Weights 

Tuesday - Cardio

Wednesday - Weights

Thursday - Cardio and Yoga

Friday - Rest

Saturday - Cardio and weights

Sunday - Yoga

Food:

Monday - 1500 calories

Tuesday - 1500 calories

Wednesday - 1500 calories

Thursday - 1500 calories

Friday - 1500 calories

Saturday - 2000 - 2500 calories

Sunday - 1500 calories

I am choosing not to have a set eating plan but rather know my calorie allowances, that way I can choose what I am going to eat on a day to day basis.

Goals for November:

Weigh 55kg

Fit my Roxy mint green mini skirt

Rock the short shorts

Weight:

I decided that I do wish to track my weight.

Keep Track:

I use an app called "Fat Secret NZ" which allows me to track my calories and exercise each day. Its easy to use and being on your phone makes it convenient.

Keep Track:

I take regular pictures to track my progress as well as using a spreadsheet to keep track of my weight against my goal weight.

So time to start making a plan for yourself, it doesn't matter if you fall off track once of twice, having a plan to come back to makes things easier.

Louise Taylor xox

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