The No More Excuses Diet (5 page)

Starting a new exercise regimen isn’t easy on the body. You might be sore from strength training, tired from performing cardio, or struggling a little to fit in all of this additional activity. For the first three days it might feel like the mental and physical struggle is unending, but I guarantee you that within the next twenty-one days your body will have adapted to the new stimuli. Gradually the mile that took you 17 minutes to run the first day won’t feel overwhelming anymore—you’ll probably be running it in closer to 13 minutes! And instead of curling a max weight of 10 pounds, you will now be aiming for 12 pounds. Your lungs will have become more efficient, your muscles will have become stronger, and your mind will have become tougher.

In the past, you may have felt constipated, bloated, fatigued, or lethargic. But after three weeks of eating healthy, drinking water, eliminating sugar, moving your body, and prioritizing sleep, your body will have eliminated the toxins that once weighed down your system. By creating a daily eating, training, digesting, and sleeping routine, your body will be becoming a lean, mean, fat-churning machine!

Every season has its end, and so do your goals. Aiming to complete three-month intervals will keep you focused and will help you work hard, knowing that you will see a significant and specific transformation in that time.

If you saw your first body transformation at just three weeks, imagine quadrupling that time and effort and seeing the results at the end of three months. The transformation after four consecutive three-week cycles will be substantial! In nearly ninety days, you will feel like a new person. Your ability to set a goal and accomplish it will have left an indelible mark on your mentality. Your face and waist will be smaller, your legs will be lighter, and your smile will be bigger. Most important, you will be incredibly proud, having taught yourself a new pattern for success. While you may not yet be at your ultimate weight goal, breaking your journey into three-day, three-week, and three-month sessions makes reaching that destination achievable.

PART 2

S
et the Goal

P
lan the Attack

E
nvision the Journey

E
xecute the Plan

D
eliver the Results

Right now you are inspired, motivated, and driven. You are at stage one, the S.P.E.E.D. stage. This is an exciting time, when your engine is turned on, when your plane taxis down the runway, and when it takes off to soar into the stratosphere.

You need this momentum. The energy you spend during this first stage will build the S.P.E.E.D. you require to reach success. This early stage is all about
S
etting goals,
P
lanning your attack,
E
nvisioning your journey,
E
xecuting your plan, and
D
elivering the results. The S.P.E.E.D. acronym is an easy way to remember this stage. It’s a method that simplifies your approach, intensifies your force, and sharpens your focus. So, start manifesting your dreams by creating a strong desire.

This chapter is for developing the internal rigor that will keep you moving toward your goal. Maintaining your motivation is the magic behind your long-term success. Will there be times of struggle? Yes. Will you make mistakes along the way? Certainly. Does anyone fail on this No More Excuses program? Absolutely not! This plan doesn’t start and end in three months; this is an attitude that will carry you far—the rest of your life. If you accept the setbacks as part of this process, you will
not
fail this time.

Imagine your
best body.
Think about how you want to feel, what you want to do, and where you want to go. Envision yourself confidently shopping for sleeveless tops or a form-fitting dress. Picture yourself walking down a beach, hiking up a mountain, or running a 10K.
Really think about it.
Fill your mind with longing for a life of accomplishments, for this incredible effort to build your best body.

Let’s get started—and let’s get there fast! I hear you when it comes to losing weight. It never seems to happen fast enough. And while on any program you will hit plateaus, deal with distractions, and have to bust some excuses, you will get to your goal faster if you use S.P.E.E.D. So, S.P.E.E.D. is a goal-setting model that you will use to effectively and efficiently target your short-term goals.

Too often, people set out to achieve a really ambitious goal without having a clear plan for how to do it. For instance, wanting to look great at an upcoming family event is a great motivator, but you need a strategy for living every day until you’ve achieved your goal. If you don’t break that goal into more manageable pieces, it’s going to become overwhelming and you’ll find it hard to stick to it.

That’s what is so amazing about S.P.E.E.D. It gives you a way
to focus on your overall process each day, so that you don’t get derailed by the little setbacks that are inevitable in life.

Here’s how it works!

SET THE GOAL.
Are you competitive? Do you want to impress people? Do you want to look great for an upcoming event? Figure out what your motivation is and write it down as a specific short-term goal to set your sights on. It’s not enough to say you want to lose weight and eat healthier. You must desire, dream, and dedicate yourself to a specific goal, in a specific time period. A deadline creates a level of urgency that can motivate you to follow through, despite the challenges you will face after
setting that goal.

For example, your goal could be to fit into your favorite pair of jeans, the jeans that have been sitting on the top shelf of your closet because they have been too snug for several years. Or perhaps your goal is to run a 10K race or to perform ten pull-ups. Whatever you choose, create a deadline of exactly three months from today. Write down your goal, and put it somewhere that you will see every day: on the refrigerator, above your computer screen, on the bathroom mirror—any place that will be a daily reminder.

PLAN THE ATTACK.
A good
plan of action makes even the loftiest goals possible. Once you set your goal, work backward to plan your attack. For example, if you want to lose 25 pounds in three months, you need to lose 8 pounds each month or 2 pounds each week. It takes 3,500 calories to burn 1 pound of body fat, so you need a diet and exercise regimen that will get you burning 7,000 calories each week. Seem like a lot? Not if you create a caloric deficit of 500 calories in your diet for seven days; then you will have burned 3,500 calories in that one week! Your second pound lost will come from consistent exercise. With this knowledge, losing 25 pounds in three months feels more reachable!

If your goal is to run a half-marathon (13.1 miles), start by focusing on running 1 mile, rather than staring down the whole distance at once. Pick a training program and integrate it into your life, one day at a time. As you build strength and endurance, you can add mileage weekly. After a few months of cardio conditioning, a half-marathon will become more mentally feasible, but it starts with running 1 mile today!

Building your best body is 80 percent planning and 20 percent execution. So this is the moment to create a blueprint for what you will build to achieve your goal. There are resources in this book to help you get organized and create a plan that works realistically with your lifestyle; in
Chapter 7
, you’ll find guides for healthier eating, in
Chapter 6
and the
Appendix
, you’ll find workout guides that you can customize. Plan a workout schedule and make time to prepare your meals. Give away your junk food and clear out your cupboards of any trigger snacks. Stock your refrigerator with fresh fruits and vegetables. Buy all your necessary equipment, including a water bottle, sweat towels, workout outfits, healthy cookbooks, exercise DVDs, and/or a gym membership. Load your guns and prepare for battle.

ENVISION THE JOURNEY.
Visualize the steps you will take to achieve your goal. Some people fail before they begin because they are stuck on bad past experiences. To succeed, envision yourself succeeding. Write down your goals and remind yourself of them daily. When you wake up each day, imagine how your day will go and see yourself saying no to procrastination. Rehearse persuasive arguments against eating poorly. Focus on staying strong and avoiding temptation. When you’ve fought the battle in your mind, you’ve gained the mental strength to win the real battles in life.

Picture yourself gathering the ingredients for your next healthy
meal, preparing the meal, and enjoying the delicious results. Before you start a workout, visualize yourself warming up, taking the first few steps, and then launching into it. Imagine pushing through your physical discomfort and completing each set with stamina to spare. Think about how good you will feel, how strong you will become, and how happy you will be when you walk out of the gym after a powerful workout. These mental images will keep you motivated, and they will help you to be aware of your goal each day. (Keep in mind that there is a difference between a little discomfort and pain. If you are in serious pain, stop what you are doing and, if necessary, seek a medical professional.)

EXECUTE THE PLAN.
Of course, you can’t just visualize success—you also need to take
action! This means waking up each morning and preparing those meals, completing your training, taking your vitamins, getting enough water, and enjoying a full night’s sleep. The simple act of following through on what you
say
you will do is success in itself. Perhaps your action won’t be 100 percent perfect, but no one is perfect. Just make it a point to stop procrastinating and start doing what you
say
you’re going to do. The more your actions support your plans, the closer you come to achieving your best body.