It's exhilarating to announce that it's never too late to embark on your fitness journey! The beauty of fitness is in its simplicity! It's not about a complicated, researched workout routine – it's about doing those simple things that you know to be true. It's about movement, about feeling alive and energetic! The prospect of starting a fitness journey can seem daunting, but once you understand that the challenge is not in the workouts themselves but in the logistics of it, it becomes a lot simpler.
Then, why do we fail?
We know what to do - eat better, stay active, get sleep.Because we try to do too much. And the logistics of it make us fail.
What do I mean by that?Well, two primary things fail us when we come to logistics. One, we are "here" and we aim for something too far beyond. From not having gone to the gym in a decade to "I'll go to the gym 5 days a week." And from eating junk foods near daily and not eating enough vegetables, we try to go to "30 days of no junk."
Instead, let's focus on the delta. What the heck is a delta? I am lifting this from calculus (differentiation) where we are looking at sensitivity of change.Let's say your current lifestyle is normalised as a score of 30 (out of 100). When you go on a diet or start a gym habit, you are trying to boost that score from 30 to 80+. But that's too much for you to handle.
Instead, all you should be focusing on is something more than 30. Let's say 50. Which might mean, in tangible terms:
- Remove "some" of the grain and replace that with whatever vegetables you are eating. Remove some more of the grain and replace that with some protein - any protein. You can read more about this in my plate inversion protocol.
- skipping the juice.
And that's it. Forget having a salad for lunch. Forget aiming to go to the gym daily. Forget trying to eat 3 portions of protein. By creating the above small but significant change, the delta, you will see progress.
When you focus on "ideal", you will fail.
Because ideal is far beyond the flow channel for you. For now. Instead, focus on finding the Goldilocks zone.
Once you go from 30 to 50, and 50 becomes your new normal, you can make that 65. And in a few months, 75 becomes your new normal.
Now, you are already in a much better place. You will have hit all your health and fitness goals that you set when you were at 30. But in all probability, you've now upped your goals. Which is fine.
First, celebrate your awesomeness.And now, when you try to do a "100/100", it is within your reach. You can do that for a couple of months because it is outside your comfort zone. And after that, you won't sink back to a 30. You will go back to a 75.
So, what does this mean in practical terms?
- Stop trying to find an hour daily to exercise. Instead, can you find a 30-minute window to do something? Anything? Remember, it is about something more than what you are doing today. If you are walking already, maybe alternating that with yoga or a sport is the delta you need.
- Stop trying to go all-out with your diet. Instead, can you up your protein and vegetables intake by 25%? Can you cut your junk/alcohol by 25%? Not by 100% but by 25%. For example, if you are eating ice cream 4 times a week, bring it down to 3. That's it!
Remember, fitness and nutrition and this healthy lifestyle is for the rest of your life. You are not going to get away from this by gritting your teeth for a few weeks. Plus, you've already tried that. And it has not worked out.So, let's do something different.
What I'd recommend is for you to take stock of where you are. Find your current place. And then, chart out a delta for you. Just figure out the next step. Not the next 5 steps. Not the ideal. That's all nonsense.
And then, aim to bridge that gap. And make that your new normal.
Find your delta.
Focus on the delta you can manage.
Within a year, your lifestyle will be much better.