I recently logged in to my website to write and was blown away to see that my list of 32 lessons learned in 32 years became the most read article on my website. 

If you missed that sucker, click here to check it out. And if you read it, a huge thank you for checking it out!

In an effort to give the people more of what they want, I’m going full list-mode in this week's newsletter to itemize the five things you need to do, to stop sabotaging your fitness and nutrition progress.

Sounds good? Cool. Let's rip it. 

1) Stop confusing progress with perfection.

This is a massive paradigm shift for many, in two ways. First, let's look at the word ‘progress’. Progress can be defined in many, many ways. Progress can be improved by being more consistent. Progress can be feeling more confident with your workout OR in tracking nutrition. Progress can be a better mood surrounding fitness. And of course, progress can be pounds off on the scale. What matters most is that you define what progress is for you so you have that expectation set.

The second part of this is perfection. The paradigm shift here is that we often think that we need to be PERFECT with adherence to the plan. PERFECT with your fitness, like every workout needs to be ground breaking. PERFECT with your nutrition, like if we even look at the delicious pumpkin creamer going into our coffee we have sabotaged everything.

Perfection is the enemy. Progress is the ally. 

Pumpkin coffee creamer is a beautiful thing. On to point number two.

2) Something is indeed better than nothing. 

This one is short and sweet. Those 11,000 steps? They matter. That 10 minutes of push ups? Way better than taking a shower and calling it a day. Walking the dog? Yeah, getting outside is super good for you. 

Do not discount the self acclaimed bad workout. That ‘bad’ workout is way better than not doing something, especially when it didn’t come on a perfect platter. 

3) You can (literally) get back on track on the next meal/snack/workout. Not the next day/week/month. 

Disclaimer: for the above statement to be true, you have to know your reentry point. That reentry point is your lowest hanging fruit, your ability to get a win in its most simplistic form. Walk the dog. Eat some veggies and hummus. Go ride your bike. Run around with your kid(s). Something. Anything. Know your reentry point and fire that sucker up when you need to get back on track. You literally can do at any time- see point number 1 to be reminded that progress is better than perfection.  

4) Dominate without disrupting. 

I specifically am referring to the domination of tracking what you can track, with consistency (like every day level consistency) without making it feel like you just signed up for another full-time job. Trackable options can include, but are totally not limited to, grams of protein eaten per day. Steps taken per day. Consistency of hitting your workout sessions each week. Glasses of water drank per day. Hours of sleep per night. Amount of caffeine consumed per day. 

It doesn’t have to be ground breaking to make a positive change, it just has to be consistent to ensure that you’re able to make a change. 

5) Ask for help. 

The beautiful part of fitness and nutrition is that you’re never alone. When you feel alone, when you feel like you have exhausted all efforts, you need to ask for help. What’s often misunderstood about the fitness industry is that coaches are inaccessible and unreachable unless you’re a client. This couldn’t be further from the truth. In my experience, the fitness industry is incredibly giving with their time, thier information, and their help. 

Good things come not to those who wait, but to those who ask.