Spring break is a double edged sword. Many people use it as a motivator to get into “beach shape”. Our January Meltdown Bootcamp group always has a large contingent of folks that are mainly focused on being spring break ready. This is always very motivational and many people leave town super fit and happy with how they look and feel…..then a week of all you can eat buffets and sipping margaritas on the beaches of the world happens! What do we do now???????
Momentum is a precious thing in this situation. It is really hard to build up momentum and it is very easy to lose. You had a nice run leading up to the vacation and then all hell broke loose with the exercise and nutrition. This usually brings back a lot of the cravings and bad habits that you were battling to get rid of pre-vacay. The first step in your bounce back battle plan is to take a moment and reflect on what was going well before vacation. If you were feeling great then we need to reestablish that plan and that positive momentum. Here are some simple focus areas to dial in on:
Nutrition: What has worked the best for you in the past? What plan has been the easiest for you to stick to? With our local clients we provide them four different food plan “levels” within our Meltdown system. We also have two variations of our plan “Classic” or “Prime” so they end up with a lot of tools to work with. We ask them to pick the level that they feel it is easiest to be perfect on and use that to rebuild momentum. Sometimes people get into the mindset of “I’ve been bad so I need to be super strict and tough on myself to make up for it.” I disagree with this. If you have lost momentum you need to start back on the path of least resistance and ramp up your intensity, focus, and dedication level as you get some steam going.
Exercise: The same principles apply to exercise as in the nutrition section above. What was the minimum effective dose that produced results for you? What do you really enjoy doing? That is a great place to start. Make sure that you are enjoying yourself as you rebuild momentum. We don’t want this to be stressful. It should be FUN!
Accountability: I’ve said this hundreds of times and I will say it again: We are humans and we are very resistant to being accountable for anything but it is usually what we need most! Who is going to hold you accountable to getting your butt back into high gear again? Will you partner up with a family member or a friend and attack this plan together? Maybe you get a personal trainer or a coach…..I know a few people that might be able to help you out there! You should also be accountable to seeing some progress. A bi-weekly weigh in checkpoint is my preferred method for our clients.
That’s it…..simple but effective. I would recommend using the above three categories to set up your plan for the next four weeks. At that point reevaluate where you are at and adjust as needed. Those summer vacations will be right around the corner so we want you in top shape!
I appreciate you taking some of your valuable time to read my blog. Your comments and feedback are always appreciated and very welcome. Feel free to shoot me an email at [email protected] if I can help out with anything.
Until next time,
Adam
