Working backwards from your fitness goals is an effective method to getting you to the end goal.
Essentially, you are reverse engineering the process.
It forces you to consider the obstacles that may arise and do an assessment of your current circumstance.
If my goal were to drop another 15 pounds in 3 months, then I’d imagine to myself that I am already there.
Not to sound too cheesy, but you really would need to take a second and really envision it.
Once I spent a little time investment doing this, I would then ask myself:
“What would need to change RIGHT NOW, in order for me to get to that point?”
For this goal of weight loss, there are a few variables involved:
-Eating Habits
-Training Strategy
-Accountability
If we were to choose just one of these, say training strategy, then we again imagine the outcome that we want, and pose a little more specific question,
“How do I adjust my current training routine, so that I can hit my goal?”
Let’s assume right now you work out 2 days per week, you might consider upping the ante to 3 days per week for 12 weeks. That would equate to 12 more additional workouts to your current routine.
If we really want to get specific nutrition wise, you could reduce calories by 500 per day to average 1 pound per week of weight loss (since 3500 calories in a pound).
If you were burning on average 250 calories per workout, and eating 250 calories less on workout days, and manage reducing calories on “off” days 500 calories, you would be at a 3500 calorie deficit each week.
Now for the final 2 weeks, you could aim for 1.5 pounds per week to hit the 15 pound mark.
Now the next question would be:
What might be an obstacle in using this strategy for me?
You may deduct than meal planning might be the biggest one.
So you decide to designate time on Sundays to grocery shop, and prep meals for the week, and approximate the calories.
That would start with getting a simple calendar to stick on the fridge and writing down a menu of enjoyable foods.
Now you will have peace of mind knowing that each meal is productive.
To track “calories” burned from your workouts, now you could use your Fitbit or smart watch, link it to your phone, and keep tabs each workout.
Now you have your strategy and a for sure time frame.
Through reverse engineering on your goals, the simple question of what needs to be done to get to this encourages you to really look at the reality and see what adjustments you need to make.
This is just an example of fitness, but this can apply to any type of worthwhile goal.
So next time you set out to accomplish your fitness journey, instead of just saying you want X to happen, actually write it down, and then ask what would this look like if I broke it down into the smaller pieces necessary to get there.
Start small and let it accrue.
And if you are having trouble getting over that hump, and finding the best starting place for you, let’s hop on a short call and see how I can help you with the process.