5 Ways to Get Back on Track & Stay Committed to Your Goals

It happens to the best of us (especially after setting New Year’s resolutions). A few great days, or even weeks, of following your fitness and nutrition plan and then—BANG—life happens. A late night out with friends, a last-minute business trip, a sick baby at home, or something as simple as a bad mood can force you off kilter. Maybe you’ve missed your fitness session. Maybe you simply don’t have the energy (or desire) to prepare a healthy meal. Regardless, you’ve hit a wall. You’re having an “off” day.

Sometimes an off day is just that: one day off track. You wake up the next morning back to being motivated and focused on your goals. Other times, it can take several days to regain your fitness mojo. At these moments, off days can be vicious—but they can also be stopped.

stay committed to your fitness goals

Committing wholeheartedly to your health is not easy. There will be times when you’ll experience temporary physical, psychological, or emotional discomfort. In these moments of weakness, it’s only natural to want to waver on your commitment to the goals you set. But committing to your plan makes it possible to admire yourself both inside and out. You’ll stand more confidently. You’ll feel sexier. You’ll discover your true sense of well-being, purpose, and personal worth. You’ll feel grounded, energized, and intact. You’ll simply be happier in mind, body, and spirit.

Here are five ways to help you get you back on track and committed to achieving your goals even on days when you’re struggling:

1. Change the internal conversation: undervalue the bad times and overvalue the good ones

We have been conditioned to harp on our mistakes and gloss over our successes. It’s time to change the internal conversation and pay more attention to the things that bring us confidence so that we can continue to live a fun, healthy, and energetic life.

In sports, professional athletes and coaches often say that the person who wins is usually the person who can best recover from errors. Top athletes have learned to identify their mistakes, but instead of dwelling on them, they quickly learn from them and move on. They also take the time to pat themselves on the back for all of their achievements, both big and small.

When life gets in the way of sticking to your training or nutrition plan, take one minute for positive personal reflection. Identify the key things you could do better next time to prevent this off day. Then, focus on at least one achievement you have already made that day (or perhaps yesterday). Use your past achievement to give you the confidence and energy you need to make your very next meal or training session a positive one.

2. Change the environment

Having an off day can cost us the motivation to exercise and eat healthy. Instead, we crave instant gratification in an unhealthy, overflowing bowl—or carton—of ice cream or an extra hour on the couch. Fortunately, there is a quick fix to this problem.

Research continues to prove that motivation and productivity increase with a change in environment.  A change can be just as good as a rest.

Any type of change, such as stepping outside for some fresh air, turning on motivational music, or finding a new healthy recipe, can spark some motivation to move forward toward achieving your goals.

Whenever you feel a lack of energy and inspiration, change up at least one aspect of your environment and experience what it’s like to have your batteries recharged and motivation restored!

3. Use the five-minute just move rule

Sometimes, the hardest thing to do is get up and start to move. However, once you start moving, it releases feel good, motivating hormones like dopamine and endorphins. When this happens, you’ll find it much easier to keep going.

During off days, make a deal with yourself to commit to five minutes of fitness. Most often, five minutes is all it will take to get the heart pumping and the energy flowing, inspiring you to stay for the entire training session. Also, it’s okay if you don’t have 100 percent effort to give that day. If you only have 50 percent, do your best to exert all of it. I guarantee you’ll be proud of yourself and your off day will be long gone.

For nutrition, if you don’t feel like spending 20 minutes in the kitchen preparing a healthy meal, commit to grabbing something simple to eat, such as a glass of Shakeology that’s satisfying yet still healthy.

4. Post your goals on your bathroom mirror

Posting your short-term daily goals in a place where you automatically see them each day will help you to stay focused, motivated, and committed to staying on task. Your bathroom mirror is the perfect place because you’ll see your goals first thing in the morning and right before you go to sleep at night.

For greater results, also post your primary purpose for setting your goals (e.g., wanting to have more energy to play with your kids, to go on an adventure trip, to live longer, to feel more confident, etc.).

5. Prepare daily for “what-ifs”

Before your day begins, ask yourself if there are any challenges that may interfere with your daily goals. For example, what if you get called in to a last-minute lunch meeting? What if your child asks you to play during the time you blocked off for training? What if you’re going out to celebrate a friend’s birthday? For each what-if make a plan to cope with the challenge while still staying committed to your fitness and nutrition. Of course, there are plenty of uncontrollable distractions, but strategizing on how to cope with your most common challenges will set you up to deal with anything that happens during you day.

Off days do not have to completely throw you sideways. With these tips, you can quickly recover from an off day and keep moving forward with the confidence and excitement you need to live the life you want.

How to Bust Your 6 Biggest Exercise Excuses

When you’re feeling overworked or overwhelmed, it’s easy to find an excuse to skip a workout…or two…or a whole week’s worth. But don’t let bad excuses get in the way of good intentions. Here’s how to keep them from derailing your fitness routine.

Bust Your Exercise Excuses

THE EXCUSE: “I’m too busy!”

Instead of letting your endless to-do list take priority over your health goals, treat exercise like any other important task. Prioritize and plan ahead. Schedule fitness onto your calendar – the same as any other appointment. Of course, there will be days when you really are too swamped to squeeze in a full workout—but that doesn’t mean you should skip it altogether. Instead, try to carve out a few minutes to break a sweat. If you have just 10 minutes, it’s still progress. Go outdoors and do a few sprints, or try a time-crunch-friendly workout like my 5 Minute Flat Abs Workout or try to beat your plank record!

THE EXCUSE: “I’m beat.”

Whether you’re sore from yesterday’s workout or drained from a long week at work, don’t bail out just because you’re low on energy. Start slowly, and gauge how you’re feeling after the first few minutes. It’s okay to exercise at a lower intensity for a shorter time. Start doing it, and really listen to your body to see if this is nurturing or punishing. Stay in tune with your body; push but don’t overdo it! Promise yourself you’ll do the first five minutes of your workout—once you get going, chances are you’ll go ahead and push through.

THE EXCUSE: “I’m broke.”

When you’re on a tight budget, it can be hard to justify the cost of a monthly gym membership. But you don’t need a gym membership to get in shape. Walking is among the best ways to move, and you can do it anywhere. There are plenty of body weight exercises you can do at home without any equipment, too!

THE EXCUSE: “The gym is intimidating.”

You might feel like everyone’s staring at you, but the truth is, they’re probably way too busy worrying about what they look like. So get out of hermit mode and go build a support system. Everybody started out as the “new kid on the block” and understands how you feel. Most people are more than happy to help out and be supportive.

THE EXCUSE: “I’m bored.”

If you do the same workout every. single. day, it’s easy to fall into a rut. But there’s no rule that you have to stick to a rigid, repetitive fitness regimen. Renew your enthusiasm by starting a new program, joining a new class, ditching the treadmill for a hiking trail, or taking your furry friend to the park.

THE EXCUSE: “I’m dieting instead.”

Just because you’re counting calories, it doesn’t mean you can just chill on the couch. Diet alone works well when weight loss is the goal, but adding exercise to the mix can enhance the results. Also, exercise has countless other health benefits—you’ll look better, feel better, sleep better, have more energy, and be more productive at work and home. And with all those benefits, why would you want to make excuses?

#TransformationThursday: Renewing My Dream

It’s time to come face to face with MYSELF.

It’s easy to pretend like you have it all together. I hope I never come across like that, I WISH I COULD — but there is always a closet or a drawer stuffed with junk (metaphorically or literally) that I’m pretending doesn’t exist. I struggle every single day in different ways, and I truly believe I’ve been in a darker season of my life in the couple years — but I’ve been to DARKER PLACES, and the big man always, always, always is faithful and uses those dark seasons to lead us to the brightest light. (I’ve learned this only from experience)

After struggling with body image and food in my early twenties and finally becoming healthy and independent — now being 15 pounds heavier than my FITTEST self is a huge blow to my confidence — especially as a coach. I know SO many can relate to this idea, whether you’ve reached your goal weight in the past or not.

What I’ve come to learn and appreciate about Beachbody and the community that we are able to create as individuals and groups is that this isn’t about PERFECTION, and I’m living the lesson as I slowly continue to get stronger within myself everyday.

It’s been too long since I’ve shared my personal fitness journey because I’ve been afraid.

  • I’ve been afraid to step out into the light and be judged.
  • I’ve been afraid to admit that I haven’t valued myself enough to put my own health and happiness first.
  • I’ve been afraid to let other people down.
  • I’ve been afraid to confront the demons that I have about my own worth and share them publicly.

whitney-face-to-face

I started losing myself when I lost sight of my dream. I was going through the motions and realized that I didn’t have an end goal — I didn’t have a REASON to fight, I was letting other people’s versions of success, ideal image of beauty and opinions (and “perceived opinions”) take over my habits and paralyze me. It’s been a LONG time since I’ve felt like I was JUST DOING SOMETHING FOR ME.

My throat is closing and my eyes are welling up with tears, but it’s time to restart my journey and share it WITHOUT FEAR of looking like a failure, like I wasn’t strong enough or “committed enough” in the first place and to RE-INSPIRE MYSELF and others … but myself first and foremost.

I know there are hundreds of you reading this that may never click “LIKE” but feel afraid in some way to recommit. It may be to your faith, to your fitness, to your DREAM, to your marriage, to your friendships, to your family or to just simply loving yourself for EXACTLY who God made you to be. I can’t let you give up, and I can’t let the fear of judgement from negative people (who are out there, loud and proud) stop us from reaching the heights we deserve to reach and becoming the people we were designed to become.

Dreams are renewable.

No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born.

I’m RENEWING my dream to feel STRONG and HEALTHY above all else and honor my body first and foremost so I can show up to be the best me for the people I am blessed enough to have in my life.

I URGE you today to RENEW YOUR DREAM TOO. No matter where you are, it’s time to unwrap and begin building that dream in your heart.