“It’s time to get ready for summer. Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it no matter how complicated it may be. I want to be bikini-ready in four weeks.”
It never fails. I always hear or read an email similar to the statement above. Since summer is just around the corner, people are starting to think about bikini season and want to drop body fat fast.
But here’s the cold hard truth – most people cannot do a complete nutrition and exercise overhaul and stick with it for more than a couple of weeks, if even that long.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know you’re dedicated and “willing to do anything” I tell you to do because you’re determined to be bikini ready this year. I’ve gone out of my way countless times to help such individuals. More often than not, they don’t get any results because they didn’t take any action.
Very few people can completely change their nutrition and exercise habits over night and stick with it for any appreciable amount of time. It’s just reality.
So if you don’t have the physique or overall health you crave, then I suggest you embrace baby steps.
Now don’t just brush this suggestion off and search for something more advanced, complicated, and “unique”. If you don’t look and/or feel the way you truly want, and you’ve tried other methods before, then I guarantee you’ll benefit from the following information.
Here is what I want you to do – implement a single, simple change and stick with it for two weeks. And I mean simple – don’t commit to following some complicated diet or some strenuous workout routine if you’ve never even lifted a weight.
I’ll provide some examples of simple baby steps below.
So after you apply a single baby step for two weeks straight, you’ll then add in another simple baby step and apply it for two weeks. This second baby step is in addition to the original.
Here are some simple but very effective “baby steps” to implement that will produce noticeable results when applied consistently:
- Go for a 10 minute walk every day. Why only 10 minutes? Because if I said 30 you would immediately find excuses for not “having enough time”. Every single person can find 10 minutes a day to walk.
- Replace caloric beverages (sodas, fruit juice, blended coffee drinks, etc) with water or plain coffee or tea. This one may be a little tougher for some people. If you drink a lot of sodas or other similar beverages, then start by replacing a couple drinks each day with water. Over time start swapping out the additional sodas or other items with water. Remember – keep it simple.
- Replace refined/processed snacks with real food. For example, instead of eating a granola bar or something from a vending machine, eat an apple and some almonds.
- Decrease the amount of refined sugar and processed foods you consume. This definitely ties in with the step above, but you can use this one as an extension. Look for the most commons foods you consume that contain refined sugar and find a replacement for them. For example, with my morning coffee I would use flavored cream and Splenda, and the past couple of weeks I have started drinking my coffee black with a sprinkle of cinnamon in it instead. I targeted this item because I’m making an effort to remove fake sugars from my diet.
There are limitless baby steps you can start applying depending on your goals (build muscle, increase strength, lose body fat, develop better eating habits, improve mobility, etc). Just ask yourself what areas you need to improve the most and start from there.
You can make small tweaks to your nutrition for two weeks, and then add in a baby step that focuses on exercise/physical activity. Just keep it simple and you will succeed.
If you consistently apply these baby steps, you’ll be headed in a healthier direction.