6 ways to make sure you stick to the f**king plan!
You could have the best plan in the world, but if you don’t stick with it, it’s completely useless.
To succeed on any plan or program, you have to be adherent. Not just Monday - Friday or when it suits you, if you’re looking for results then you’re going to have to stick to the plan 7 days a week. Chances are, if you’re reading this then you’re going to be struggling to stick to your plan. But why is it you’re struggling when so many others seem to be smashing their plans and seeing results?
It’s easy to think you’re the problem, and maybe you just like food too much or you’re just meant to be this way. But that’s not the case, and with the right approach, anyone can achieve results, and even enjoy the process too. In this article, we are going to look at 6 things that you can do to make sure you stay on track.
set a clear goal
First of all, you need a goal. Whether it’s fat loss or muscle gain you need to set a goal. This can’t just be as simple as “I want to lose weight”, you need to set a specific goal for example “I want to lose 10lbs in 10 weeks and fit back into my size 10 dress”.
Once you have your goal, it is important to understand why you want to achieve this particular goal. Do you know why this goal is important to you? Why are you doing this? Why will you keep going when things get tough? Once you know why your goal is so important to you, write it down somewhere you can see it every single day.
be realistic
Look at your plan, is this something you could stick to long term? Use a scale of 1-100%, and if you’re not at least 98% sure then something needs to change. Go back to the drawing board as many times as necessary until you get the right plan for you. The plan must find the balance between what is optimal and what is realistic/achievable!
include foods that you enjoy
The plan doesn’t need to be drastically different from what you’re doing now, it doesn’t have to be super strict clean eating or no carbs, you don’t need to tee-total or even cut out your weekly takeaway. As long as everything is accounted for calorie-wise, you can still enjoy your favourite foods (and drinks) while achieving your goals. Including these will actually help increase adherence and therefore results!
habits>Motivation
When you first start a new plan, motivation is high. It’s exciting to start a new journey. However this often wears off, and unfortunately, you won’t always be motivated. Therefore it is of the utmost importance to get new habits established which are in line with your goal. For example, a habit for fat loss could be something like “Every Sunday I prep my meals for the week”. Once you have the correct habits in place for your goal, motivation won't matter because you'll be doing the things that need to be done almost automatically anyway.
TRACK YOUR PROGRESS
It always surprises me how many people don’t properly measure their progress. Doing so is essential to ensure that your plan is actually working! This can also help from an adherence point of view, seeing that you are making progress towards your goal no matter how slowly will continue to inspire you. The things you choose to track will depend on your goal but some examples for fat loss would be your weight, measurements, progress photos, and even if it isn’t your main goal, tracking your lifts in the gym can be incredibly motivation as you look to beat last weeks numbers!
Get some accountability
This can come in many forms, an accountability buddy, a community of like-minded people for example a gym or online group, or by hiring yourself a coach. Regardless of which you choose, having someone to be accountable to is going to be a massive gamechanger for your results. It’s too easy to give up when you’re going it alone, but the thought of not disappointing your coach or accountability buddy can often be enough to keep you on track.
Unfortunately, your friends and family may not always be the most supportive of your goals. Whether it’s the usual “One drink won’t hurt” or “C’mon live a little”, these comments can throw you off, and make you feel stupid for doing what you're doing. They may not mean to be unsupportive but it makes your journey even harder. You should try to talk to them and help them understand what you are trying to achieve and why, hopefully they will be understanding. However, at the end of the day, they may not ever understand. But you're doing this for you, not for them so try not to let it get to you.
This is why accountability is going to be so important moving forwards for you. If you're struggling with this then feel free to reach out to me and I will add you to my private Facebook community with like-minded people who will support you on your journey.
NEED HELP?
Feel free to send me a message on Facebook, Instagram or via e-mail (conormoranpt@yahoo.com) if you’re struggling with this or have any questions, I’d be happy to help.