Happy New Year everyone!

If you’re like me, your discipline wavered for a bit at the end of 2021. Hey, it’s the holidays, we’ve had a rough two years and we deserve to let loose a bit!  

Maybe you also took it a bit too far; I know I certainly did, and it’s time to pull off the holiday weight! Losing weight can be hard venture for a lot of people, but there’s one common theme that dictates a successful transformation.

The people who are the most successful always get a clear “why” before they start the journey. The first exercise we’re going to do before our physical exercise is get our “why” on paper so that we have an internal driver to lean on. Get a pen and paper and let’s get started. 

1. Think about how you currently self-identify

Negative thoughts and living in the past is a heavy anchor that can drag you down. We need to get rid of this emotional weight as soon as possible. Creating a new personal identity is the goal.

If you identify with someone who has never been able to stick to the plan, someone without discipline, someone who is destined to be overweight, unhealthy, negative, lazy, old, weak, under-muscled, whatever negative thought you have, you have to stop now! You have to think like the person you want to become. No more negative self-talk, and no more living in the past!

Write down your ideal “you.” If you want to be someone who is healthy and makes healthy choices, write that down. If you want to be someone with 18” arms, write that down. If you want to be someone with washboard abs, write that down. If you want to be someone who has great brain function, feels younger, looks younger, write that down. Write it all down.

Think about who that future person is. How would that person feel about themselves? Would they feel more energetic? Would they feel strong? Would they feel healthy? Would they feel confident?

You have to learn to be that person mentally. You have to learn to be that person on the inside, and now, not 6 months from now. 

2. Write down the beliefs that that person would have about themselves. Write down the values that this person would live by.

For example, if you believe that losing weight and adopting a healthier lifestyle would make you feel sexier and make you feel better about yourself, then write that down. (There is NOTHING wrong or vain about this, despite what other people think about this. This is YOUR journey, not theirs. Tell them to stuff it)

If you believe that losing weight and adopting a healthier lifestyle would make you a better role model for your kids, your partner, your friends, your family, that’s fantastic, write it down!

If you believe that having bigger muscles would make you more confident and would allow you to do physically more demanding things that you aren’t currently able to do, write it down!

If you believe that being more fit and conditioned would help you on weekend hikes and keep you from being as tired, write it down!

There might be a dozen reasons why you want to do this. The more “whys” you have, the higher the chance you’ll be able to stick to the plan and not get derailed.

Put your bullet points into a statement, like this:

‘I’m losing weight, increasing strength, getting more fit, and cleaning up my nutrition so that I am a better role model for my kids. I value spending time with my partner and our kids, and when I feel and perform better I’m able to keep up with my kids without feeling pain and fatigued. I take great care of myself so I can walk my daughter down the aisle at her wedding, and so I’m able to play with my grandchildren when the time comes. I am not going to be placed on multiple “age-related” medications, and I don’t want to lose physical function as I age.’

Every morning read this to remind yourself of your ‘why.’ The more you review this, the larger the influence on neurological reprogramming. 

3. Write down all of the behaviours your future self would have:

• I limit alcohol consumption.
• I eat at least 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day.
• I always make my training sessions and I train with intent and intensity.
• I eat a good serving of lean protein at every meal.
• I keep myself prepared so that I stay on track.
• I always think and speak positively.
• I go to bed and wake at the same time every day.
• I only hang out with positive and like-minded people.

I’m sure you get the point here. Only write down what your future self does. Do not write anything in the negative, and write everything down in the present tense. You are no longer living in the past! You have to become your future self now, because if you wait to be that person then your odds of becoming that person are slim to none. 

4. Write down the skills you need to accomplish this. If you have weak areas or are not knowledgeable in an area, get professional help!

• Resistance Training: Hire a competent coach, get material on weight lifting.
• Conditioning: Hire a competent coach, get material on the activity you want to do.
• Nutrition: Hire a competent coach, get recipes. If you don’t know how to cook, learn! If you don’t want to bother with cooking, hire a meal prep company or get prepared meals from the grocery store.
• Recovery: Learn how to meditate, start journaling, improve your sleep habits. If you need help, hire a coach!
• Counselling: This is a big one for a lot of people, and most people are really resistant to this. If you have any emotional baggage find yourself a good counsellor and learn how to work through it! (Your personal trainer is NOT your go to for this, but they might know a good counsellor. This is something we’re big on at Muscle Nerds!) 

5. Write down the proper environment for success. The best success often comes from being in the right environment.

• If you have access to a great gym, use it. The odds are much higher if you have a gym you enjoy going to, and are comfortable going to.
• You are an average of the people you are around. If you have toxic and negative people in your life I would highly suggest spending far less time with them. Spend the majority of your time with positive and goal-oriented people. Success begets success, failure begets failure.
• Set your kitchen for success. Make meal prep easy! I know it’s so 2020, but an air fryer is fantastic for this. Get rid of anything that might derail you, so go clean out that pantry!

If you can change any part of these 5 areas you will increase the likelihood of success. If you change them all, then your odds skyrocket. If you can only change one area, that’s okay, you have to start somewhere. However, keep this in mind, things tend to trickle down, not up. Joining a gym and having that great environment is awesome, but if you don’t know how to train then it’s going to be a difficult road. If you get a gym membership and know how to train, that’s fantastic, but if you haven’t organised your behaviours you’ll probably be done by February. 

This isn’t an easy exercise, and it can be a bit uncomfortable to sit down and do it, but trust me it’s an invaluable drill and will be massively helpful. It can be used for pretty much any goal structuring in your life, so don’t just use it for your health and fitness journey!