HOW TO SET UP YOUR NUTRITION FOR SUCCESS

Setting up your week for success can look very different for a lot of people. Maybe you are someone that loves to spend a day to prepare for the next 6 days or maybe you only like planning the next couple of days in advance.

Nutrition

Today we are going to talk about meal prep... Something that is glamorised in the health and fitness industry as the bees knees but is it actually beneficial??

I believe the biggest problem faced by the masses today seems to be consistency. If you can stick to something over an extended period of time you will get the results you are looking for. Meal prep, intermittent fasting, keto, high protein etc. do attempt to solve one thing. CALORIE DEFICIT.

If you can achieve a calorie deficit over an extended period of time you will lose fat and weight. However what happens is someone will stick to their nutrition plan for a few weeks maybe a month and drop off. They do not enjoy the process and will revert to their old way of eating or lifestyle that brought them to the stage of needing a PT, needing a nutritionist. All these needs will take you no where unless you are able to stick to them.

Most personal trainers are knowledgeable enough to give you the advice that will result in getting you to a goal however they lack one thing... mindset coaching. If you have been following a specific lifestyle that has brought out negative health affects over an extended period of time it is normal for you to feel comfort doing that. Getting out of that state and following a new lifestyle is difficult it is not a straight road you will hit road blocks.

Habit Formation

That is why we push for new habit formation. Not habit destruction. It is much more difficult to remove unhealthy habits but it is a lot easier to create new healthier habits. Start slow and build upon these over time. Create a new habit stack that puts you in line with the person you want to become and eventually you will emanate that new lifestyle without thinking.

For example, if your goal is to lose 50kg you should not be looking at the weight loss and instead at the habits you need to create for the person that is 50kg lighter. This could be increasing activity levels such as walking for longer durations and learning how to manage caloric intake so you are aware that you have been eating in a maintenance/surplus for an extended period of time.

Creating new healthy habits is what you need, not some get shredded in 30 days plan. Healthy habits are what gets you results not some cool training program or macronutrient split.

How Do You Start?

So this is how I want you starting to begin your journey towards self improvement because that is what this is...

1. Get into the mind of the person you wish to become - think about your goal but instead of the number or target think of what that new you is doing everyday. It is not the fact you are 50kg lighter it is that you have habits that allowed you to get to that level. These habits will have a combination of increased activity and decreased caloric intake.

2. Write down all the habits you believe this person lives by - writing it all down makes it all more real, having visual representation of your habits will be what you aim to achieve everyday not the target/goal you are aiming for. Someone that is great at achieving weight loss just perfected the skill of losing 1kg of weight and they are able to repeat that.

3. Create an environment around you that makes habits easy to attain - make sure the environment you spend your time in allows you to easily achieve all of your new habits. If one of the habits you want to create is going for a walk everyday then you should make it easy by setting up your sneakers at the same time everyday. Setting your calendar up with walk times everyday means you are scheduling and planning these in for yourself just like a work meeting.

4. Surround yourself with people that live the lifestyle you want - this comes into creating the environment you please. By surrounding yourself with likeminded people or those that live the life you want to live it makes it a lot easier to emanate the same habits they live by and got them to where they are today.

Something I believe makes sense to a lot of people is preparing your week for success. I am not saying for you to go bodybuilding style and start cooking chicken and rice for a week in advance. I want you taking the time at the start of your week to prepare your meals and this may be just writing down the types of food you want to eat. Making sure most of your food comes from whole foods could be the habit that you begin and stick to that will make a drastic difference if you are not doing this already.

Another thing that will come in handy is using an app like MyFitnessPal to track the foods you eat so you know how many calories are coming into your body everyday. This will give you the confirmation and knowledge knowing you are on track to achieve what you are setting towards.

If you need help with anything I have said feel free to reach out in the comments section.

Share this around if it helps you out.