Everyone knows that hindsight is 20/20. We all wish we could go back and give our younger self’s advice. Today’s podcast focuses on the exact opposite idea. The past is in the past, we’ve learned lessons the hard way, and it is time to move on and look forward. In today’s podcast (one of my favorites!), I’m talking about lessons to my future self.
All of this introspection was inspired by the article, “20 Tips I’d Give Myself 20 Years Ago” which has NOTHING to do with fatloss. In the podcast, I’m breaking out key points from the article that really hit home for me, and I’m sharing the 3 lessons I would give to my future self.
Your life is not about how much you weigh or what size you wear. Your life is about how you feel.
Are you happy? Happiness is about JOY! As you create more joy, you create more happiness. The goal is not about a number, the goal is about the joy in your heart.
Don’t let fear influence your decisions.
How many times have you not done something because you were scared of what other people would think or say? How much have you missed out on?
Don’t let the fear of rejection, looking stupid, or getting hurt keep you from experiencing all of the things you want to experience and enjoying life like you deserve.
You matter more than the work you do. You are not the work you do.
Make yourself a priority. You will have more to give the world when you give more to yourself.
OK, you’ve decided to make a change, but you have no idea where to start (or restart). Today’s podcast will dive into my #1 fat loss recommendation: tracking.
We aren’t talking about calorie counting, carb or macro counting, just some down and dirty quick journaling. In less time than it takes to obsessively count your item of choice (and with far less frustration), you can learn more about what is and what is not working for you. It’s easy, it’s quick and it’s crucial to laying the groundwork for finding a solution that works for you.
I’ll be talking about what to track, when to track, and most importantly WHY we track.
I’ve even created a totally free tracking cheat sheet and template for you. You can download it now by clicking the button below.
Tracking! Think of it like a journal. You don’t have to spend time worrying about exact calories, or even exact portion sizes. What you are really after is a documenting what you ate and how it made you feel.
It does not need to be a chore. You can get this done in less than 5 minutes each day. Ultimately, it will help you establish trends and analyze those trends as a tool in our weight loss journeys.
Why You Should Track
1. To learn more about your body and what works for you
2. To keep you objective.
3. To anchor yourself to your goals
What You Should Track
Food and Feelings. It is that simple. If you get in a workout, add fitness, too!
Food is easy, just track what you eat (approximately how much), and when.
Feelings don’t have to be hard, but it is the most important. Include your hunger, cravings, and energy over the course of the day. I encourage you to expand past the basic feelings and include your mood, the quality of your sleep, and events that occurred during the day. These really helps create a comprehensive picture of what exactly is going on in your world.
Most everyone should be able to effectively track in under 5 minutes a day.
Where You Should Track
I’ve created a tracking cheat sheet and template to get you started. Find a routine that works for you and stick with it!
Learning From Your Document
Revisit. Revisit. Revisit.
Take time to look back through your tracker and identify trends.
Analyze the food you are eating and correlating body reactions. Analyze your workouts to identify how that affects your energy level and hunger.
On July 12th, Primal Potential’s 2nd anniversary, I announced ASCEND, the first ever women’s transformation weekend. If you didn’t hear the details, you need to listen to this episode.
I will be spending a weekend, November 3-5th in downtown Nashville TN helping 50 women transform their lives in the best ways imaginable.
I thought I’d take a minute today to tell you why you should NOT go.
Trust me, I understand the position you’re in. I considered and passed up on a ton of opportunities while I was trying to shake myself loose from the bad habits, food obsession and inconsistencies that defined me and my life for decades. I kept falling for the same yo-yo diet approach for years. I get it. I’m gonna shoot straight and be really clear on why you shouldn’t buy a ticket and attend ASCEND.
It’s expensive. It will require travel. You might even have to get a day off work.
You probably won’t know anybody.
You won’t get a food list or a meal plan or someone to script out all the exact steps you need to take to lose the weight and take control of your life (even though you probably wouldn’t follow them anyway).
It might be uncomfortable. Heck, it probably will be.
You don’t really know what will happen.
You might have to face the real issues that are holding you back instead of just talking about carbs, fat, protein and exercise.
You’ve never really done the work anyway, so how will this be different?
You might be the biggest person there, or the smallest. That might make you uncomfortable.
You really think you can do it on your own. You never have, and you keep trying, but dang it, if you just keep following the same approach that hasn’t worked yet, it’ll eventually turn around.
It’s probably best to play it safe and stay in your comfort zone. That’s what you’re used to.
There’s always the podcast, and that’s free.
This event isn’t really worth the risk.
Totally valid points. You probably shouldn’t go.
There’s a chance that you’re at the same point I got – there’s a chance that you’re thinking, “No. I don’t want to take the same approach. I don’t want to waste anymore time. I want to do something different so I can make my life different.
Maybe you know that if you keep doing the same types of things, you’ll keep getting the same types of results.
Maybe you realize that your best life lives beyond your comfort zone and you’re ready to dive right into that discomfort to get to the life you want…
Maybe you’re excited to go beyond the food lists and meal plans to understand and eliminate the things that really hold you back.
Maybe you’re ready to let someone who has been there & done that and helped hundreds of others help YOU in a focused, concentrated weekend workshop.
If that’s you, you might be one of the 50 women who should spend the weekend taking your life to to the next level!
We are continuing our celebration of Primal Potential’s 2nd anniversary with a super special guest! My friend and former Fat Loss Fast Tracker, Maggie!
I want you to hear directly from someone who has transformed, inside and out, over the last 14 or so months. She has lost 50 lbs, more than 13 inches from her waist and she feels that the biggest changes she made were to the way she thinks! That’s right, Maggie is going to share how you can use your mind to transform your body.
She is real, she is inspirational and I hope we can all find encouragement and hope in her powerful message!
If you didn’t yet catch the first two special episodes we celebrated with, you can catch them here and here.
In today’s episode, Maggie and I tackle so much including:
What results she has created over the last 14-15 months
How affirmations changed her life
How she handles days when she isn’t feeling motivated
How her mindset has changed
How her dietary habits have changed
After recording, Maggie emailed me to share this:
Hey!
I just wanted to add a brief addendum to my advice for those out there struggling:
I want people to know that this took me a village of support, and that I never once felt alone on this journey. I had, and have, so many outlets to ask for help when I feel the need to reach out. And thank god for modern technology and real time for delivering podcasts and supportive audio! Seriously. There is support out there with truly strong bones, and I definitely found it with you and the community you developed with the fast tracks, as well as the myriad other brilliant minds out there.
Anyways, that was it! Community support is integral for my success, as much as I’d like to think I’m a one woman wolf pack at times.
