Motivation + Accountability = Success

I get a lot of questions about how I’ve managed to lose weight, keep it off, and continue to work out and eat healthy for almost two years now. Well, here are my tips!

SCHEDULE YOUR WORKOUTS – I am ALWAYS following a workout schedule. Whether it’s P90X, TurboFire, or some hybrid of different workouts, I have kept a printed schedule on my desk for the last two years. I mark off each workout as I do it. And that means that even if I miss a day, I never skip the workout, I just do it the next day. It’s not as easy as just following a schedule. I always know the day before WHEN I’m going to work out the next day and I plan my day accordingly. If I’m going to workout before work, I make sure I go to bed on time and have my alarm set to get up at 5am. If I’m going to workout AFTER work, then I know that ahead of time also. If you wait until you “have time” to exercise, you will NEVER have time.

I have a TON of workout schedules here: BEACHBODY WORKOUT SCHEDULES – if you are in need of a different schedule, let me know. I have also done personalized schedules for people. Need a new workout? Check out the MANY Beachbody workouts here:WORKOUT COMPARISON CHART Then go here to order: www.getfitwithelaine.com

EAT CLEAN AT LEAST 80% OF THE TIME – I stick to eating clean MOST of the time. I allow myself a cheat day every week where I can eat whatever I want. What is eating clean? I like to define it as eating “single ingredient” foods. Want more guidance? Check out this link and eat only off the top two tiers: MICHIS LADDER

SHAKEOLOGY – Best supplement on the PLANET, bar none. Seriously. I can’t go a day without it. Everything you need to know about it is here: SHAKEOLOGY INFO

TRACK YOUR FOOD – I don’t track my food every day, but mostly because I know serving sizes and the nutrition make-up of most of the foods I normally eat. But if you are just starting out, tracking EVERYTHING you put in your mouth is SO important. I use www.myfitnesspal.com because I can customize my goals (I eat about 1700 calories per day and try to stay under 100g carbs every day). I am happy to look at your food diary and give you suggestions on what to change, etc. Weight loss/body composition is EIGHTY PERCENT what you eat, not how hard you work out. So you can workout all day long, but if you’re eating crap, you won’t reach your goals. Trust me, I know this from experience.

ACCOUNTABILITY and SUPPORT – Starting on a healthy path is not always easy. Sometimes even the people closest to you (your family, spouse, or friends) can try to drag you down. Personally, I think people do this when they aren’t willing to look at their OWN unhealthy lifestyle and it makes them uncomfortable to see someone close to them trying to make changes. Don’t let anyone else bring you down! Find a support group! Team Beachbody has a ton of message boards and groups AND you always have your own coach!! Use them! When I started P90X, I had the BEST group of moms doing P90X and I am still friends with many of them. My coach was also important to me when I had questions, had a bad day (or week!) Just know that you DO NOT have to do this alone! Join Beachbody here if you haven’t already: JOIN BEACHBODY

MOTIVATION – It’s SO easy to start a program and then give up. I can’t really tell you WHY I stuck through my first 90 days of P90X. I think it was a combination of having a schedule that I was obsessed with finishing and really wanting to see if the program got me results. I was SHOCKED at how great my results were.

BEING A COACH - is what keeps me motivated now. I have LOTS of people I have coached and am still actively coaching. And that keeps me going when I feel like quitting. I love being able to help people who were in my same situation and get them into the best shape of their lives. And guess what? To do that, I need to STAY in the best shape of my life. What better motivation is there?? BE A COACH

So, that’s it. Ultimately, it’s up to YOU to make changes in your life, health and fitness. No one else can do it for you. But all it takes is one step. One meal at a time, one workout at a time, one pound at a time, one day at a time.