What you need to do to achieve your fitness goals

Change your mindset.

There, that's the answer. If you are one of the many fast-paced millenials who prefer to get "efficient" insubstantial answers and results in 2 seconds, that should satisfy you.

But if you have the time and the motivation to listen to what I mean; what I have learnt about health and fitness; and why after every research paper, book or diet plan I read or fitness challenge I try, I come back to mindset as key, then I encourage you to read along.

We live in a time where we want everything at the snap of our fingers and at our earliest convenience. The problem with this is that we underestimate and undermine the value of hardwork and dedication because we expect to see results fast and with minimal effort.

We invest more time and money in shortcuts and miracle cures (slimming tea, waist-trainers, multivitamins, probiotics) which at the very best, are simply not as effective as healthy eating with exercise and at the worst can lead to long term damage and complications. Losing 20 pounds in one week is not only unsustainable and hard to achieve, it can also be very unhealthy. The CDC says that "people who lose weight gradually and steadily (about 1 to 2 pounds per week) are more successful at keeping weight off." (So PLEASE don't purchase products that claim to have you down 20 Ibs in 5 days!)

Especially in our generation, we have this certain "go big or go home" mentality. If you're reading this, one of your goals is a healthier lifestyle and you may have a clear idea of what you want: a six pack, a bikini body, a good relationship with food and exercise and a way to do it all while being happy. Although these goals are defined and specific, the way to get there may be more vague.

You get up one morning and decide, this is it. Today is the day I'm going to be healthy. You tell yourself you will go to the gym, you will replace all junk and processed food with wholesome natural meals. You even buy a protein shake, you plan on drinking at least 2 liters of water, you're going to be productive and still make time for school or other obligations so you will go to sleep at a reasonable bedtime. You even take it further to say you won't eat before bed because "that's unhealthy."

May be this lasts a day- or less. Maybe it lasts a week - or more. Either way you somehow find yourself back at square one: staying up past midnight stressing about an assignment you procrastinated for, binge eating a bag of chips to quench your dehydration because you forgot to drink water all day.

I could point out at least 6 reasons why this strategy fails because I've done it myself over and over (may be we will get to that in another blog). Essentially, it comes down to one big flaw in your plan: your mindset. Which sucks because there is no way to have anticipated it and its not really your fault (even though you self-blame). The way we think is a result of years of accumulating influence by the people and ideas we surround ourselves with. Its not like we can all rewire our brains so its another reason why we need to acknowledge that a healthy lifestyle will take learning, time and patience. Fortunately, once you identify your potholes, it is a lot easier to work with them.

Let me start by saying your intentions are pure and wholesome and your plan may have indeed worked (and it does sometimes) if approached with the right mentality.

Here's what I believe is the problem.

In an age where mediocrity is unacceptable, we can only see ourselves at two ends of a spectrum: either completely unhealthy, malnutritioned, chronically sleep-deprived and at risk for disease OR "healthy," exercising daily, drinking kale smoothies for breakfast, meditating and sleeping like a baby.

Either consciously or subconsciously, all of us have been stuck with notions of these stereotypes at least some point during our fitness journey.

I hear this in the way people talk about food: this one is "bad" it causes weight gain and high blood pressure and cancer and death. And this one is "healthy" it gives you clear skin, stronger bones, burns fat and boosts your immune system. But "bad" food is only bad when it is eaten regularly and even healthy foods are meant to be eaten in moderation.

We even have this mentality with our careers; we think we either have to become a self-made millionaire overnight or settle for being a failure. You either spent your summer as the CEO of a company or you wasted your time.

With media showing us both of the extreme stereotypes, there is no room for middle ground, and if there is, we don't know what it looks like or how to navigate it.

I do because I'm there...maybe you are too:).

I'm not the healthiest person in the world, I eat junk food sometimes, once in a while negative thoughts get in my head, I sleep in some mornings, I end up skipping the gym and I "fail" at a lot of things. But I also enjoy taking care of my body, learning from things that challenge me, practicing positive thinking most of the time and exercising more days than not in different ways my body enjoys. I may not be the healthiest I could be, but I let myself get there at my own pace.

The reason why it's actually better to stay in the middle is because the one thing that is absolutely essential for a healthy lifestyle is balance. Instinctively, we know balance is key. We know eating too much can result in various health problems like obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and we also associate eating too little with psychological disorders and sever malnutrition.

So here are 3 ways I believe you can get into the right mindset for a healthier and happier you.

1. Focus on progress - not perfection

Look at the progress made from every workout, from each healthy meal you have, from every new thing you try, from every failed attempt. If you go to the gym every other day, you are making progress. If you start chosing meals that keep you energized, you are making progress!

You can even journal to track your progress - or track the habits you are trying to develop (if you want to download my free habit tracker: click here).

This also helps you have a way to acknowledge your achievements and encourages you to keep going. If you have a bad night, or even week - you shouldn't be putting so much weight on it because your focus is on the good practices you are building and how you can keep developing them.

Just this one change would make such a powerful difference. Perfectionism is the mindset that will often be your enemy - its draining and tiring. But your progress is energizing, encouraging. It is worth celebrating and will fuel you for a long time.

2. Start small and work your way up

Breaking your goals down into trackable habits is a great start.

There's nothing wrong with having physical fitness goals, and I am not telling you to give those up. But to get there, it is a lot more helpful to have smaller, SMARTer goals that will encourage you along the way. Give yourself something achievable. If what you want is doing one hour workouts everyday, try 15 minutes three times a week. Or if there's more than one area you want to see change in your lifestyle, pick three and stick to those first. Or if you're trying to quit a habit: quit for 30 days.

In his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey, highlights that successful people often work on small improvements because they know it is small, realistic things done with consistency that bring about changes. Starting small requires less sacrifice and still builds your confidence, your momentum and prepares you to achieve your bigger goals with success.

3. Be empathetic towards yourself.

I know I always talk about self-discipline and not letting excuses stop you from being your best self. While I still think that is true, we are talking about balance here so self growth needs to happen with self-empathy and self-compassion as well.

Especially if you are just starting out with fitness, acknowledge that you will have pitfalls and that they don't have to lead you off track. Even remind yourself if you need that what you're doing is new and it it's hard.

Empathize with where you're at physically and be aware of it. Be grateful for it. Don't compare yourself to other people online or at the gym.

If you have an unhealthy meal or miss a day or two of workouts, there really is no reason to feel guilty or down about it. It's not going to derail your progress. You can just go back to eating healthy the next day and maybe have a snack every now and then. Honor how you feel and always be patient and kind to your body. It is already doing its best to keep you healthy, whether or not you are helping it.

The reason why I like these ways of developing a healthier lifestyle is that they focus on creating healthy eating and exercise as a habit rather than a temporary one month fitness program that makes you feel good for just a while. Once something is a habit, it no longer requires you to use will power or motivation or obligation to do it.

Think about brushing your teeth every night/ every morning. Does it take will power to force yourself to brush your teeth? Maybe sometimes. Are you motivated to have dental hygiene? Sure. Do you feel obligated to brush your teeth? Maybe. But until I just asked you these questions, you wouldn't think about them every time you brush your teeth. YOU JUST DO IT.

Wouldn't it be nice if you JUST ATE HEALTHY the same way? Or JUST EXERCISED because it's what you do? I'm telling you, you can. Once you switch your focus to the three things I mentioned and build it as a habit. 😉