Keep Calm And Be Healthy: Plan, Plan, PLAN!

What is one of the most important secrets in succeeding in school, work, or life in general: Organization. I am going to start off my first blog on the topic of planning, organizing, and getting into a routine, but before I start I would like to clarify that by no means am I a fitness expert nor do I think I’m one. I am though, a regular girl working on being healthy and getting in the best shape of my life, and I want to share my journey with others.

It all starts with a plan. Whether it is an infomercial workout program, weight watchers, or just making sure you go to the gym every day, a plan needs to be set into place. When I finally got sick of my low self-esteem, I did something about it. I joined weight watchers and ordered the workout program “Insanity”. Within a month I am down 10 pounds and already I am feeling better than I ever have in my four years here at USD.

The second part of planning is the preparing. I had a coach that once told me “fail to plan, plan to fail.” I have never experienced that to be truer than within the past month. The whole ‘going with the flow’ concept my sound cool and fun and works in some situations, but when it comes to your health it is all wrong. The more prepared I am for the day or the week the better I eat, I get my workouts in, and I get my homework done.

The first step in preparation is to look at your week and figure out what you have to do and what you need to get done. I like to schedule my workouts in my planner as something that I have to do. After that you can figure out when you have time to do homework or when you have time to watch your favorite TV show like oh I don’t know…White Collar.

After you have planned out your week, figure out your food situation. Look at the week, or even the next day if you’re just a beginner (seems less overwhelming that way) and figure out you three important meals. I always have time for a nice small breakfast in the morning to kick-start my metabolism but if I am running late, I keep granola bars on hand. As for lunch, if your like me and cannot make it home during the day (or don’t have flex money) you need to pack it. It is usually best to do so the night before so you don’t forget in the morning. Then finally comes dinner. Whether you are still taking advantage of the commons or living on your own and preparing your own dinner, make sure you know what your doing. If you are utilizing the commons do not treat it like a buffet (I know the food isn’t that good anyway). If you are living on your own plan the night before white you would like to have for dinner. If you need to marinate something, leave the chicken out to thaw, or if you are going out to eat with a friend if is best to know ahead of time so you can work all your meals around each other. That way you don’t over eat throughout the day.

I have learned from recent experience that when you do fail to plan, you may not completely fail, but it is a lot easier to start deviating from the rest of the plan that way. So I repeat: PLAN! You and your body will thank you.