Sometimes starting out can be overwhelming, so to simplify things, here are the three main things to focus on when you’re just beginning your health journey.
DIET ~ Keep It Simple
Start by looking at your daily diet and nutrition, what kinds of foods are you consuming on a regular basis and where are they coming from? Try to remove the obvious unhealthy things, like a daily afternoon soda or the fast food take-out you order in a pinch at work. Many of those cravings you have can be squashed with healthier replacements in the beginning, and then once your overall diet improves, you’ll notice the cravings disappear almost entirely. For the gist of your meals and snacks, focus on the level of processing. This is where ‘keep it simple’ comes in - eating foods in the simplest form possible is likely to increase their health benefits. As a great example of a less processed swap, I’ll share with you a swap I made in my own diet after working with Coach Liz. In the mornings before my workouts, I would grab a Clif bar for the quick energy and easy availability. This is a highly processed snack with quite a bit of added sugar, so I started to prepare my own oats the night before to grab instead. This keeps the same easy availability and quick energy, but in a simpler, less-processed form. An easy, general rule of thumb to follow when trying to clean up your diet is the less processed, the better and the shorter the ingredient list, the better.
EXERCISE ~ Quality > Quantity
It’s easy to get ahead of yourself when you first begin working out. Motivation and excitement are high, and you want to see progress as soon as possible. However, if you start out gung-ho, trying to do as much as possible, you’re likely to get worn out, or worse, injured. This is why it’s very important to work with, or at least consult with, a trained professional. What’s great about starting out with LEFPT, is that you can do exactly this. With your weekly one-on-one training sessions, you will be monitored by a coach who can correct your form on each exercise and instruct you on how to make the proper adjustments to ensure you are getting the most out of each rep and keeping your body safe from harm. One quality rep is always going to be more productive than multiple reps with bad form that won’t even target the intended muscles. While it can seem tedious at times, the attention to detail and slow increase in volume will pay off dividends in the long run.
ACCOUNTABILITY ~ Be Consistent
To round out the beginners triad, we have consistency. As with everything in life, nothing that is worth it comes easy (or quickly). Eating super clean and working out every day for a week isn’t going to change a thing. It’s once you get to the third month or so of focused, intentional work that you are going to start seeing substantial results. You may have heard the popular quote - “In two weeks you'll feel it. In four weeks you'll see it. In eight weeks, you'll hear it.” While it may seem overused and cliche, those words aren’t a lie. But, that only applies when you're strict on your healthy habits and show up to do what you need to do on a consistent basis. So, when considering every piece of advice or instruction you receive throughout your journey, remember that it won’t prove true unless you stick with it for a significant amount of time. Continue to show up for yourself, day in and day out, and results will come. Even when plans go awry and life gets in the way, remember that something is better than nothing, and getting 1% better each day can add up to huge changes in your life.
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