I have had great success losing weight and getting my health back. This post is really only one key, but I've found that for me it is the most important! Journaling: The Master Plan and it works!I have put it to the test! When I skip journaling my workouts and food intake,and skip planning my days ahead of time, I spend the day fighting urges and eating without thinking. That mindless eating we all know and love (not so much). There's something about just knowing you have a plan and are accountable to it that makes sticking to it so much easier. And in the rare occurrence that I slip and miss a meal or give in to the urge to eat those dang cupcakes that Judy brought in to work today (there's a "Judy" where ever we work, isn't there?), I don't need to panic because there's a plan of action that I have set in place the night before to give me the structure to get back on track. I will share with you the tools I use for planning at the end of this post.
Creating a plan takes me all of about 15 minutes right before bed, but it gives me a winning mindset as well as starts the structure for my journal the next day. Have you ever felt foggy first thing in the morning, unable to think let alone begin accomplishing anything? I used to suffer with that. Now I don't have to think at all when I wake up, all the thinking was done the night before! It's that freedom to NOT think and therefore NOT talk myself out of the workout that makes the planning so successful for me. I basically 'program' my future success every night. I follow through with that programming the next day when I start my day by putting on my sneakers and heading to the gym FIRST THING! I have my first success for the day within 15 minutes of waking as I head out the door. And then when I'm done, I go to my journal and record that workout. If I skipped it, I record that too. And now, thanx to the Fitness and Weight Management Plan (the latest and greatest book that I just read), I no longer beat myself up when journaling a missed workout! Yay! But it's a seemingly non-occurrence when I am journaling.... as I said, I put it to the test.
Another importance to creating my plan before going to bed is so that I can commit, in writing, the night before, that I will complete the thing that I am most likely to skip the next day. It's called the "Eat Your Frog" principal and not only has it helped me be successful with weightloss, it has also made my days ultra productive. According to Active.com, exercising first thing in the morning fires up your metabolism, sort of sparking that fat burning pilot light for the day. But MY reason for exercising first thing in the morning is to just get it done so it can't be skipped later! And for some reason, this feeling of accomplishment first thing in the morning gives me a drive to continue that success throughout the day. It's amazing.
Well, as I've said in a previous post, I prescribe to the Body For Life lifestyle. This program for me is so complete and even comes with free journals that I access online. You too can find them here. These journals truly chart my progress as well as plan for my future success. Because after all, what's the old saying, when we fail to plan, we plan to fail? Yah, I plan to succeed!
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