The Freedom Journal is something I have been waiting impatiently for several months now. The Day is coming… and if you have big goals in your life, fitness, health, or tennis, I feel like I need to let you know about it.
In Venice Beach, California, we are having beautiful sunny days (sorry to all of you who are still snowed in) and it reminds me that the summer is slowly on its way. People now more than before start thinking about shedding off a few layers of clothes, and with that, possibly a few layers of body fat.
Is this your thinking too? I definitely plan to get slightly leaner so I am ready for the shorts and tanktop in a few months.
People approach me: “I want to lose weight, can you help me?” And while I definitely can, I gently remind them that this is not a good goal to have.
“Why?”
I just said that I also want to get leaner, right?
It’s nothing wrong to lose weight, but I don’t like the non-specificity. How much do you want to lose? Under how long time period? Is it realistic? They often look at me with a dropped jaw, because they didn’t think that far.
Get SMART
I remind them about setting S.M.A.R.T. goals (as described in details in a previous article). Your weight loss has to be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely.
So I push more…
Say you want to lose 20 pounds. And you want to be ready for the summer. Is it realistic and attainable? Definitely. You have 4 months… 5 pounds per month is not hard. It means 1.25 pounds per week. And it is easily measurable.
Now Let’s Make it More Specific
1.25 lbs is 570 grams of fat. One gram of fat is about 9 calories, so it is total about 5,100 calories… Fat be gone!!!
For that you have to eat less or burn more about 730 calories daily. Maybe you can split it in 300 calories less food and 400 calories more in exercise. One hour of a fast walk should take care of the 400 calories, and skipping one large donut gets rid of the 300 calories. You are set. I hope you don’t eat donuts already, so please eliminate something else that is not necessary in your diet. I bet there is something little there…
When you break it down like this, it seems easy, achievable, and fun. It will ignite our motivation and inspiration to work on it every day. You can’t stop, you can’t skip a day.
Eat Whole Foods
Let those veggies and fruits and whole foods dominate your plate and cut out the other stuff. To refresh your memory, read Whole Foods Plant Based Nutrition for Optimal Performance and Health. Log your calories in MyFitnessPal (free app or online) or similar food journaling services.
Measure So You Know What You Are Doing
Maybe you already have a FitBit that measures everything for you? It seems like everybody around me has one. I don’t. Yet. But I am tempted and constantly looking on this cute teal or tangerine Fitbit Charge HR. Maybe I’ll have it soon and will write and analyze all the cool experiences with it in the future.
If you would like to learn more about the different fitness trackers and find which one fits the best your needs, read this interesting Fitness Trackers Review Post (by reviews.com).
What Is The Freedom Journal
I have a few minor fitness goals for 2016 (grow my glutes with one inch to 41 inches by summer, in case you wanna know ;-) ) and a few large business goals. Fitness is easy for me, the other big goals I tend to procrastinate with. Often because they seem too big and I don’t know where to start.
So I have decided to get myself The Freedom Journal, created as a 2015 project by John Lee Dumas, the host of the Entrepreneurs on Fire podcast that I listen to daily. What a motivation. I’ve been waiting for this Freedom Journal to come for 3 months, impatiently patient…
Beautifully leather bound (faux, he loves animals), it pretty much guarantees that you WILL accomplish your goal, if you follow the steps in the journal. It is a 100-day journey, with 30 days evaluations, and small evaluations every 10 days.
Daily, you have to set your goals, actions, focus points, thoughts, and re-evaluate in the evening what you did great, what you struggled with, and set plans for the next day.
It is truly beautiful and amazing. They have an ongoing Kickstarter campaign for another 9 days (until February 4th, 2016)… I am waiting for my journal to arrive in a few weeks, but until then you can use the fillable/writable PDF version.
If you have big plans and goals and procrastinate a little bit (or more) just like I do, give The Freedom Journal a thought. Check out the pictures and ideas on this Kickstarter campaign or see the 30-day example in action.
Don’t be scared to set big goals, in your fitness, tennis, health, business, relationships or other. You are either ruled and driven my fear, or faith. Choose faith and action.
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