If there is one fact in my profession that every client knows, but doesn’t “know,” it’s this: You’re not perfect.
You’re going to struggle. You’re going to have bad days. You’re going to eat more than you planned on eating, and you’re going to feel like doing nothing sometimes. It’s not a matter of “if.” It’s “when.” And after helping more than 1,000 people lose weight, I can tell you “when” is usually Friday.
Friday is the most common day when people get a case of the “screw its.” When perfect is no longer an option, they just throw the play book completely out the window. But these swings in consistency are death to long-term weight loss because they rob us of momentum. So I started trying to come up with a better plan and, luckily for all my clients, I’m a huge Civil War history nerd.
One of the great generals (and characters) in the Civil War was Stonewall Jackson. A tactical genius, Jackson appreciated that the most important factor in war (and the war that’s weight loss) is momentum. So he was moving forward, even when he was moving backward. One of his contemporaries summarized Jackson:
“He was never more to be feared than when he was retreating, and where others thought only of strong defensive positions, he looked persistently for the opportunity to attack.”
Stonewall Jackson never told his troops to “run away.” Before he ever went into battle, he picked a spot on the map to retreat to that was also a great attack position. That was his “Fallback Plan.” So after reading a biography of Stonewall, I developed “Fallback Plan Friday.”
Your Fallback Plan is your line in the sand—something you are 100% confident you can do, no matter what. It can be a nutrition habit like eating protein at every meal or an easy, 15- to 20-minute workout that moves you toward your goal but requires as much thought as brushing your teeth.
A good Fallback Plan needs to be simple AND easy, but it has to be “bang for your buck.” Start by writing down your favorite way to train or eat. Do you like barbell complexes? Salads? Kettlebell swings and goblet squats? Tae Bo? Anything is fine.
Let me repeat that: Any exercise or nutrition habit you love is fine.
Now write down the bare minimum that you can do of that exercise or nutrition habit and still feel like you’re making progress. Is it one salad at lunch? Is is drinking one less non-water drink? Doing 20 push-ups? And yes, I want you to underestimate here. I mean really low-ball it. The whole goal is do something that’s possible and enjoyable so you feel more ready to get back at it tomorrow.
Don’t think, “I’ve done 1,200 swings in a workout before,” and then think you can do 1,000 every day. Ask yourself, “When the sun comes up on Saturday morning and I’ve got a slight hangover from too much red wine the night before, what’s the workout that’s going to make me feel better?” That’s your Fallback Plan.
Some examples:
- 100 kettlebell swings
- eat a vegetable at every meal
- a 20-minute jog or bike ride
- replace one caloric drink with water
- a long walk
- split your dinner out into two meals
- 3-5 Turkish Get-ups per side
- 3-5 sun salutations
- or even just the warm-up from your regular workout
The key to this Fallback Plan is that you aren’t retreating. You are still in enemy territory, regrouping for your next attack. If you feel like you can do more, do a little more. If you feel like you can do a lot more, do a lot more! But, if after going hard for a few workouts you don’t feel like you can do anything, you can still do something.
Be like Stonewall Jackson and make your Fallback Plan.
from Hello Healthy http://ift.tt/1So9XS2
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