Your Next Weight Loss Plan (in 54 Words)
You don’t need a diet, you need to be more mindful of what you eat.
You don’t need high-intensity workouts, you need to get off your butt more.
Whatever you do, it will NOT be the perfect plan. But even the “perfect plan” doesn’t work because it’s perfect. It works because you’re doing it.
(Everything I say from this moment on will only reiterate those 54 words. However, if you want it spelled out a little more, I’ve got you covered.)
The First Line
“You don’t need a diet, you need to be more mindful of what you eat.”
Things like getting enough high quality protein, eating plenty of veggies, prioritizing water over non-water beverages, limiting how much of your diet comes from processed foods and eating out… you don’t need some brand-name diet to work on any of that.
Pick one of those things (more if you can handle it). Don’t change anything for a couple weeks. Just keep track of your current habits to get a baseline. Then aim to improve it. (Defining “improvement” should be based on what you discovered by monitoring your behaviors for two weeks.)
That’s it.
It’s not as easy as picking a diet with specific rules and restrictions, but it’s what you’ll need to do after a diet like that is over anyway.
The Second Line
“You don’t need high-intensity workouts, you need to get off your butt more.”
Every time a busy parent joins a gym, club, or group class where your main goal is to raise your heart rate, sweat your butt off, and feel like you just fought off a grizzly and barely survived… somewhere, there’s a personal trainer angel who loses its wings.
That’s not to say that those types of workouts are all bad all the time. They’re just not a good fit if you don’t already have a fiery passion for fitness and nutrition.
If it’s not what you need to lose weight (it’s not), then why not find something that doesn’t leave the bitter aftertaste of death in your mouth?
Do a little bit of resistance training (even if it’s just some squats and push-ups). Find some cardio you enjoy (a little bit goes a long way). But ultimately, almost any activity will be better for you than spending your entire evening, every evening, on the couch in front of the TV.
That’s why the goal should be to get off your butt more, not necessarily feeling like you got your butt kicked.
The Last Line
“Whatever you do, it will NOT be the perfect plan. But even the “perfect plan” doesn’t work because it’s perfect. It works because you’re doing it.”
Why in the world would a fitness and nutrition coach say that you don’t need a perfect plan, that you should just do something? Doesn’t that kind of take away from the value of what we do?
Not at all.
There isn’t a perfect plan, but some plans are better than others.
On top of that, part of the reason just doing something (anything) is a good idea is because, even if it’s “wrong,” it'll shorten your list of things to try so you can move on to something that’s more right for you.
Megan and I can help you determine what is or isn’t working so you don’t have to figure it out yourself.
We can shorten your list so you don’t spend as much time guessing. And while creating customized programs is part of what we do, we also hold you accountable, tell you the truth (because nobody is better at lying to you than you), and keep you motivated.
If you aren’t concerned about those things and you’re ok with figuring everything out over a longer period of time, you don’t need a coach. You just need to get started with something. Go back and read the first 54 words of this article again.
Then get going.
Whether you decide to hire a coach or not, one of the best free ways we can help you is through our weekly emails where we send diet and exercise tips and advice. It’s also where you can reach out to us personally anytime. We’re just a “reply” away and we respond within 24 hours to any questions you have.
