We are already two months into the new year so I wanted to see how you are coming along with your fitness and health goals. Did you make any goals for the new year? If so, how is your progress? If you are making great gains then keep up the good work!
However, if you are like most other people who make fitness and health goals, you have either lost motivation and quit, or have not seen the progress you would like.
If you belong to the second group then let’s talk a little about what I call your limiting factors. Limiting factors are the things that are standing in the way of you achieving your goals. If your goal is fat loss, limiting factors may be not getting enough sleep, eating too much added sugar and deserts, and/or not taking the time to deal with stress.
We all have these limiting factors and you are probably aware of them, but do you actually have a plan in place to overcome them?
One of my favorite things I have my clients do is to write down a list of their limiting factors along with how confident they are that they can overcome these factors on a 1-10 scale (10 being the most confident and 1 the least confident).
Next, I have them choose 1-2 of these limiting factors that they ranked very high in confidence on and that will have a big impact on their goal(s) and focus on those for a month.
After a month, we assess their progress and move onto other limiting factors if they have developed the habits to overcome their current factors.
Here is an example of a possible fat loss client’s list of limiting factors:
LF=Limiting Factor CL=Confidence Level
LF: I am getting 6 hours of sleep a night. CL: 6 in that I can increase my sleep to 8 hours a night.
LF: I have veggies for only one meal a day. CL: 10 in that I can eat veggies at least twice a day.
LF: I have a bagel and 2 eggs for breakfast. CL: 8 in that I can eliminate the bagel and eat some berries or an additional egg for breakfast.
LF: I am active 2 days out of the week. CL: 10 in that I can be active for at least one additional day a week.
So in looking at this client’s log I would immediately have them tackle the extra veggies and extra activity, especially if this is their first log. The reason I chose these two is because the person is very confident that he or she can adopt new habits to overcome those limiting factors and success is very important for a person initially.
Even though I feel that improving their sleep would help them the most I would not have them focus on that at first.
If you are starting out on a fitness or health goal, it is very important to make small changes that you can be successful with. You will then be much more likely to stay on track toward your goal. Also, if you mess up later you can feel confident that you have at least made some changes along the way and not so easily get frustrated.
Action Steps:
So this is what I want you to do right now. Think about what you really want to accomplish in the next week, month, year, 5 years, whatever. Next, write down the things standing in your way of achieving those goal(s) – your limiting factors. Third, rank your level of confidence in overcoming them. Lastly, choose 1-2 limiting factors and stick with them for a month.
With a plan like this in place you are much more likely to achieve and sustain your goal(s).
Now go take action!!
It’s really good to know your strengths and weaknesses so that you’ll know were or which part you have to focus and train harder. Self evaluation is really very important. Trainor and coaches will also be of great help and with all that. I’m pretty sure you’ll achieve your goal and confidence and be able to fight those limiting factors.