The saying goes, don’t major in the minors. Don’t sweat the small stuff because you’re probably messing up the bigger picture. There is a rock analogy in here (big rocks go first), and ultimately, they all say the same thing. What are the big rocks of training and nutrition? What goes in first?
For training, do you track what you do? Get a composition book, record the date, the name of the exercise, the weight you used and the number of sets and reps. You might include how challenging it was or something else along those lines. Try and beat the notebook. You might add weight early on in your training. As you progress you might add a rep or a set. Maybe you learn to control the weight better and improve on your technique. What’s another big rock? You must train consistently and put in some intensity. You must be willing to be uncomfortable. You don’t need to go all out, but over time it should become more challenging. You should be pushing yourself and doing it on a consistent basis. 2-3 times a week works well for most. You can get by with 1, but you’ll probably need to make these very tough workouts. Most people don’t train consistently enough and hard enough for long enough. They don’t really track what they do and fail to improve upon those numbers. These are probably the big rocks of training.
What are the big rocks of nutrition? If you’re losing weight, it’s probably how you behave on the weekends. During the week you’re in a routine. On the weekends you fall off. It is possible that an entire week of eating well can be undone by 2 days of gluttony. You’re also probably not eating enough protein. As you get older this is even more important. Last but not least, fruits and vegetables. If you make fruits, vegetables and lean proteins the foundation of your day, many things fall into place. Toss in some whole grains and you’ve got a great setup. Do this most, maybe 80{e18ed2371f09e71a3757b9c079724507f9c8fbf367ae51cfed9a8a84db31045b} of the time, and you’ve got balance. Like training, start with what you’re doing now. Do a self audit. Track everything that goes into your mouth for a week. Write it down. Literally, write every single thing down. Even that little bite you had that you didn’t think counted. What’s the pattern? What do you notice? Start there. Look for places to improve. What gets measured get’s managed. Figure out what you’re doing. Get the big rocks in order.
