Today, I want to introduce the first installment of objectives. These are meant to complement and create a synergistic effect to the training you’re doing at the gym.
- Before Photos – This is a non-negotiable. You don’t need to look at them, you don’t need to hang them up, but you do need to take them. Seriously, you will thank yourself later after all the progress you’ve made. Read below for more information on how to do this.
- Write out your Real Purpose – I want you to get to deep truth as to why you’re committing to this program.
- Log your food for 1 day – Don’t worry. You don’t have to do this every week. Complete one day for just this week so that I know where we can start from.
- Walk 15 minutes per day this week – Time to start moving when you’re not working out with me. (No further description for this. Your body simply needs movement everyday day. Walking is the easiest thing to start with.)
Taking Your “Before” Photos
To start, I need to know two things:
- Where you are right now.
- Where you want to be later.
Think of it like a roadmap. We need to know where Point A (your origin) and where Point B (your destination) are before we can draw a line on the map and start plotting your course.
So let’s start with Point A. You might not be happy with where you’re at, and that’s okay. In fact, we’re not gonna dwell too much on Point A; that’d be like driving while only looking in the rear-view mirror.
Your first objective is simple: Take a few “before” photos.
This is non-negotiable. I want you set up a camera or use your phone while standing in front of your bathroom mirror.
What photos you’ll be taking:
- Front (straight on)
- Right Side
- Back
Don’t stress about making these perfect. Stand normally, and snap the photo the best way you can. It’s far more important to take the photo than to have it be perfect.
Wear whatever you are comfortable in. Remember, you don’t have to share these pictures with anyone. Wear minimal workout gear or what I call the “bathing suit picture” (i.e., whatever you’d normally wear to the pool or beach).
In order to see where you’re headed, you need these photos to see where you’re starting.
“I already know what I look like! I look at myself every day!”
Here’s the thing: because you look at yourself every day, you won’t notice if your body changes unless you have something to compare to.
Photos are the absolute BEST way to tell if you are heading in the right direction or not.
The scale can be misleading, and photos will tell a more complete story.
You don’t even need to look at the photo after you take it, but you must take photos. Put them in safe folder on your computer or on your phone, and forget about them (for the time being).
You’ll be thankful in a few months when you can look back and see the visble progress you’ve made.
Writing Out Your Purpose
I have a very important question for you:
Why are you spending your hard-earned money to be a part of this program?
Losing fat, getting stronger and gaining muscle isn’t easy, which means you need a really good reason to tell your mind and body why you’re making it eat different foods and push through the workouts.
Understanding your “why” is going to be key when running into life’s roadblocks.
“Those who have a ‘why’ can bear with almost any ‘how.” – V Frankl (A Man’s Search For Meaning)
You will likely have moments that will cause you to question your dedication. This means you need to put time and energy in today to write out specifically why you’re doing this.
This is the reason that you’ll lean on when tough decisions need to be made when life throws curveballs in your schedule and/or Ben and Jerry’s start selling their pints for $1.
- Are you doing this because you want to buck the trend of unhealthy lifestyles and early deaths in your family?
- Are you doing this because you want to look in the mirror and be proud with what you see?
- Are you doing this because you want to set a good example for your children so they grow up healthy and happy too?
- Are you doing this because you want a better life for yourself, and you aren’t doing a lot of the things you want to?
Whatever the reason, you need to make it personal to you and your life.
Go Deep With 5 Why’s.
Here’s what I mean by this:
When a lot of us ask ourselves why, we don’t go deep enough to the real reason.
We’ll start at the “First Why” which is usually something like “I know I should eat better…” or “I know I shouldn’t be this overweight…”
But here’s a news flash we all already know: No one gets in shape because they “should.” No one loses weight because it’s “the healthy thing to do.”
It takes something much deeper to really motivate and drive us.
Ask yourself “Why?” again to dig in a little deeper. Maybe you’ll say, “Okay the real reason is I’m always so tired and I want more energy” or “I want to be able to walk up stairs or play with my kids without losing my breath.”
Now, we are starting to get somewhere. These aren’t wrong and I’m sure for many they can be motivating. But I’m suggesting that you can go even deeper if you really dig down.
Ask yourself “Why?” again. And again. And again. By the time we’re at the 4th or 5th “Why”, we’re usually getting to where our real motivation lies.
Here’s some deep examples that I’ve received:
- “Every day I wake up in the mirror and am depressed at the physical and mental shape of the person I see. It sets my day up with a bad attitude from the first few moments and I’m sick and tired of it!” (Specific, personal, deep)
- “I want to be able to have sex with my [husband/wife] without getting tired and/or running our of energy. I want them to be attracted not only to my personality, but my body and my confidence as well!”
- “I don’t want my kids growing up having poor fitness and eating habits modeled after me. And, I want to be able to see them get married – and not only have energy to play with them, but play with my grandkids too!”
Again, these are just examples of people who have dug deeper than the traditional “Everybody knows it’s good to be more fit.”
Dig deep down.
Be honest and write out the real reason that drives you.
Record Your Food Intake For One Day
I know it’s challenging to eat well for most people because of the lack of accountability. Exercising is a bit easier since I can keep you accountable and walk you through a workout when you’re at the gym. Eating, on the other hand, happens on your terms in your life (more or less).
Unless you hired me to literally walk around with you all day to knock junk food out of your hands while directing you toward healthier food options (any takers?), recording a food journal is the next best thing. Tell me what you ate today – or yesterday. I don’t want to hear about what you would have eaten if you had more time…. etc. I want to know what you actually ate for one full day. (Click below to open the attachment.)
Track everything you eat in one day from the time you wake up until you fall asleep. Include as many details, as possible, for each meal/snack. As an example, I typed in my meal from earlier, so you can get the idea. Feel free to print it out and write on it OR you can just type right in each box on the PDF. (Please delete my example food entry.)
I’m not going to ask you to do this every day now. I just want to use the data you provide to assess where you’re at and see what we can do to shift your eating for the better – one step at a time.