An Overachiever’s Dream
We had some awesome things drop in my coaching program this week, and I want to share with you all because the evolution was quite unique.
If you remember, last week I talked about my 10% increased effort on the treadmill and what that meant for my results. So, then I got thinking… what if we could focus on our health with a 10% strategy and achieve our best results?
When I thought of this plan, I got so excited that I actually made a powerpoint, a video, and a workbook so that I could launch it to my program that day.
Today, I would like to share it with you.
I have identified 10 components that I think are super important when it comes to achieving optimal health.
Steps per day, strength training, nutrition, intuitive hunger awareness, water consumption, sleep, mindset work, coaching or self-coaching, accountability, and progress tracking.
So, here is the deal. If you try to focus on all 10 at once, then this could become your full-time job. We have to acclimate ourselves to healthy habits that over time, will take little effort.
We do this by implementing just one at a time. And, each component equals 10% effort.
Now, what we have to realize is that we aren’t trying to be perfect in all of these categories, we just want to have heightened awareness as we move through the components. And, I always recommend starting with the component that we are least aware of.
For example, I wouldn’t start with strength training or nutrition because those are fairly autopilot. Instead, I would start with water or sleep.
The idea is that you plan to work through this process over 10 weeks. Each week, you add a new component. Let’s say that I focus on my sleep week 1, that is 10% optimal health effort. Week 2, I add water, that is 20% optimal health effort. By week 10, we will arrive at 100% effort, but this may be too much. What we are looking for is your sweet spot.
Here is my sweet spot example.
Right now, I am operating at 70%. The 30% that are not on autopilot for me are the areas that I will add. Potentially in three weeks, I could be at 100%. It is not my goal to live at 100%, just to be aware of what that feels like.
What categories do most struggle with?
I will tell you that many avoid the accountability and progress tracking category. Why??? Let’s say you are using the scale to measure your progress. If the scale doesn’t change, then we may get disappointed and not trust the effort that we are making. So it is easier for us to just avoid. Accountability? What if we commit to something out loud and then don’t follow through? Do we then feel failure?
I always say that wherever the discomfort is - go after that.
So here are my official recs:
Track your daily steps and try to achieve 3k more each day
Start a strength training program and gradually work up to 3/week
Eat 3 servings of protein each day
Learn your hunger signals: eat when hungry, stop when satisfied
Drink at least 64 ounces of water each day
Try to get 7-9 hours of sleep each night (or just do your best)
Journal your thoughts for 5 minutes each day
Self-Coach or Be Coached
Track your progress (don’t skip this step and don’t just use the scale)
Enlist an accountability partner or group
Where do you think you will start???
Remember, a little goes a long way.