Journey to my fitness/lifestyle photoshoot

I mentioned in my last post that I had set a personal goal for myself of completing a Fitness and Lifestyle photoshoot in January.  I typically set goals for my business each year and intentions for the new year each January, but this is something more!  I felt like I was needing a direction for me personally as it related to my fitness lifestyle. 

I have my own health coaching and personal training business, so I help clients achieve their goals and found myself wondering “what is my fitness goal”.  I really have no desire to train for a marathon or anything that involves swimming in mucky waters.  I like riding my bike causally but again, no desire to compete in a ride.  I spent some time digging a little deeper and recalled something I wanted to do years ago and just never made it a priority.  I would love to be a fitness model or a brand ambassador for a company that aligns with my values, beliefs, and passion when it comes to health/wellness/fitness and living a healthy lifestyle.  I thought on it for a couple of weeks and came up with every reason why NOT to do it and then realized why WOULDN’T I do it.  The time is going to go by anyway and come January, I do not want to be sitting here thinking ‘what if’. 

So this was IT…I had found my thing and goal to work towards. I do much better when I have goals and direction so here we are officially making it happen!   

I am going to share my journey with you and hope that you will find inspiration to do whatever that one thing is that you have made every excuse in the world as to why you should not do it.  And believe me, I understand the excuses.  Everything from “I do not have the time”, to “I am not good enough” and anything in-between.  Well, I am now replacing my excuses with plans and action steps, and YOU can do the same.    

To begin my journey, I have scheduled myself for a 7 week ‘pre-prep’ plan and then will follow that with a full 12-week plan of prepping for the photoshoot.  The pre-prep time is for me to test out various workout and meal plans to see what is working best for me and what needs to be adjusted.  I have one shot at this and want to make sure I am fully prepared and putting my best foot forward. 

What I learned in my first week of pre-prep

• The key to success is planning!  I planned my meals and workouts for the week before the week started.  This way I was not having to think about it the day of and feel rushed during my day. 
• I did my grocery shopping for the weekly meals and snacks on Sunday.  I learned that is not the best time to be at the grocery store so I may adjust this going forward.  I bought only what was on my list for the week and nothing extra.  I think this will also cut down on our family wasting food!
• I scheduled times for my workouts so that they were part of my day.  I found this to be very helpful in ensuring that they happened and did not get pushed to the bottom of the list.
• I have set my caloric intake and macros based on my activity level and goals I want to achieve over the next several months.  I do use an app to track my calories and macros and discovered it was very difficult for me to reach my daily calories.  With that said, I enlisted the assistance of Amy Goodson (www.amygoodsonrd.com) a Registered Dietician who is also Board Certified in Sports Dietetics.  We slightly adjust my macros to help me reach my daily calories.  I am only on my first week of her plan (actual second week of pre-prep) so I will keep you posted on how adjustments are working.
• In addition to my workouts and daily nutrition plan, I am drinking more and more water.  You rarely see me without a bottle of water in my hand.  Hydration, hydration, hydration!
• And most importantly, it does not have to be perfect!  I am aiming for better each day/week/month and not for perfection.

I am really excited about my journey and hope that you will continue to follow along with me!  Please send me any questions you may have or the one thing you are going to tackle on your list…I would love to hear from you!

Cheers to health, wellness, and happiness!

Julie