January is over and now the true warriors will show up and fight for a better tomorrow, and a better version of themselves. It is easy to say: “I want to look fabulous, and I want to lose 10 lbs.”, but it is not easy to do it. If you have never done it, look at those 5 next steps to make your journey successful.

• Step 1.

Identify WHY you want to “look fabulous and lose 10 lbs.”, but don’t lie to yourself and come up with some easy answers. Dig deep, and figure out why you REALLY want it. Do you want to feel accepted, maybe confident? What happened in the first place that you lost it? This answer will be crucial because it will be your strength base. Your motivation to keep going. Without it, you have no purpose, and the real goal might be forgotten, it also can lose its priority. I always know my why, and without it, I probably wouldn’t be motivated to keep going every day. Many times, I’m tired or overwhelmed and exercise is the last thing I want to do. But then this energy from my “why” comes back and I do what I am supposed to do, despite everything.

Your regeneration happens when you sleep, and nothing can replace it

• Step 2.

Create an easy PLAN. Know what to do. When will you exercise, what will you do, and how much time do you need. Be specific and plan only achievable steps, that fit your schedule. For example, if you are not exercising at all choose 2 days where you will do something fun and enjoyable, like a group class on Tuesday and Thursday at 6 pm or go for a 20-minute walk with a friend every weekend at 9 am. The goal is to get used to the movement little by little. Bi-weekly, or monthly you can change your fitness routine to fit your condition level. Don’t overwhelm yourself with a crazy schedule. Make it simple.

• Step 3.

Tell your friend about your plan to hold you ACCOUNTABLE. We all need to be in check with someone to perform better. It could be your mom, best friend, or a coach. Whoever you will choose make sure they are invested in helping you, or they are as consistent as you try to be. Otherwise, you might not follow through with your plan. The best option would be having someone exercise with you because then you will have extra motivation to act! I personally love working out with friends, and that is what I do most days of the week. Our energy is so high that we can’t wait for our workout! It is truly the best time ever.

• Step 4.

Get your beauty SLEEP. It is super important to get enough sleep. I know it sounds so easy and basic, but this is the best way for our body to rest. Your regeneration happens when you sleep, and nothing can replace it. As a mom, and a professional athlete, I totally understand that it is easy to say than done but I see the difference. And honestly every day I also try to sleep more. It is a habit I constantly work on. I’m a night owl, so it is difficult, but I can let myself not sleep because the next day, my family expects me to be in full mojo, my training is waiting for me, so I can’t afford to be tired.

• Step 5.

Don’t skip your MEALS!!! After eight years of experience with fat loss clients, the first thing I see is that most clients are not eating enough. The majority, after consultation, admit that they eat only 1-2 meals a day. I will be honest I don’t believe in diets. But the best diet is the one you can stick to. I like to approach this topic gently and work my way up by adding or reducing food one by one. Everyone is different but if we would generalize it, I would say eat breakfast at 8 am, then lunch at 1 pm and lastly dinner at 6 pm. I like to use patterns and create a habit. Not skipping meals will not only give you energy for rest of the day, but also make your metabolism move, and digest everything accordingly. In another word, without energy, we won’t be able to move more, and without proper metabolism, we will store most food as fat. It is also crucial what we eat, but again if I would generalize it, I would say eat most unprocessed food, so anything that doesn’t have a label. Focus on fruits and vegetables. Add a good source of protein and very little fat, and you will be set for success.

In Summary. Make it as simple as you can. The simpler plan the better. Don’t overcomplicate it because it will only create chaos and eventually lead to quitting. Enjoy things you do or eat. That is the only way to stick to it.

Photo By: Images By Calvin

I noticed each year our new resolutions make us so excited and motivate us to do more, to be better, and to achieve something we have never done before. After a few weeks, the ignition of the fire slows down and we don’t make it happen. Every year, I met thousands of people who want to be better and then after a while, unfortunately, I see them fail. It’s very common and repetitive. That’s why this year, I decided to truly figure out what it is, that makes us not continue what we promised to ourselves. What crushes our dreams?

I came to the conclusion that planning is one of the most important things. Plan everything! Schedule your day, visualize your future, design your personal growth.

Put everything into the steps, and then create a timeframe. Without a plan, our goals are just dreams. Let’s make our visions happen! As I was writing this, many excellent examples came to my mind, that show the value of planning. One stick out the most, that someone once told me, but I didn’t put much thought into it till now. Whatever you do, you want to be the best, right? Let’s categorize it to A+. To get A+ you need to plan it, or learn it, or study it or whatever else preparation you need to do. When you do that and execute the best you can you have a high probability of succeeding and getting an A+. Even when you plan, execute and something unexpected happens you still can end up getting a B or C+. Still not bad. But when you decide to not plan, not to prepare, and not execute – you will end up with F. No doubts about it.

Champions don’t become champions by winning the event but by the journey, they’re overcoming

You see the analogy. Simple. It is like school but on a bigger scale.

Execution is the second part, that gets neglected. Sometimes our plans are so big that the steps seem to be overwhelming. That is why it is important to put a timeframe on our goal and break it down into a small step-after-step process.

I noticed that we also have a tendency to put pressure on doing things perfectly. We take extra time to prepare and after a while, we either run of a time or interest. Looking at my own example, I was losing interest in my morning runs. I tried to be perfect and also I didn’t want to fail. I put high expectations of reaching each day 5k in a certain amount of time. At the end of the day, I couldn’t meet that specific time. It was frustrating, but I knew that I can’t give up or stop. I had to readjust, not only my goal but also my mindset. I changed the goal to a 2k run and I dropped the pressure of time. I decided to “just run”, and at that moment the running became a pleasure, and I loved it again. A simple solution leads to a big success.

Being a be perfectionist stops a lot of us (including me) from achieving a goal. I struggle with this a lot because I want everything to be flawless. I put my standards high, and then the process to achieve it takes me forever. Maybe if we just do it, we would learn from the experience and get better at it each time. Well, I guess I need to learn from my own advice and give myself permission to not be perfect but still perform best.

In a conclusion, I see that we forget to plan and then our execution is weak, we want to be perfect but we are afraid to fail, so the journey stops. I think this is the key here. Those few steps will make us successful. No one wants to be unsuccessful, but also no one was born a master in their scope of practice.

Little recap:

1. Make a plan
2. Execute
3. Stop being perfectionist
4. Don’t be afraid to fail
5. Try again and again

I read some motivation quote at some point in my life and it said that “champions don’t become champions by winning the event but by the journey, they’re overcoming”. It’s true because champions never give up. They just keep going.

My advice to you and also to myself is – let’s go out there and do what we promised to ourselves!

Photo by: Monte Montemayor