Preparation

by - January 03, 2021

Happy 2021 all! It seemed like the longest and shortest year all rolled into one, but we made it! Now as I said last week, just because it is a new year on paper, that does not mean that certain things about 2020 just go away. Humanity as a whole is still fighting against some things that, although there is an end in sight that does not mean that we let our guard down and pretend life is completely normal again. But hey, I am not here to harp on that bad aspects of 2020, I am here to put a positive spin on 2021. Now last week a did talk all about 2021looking towards the new year in a positive way, and I wanted to elaborate on that a bit further and talk all about planning on the new year.


Before I move completely on to plans for the new year I do want to talk just a bit more about 2020. So many of us had a rough year in all different aspects, but I want to focus a little more on the health aspect of things. Some people really thrived with eating right and exercising during quarantine, but I know so many more that had the opposite issues. Maybe you did not exercise hardly at all because you struggled with the gyms being closed and overall just did not do very well with working out from home. I know many people did a lot more snacking and ordered a lot more takeout while they were at home. These kinds of habits very obviously resulted in weight gain for a lot of us. In my opinion the very first step you should take in 2021 is to forgive yourself for that. If you gained weight, lost muscle, or overall just lost your routine, your body still got you through an incredibly hard year. Your body helped you push through even if you didn't treat it quite right. Just be thankful you are still here and look forward, not back.


Planning is the most important part of making changes in your life. I have preached this so many times in this blog, but with falling out of habits in the previous year I think it is important to revisit it. I too need the reminder. So what is the most important reason you might have to plan ahead? Well when we plan our meals and do as much prep as possible, it ensures there are plenty of healthy options available to us so our busy lives are not an excuse to reach for the easy and more caloric option. Look I get it, it is so much easier to just DoorDash for sushi and udon noodles than it is to cook a meal with whole foods on a week night. This is the exact reason why it is important to have a good number of healthy options ready for you to grab and eat, or even if things are planned out and require as little cooking and prepping as possible on the night you are going to eat them. The same goes with your workouts. If you plan your week out ahead of time that eliminates the possibility of blowing your workout out because you are unsure what to do once you get there.


I spent my entire Sunday doing a good amount of prep for next week. I threw together some Asian chicken salads for my lunches next week, mixed together some protein energy balls to eat as a quick snack before I go to the gym (you need to be careful with those though. Only one or two is all you need) I made up a nice veggie and potato hash for breakfasts I can just heat up in the air fryer, and I even tried out one of those meal services for my dinners this week thanks to Danielle who gave me a code for a free box! I put pictures of all of these things throughout my blog just for some inspiration to any readers that may be struggling. The most important part of all of this is to make sure you are ready for the week ahead as much as possible. If you can't afford a meal service maybe plan dinners and do as much prep work as possible. Chop all your veggies, marinate your proteins, mix up any sauces, etc. anything that you can do ahead of time do it! Utilize your slow cooker or instant pot or air fryer if you have one. Just do everything you can to make life a little easier for you so you are less likely to take an easier route.

Overall my best advice to you and myself is to make sure you are as ready as possible for every week ahead of you. Get your gum bag packed as much as possible. Make sure you have socks, hand sanitizer, and face masks if your state requires them or you make the choice to wear one. No need to not be able to workout because you forgot something so small. As I have said make sure your meals are as planned out and prepped as possible to make things a lot easier on yourself during the week. The more you set yourself up for success the more likely you will be to achieve it. Keep up with these things until they become habits, or in my case until they become habits again. So many of us coped with the dumpster fire that was 2020 by falling out of a lot of our routines and good habits, now is the time to stop making excuses and get back to it!

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share
Tags :

You May Also Like

0 comments