It’s NEVER too late!

Tick-tock goes the clock. Where did the time go? Soccer games, birthday parties, getting the older ones ready for prom, the younger ones fed, bathed and intellectually stimulated; trekking to the grocery store every other day and WHAMMO—June is here. School’s out next week (or already for some). The township pools are open and beach season is nigh.

Are you ready? Or are you quaking in your high-tech kicks?

I have some good news for you—er—quakers:

IT’S NEVER TOO LATE.

It’s never too late to start what you planned back in March or April. Maybe you promised yourself that this time you’d commit to losing those last five or ten pounds. Or that this time you’d make sure to tighten your glutes and abs by the time summer rolled around. But then life grabbed you by the throat. It said, “You don’t have time for boot camp. A one hour personal training session – are you kidding me? You don’t have time to put together healthy meals. Look at your To Do list! Guurl, you are so far behind, you’re in a different time zone.”

Ooh, that life. Why I oughtta.

This is how I see it: life comes at us, sometimes relentlessly, every single day, especially if we’re parents or full-time workers—or both. Keeping ourselves healthy, fit and sane can work wonders for our ability to take life as it comes and make origami out of those insidious To Do lists.

That’s why it’s never too late to achieve your health and fitness goals.

Let’s say you have eight pounds to lose and originally you wanted to lose those eight pounds by June 30th, but did very little to achieve this goal. Instead of crash-dieting and wreaking havoc on your metabolism, reset your goals.

The following is a list of diet and fitness goals that you might want to think about incorporating into your own regimen. They are concrete (not abstract) and do-able (not lofty, pie-in-the-sky fantasies):

1. Make sure I get to bootcamp (or kettlebells or a personal training session) every time I’m scheduled for it.
2. Add protein to my diet so I’m getting at least one gram of protein per pound of my bodyweight.
3. Make sure to supplement my Performance Fitness training schedule—if fewer than five days per week—with at least one strength-training day that I can do on my own using my own bodyweight, and one sprinting day. Boot campers – check out the WOWs in your weekly emails. PT clients – talk to me or your trainer for ideas. Everyone – check back here in the near future for ideas. I’m here to guide you.
4. Decrease the number of calories I consume by just enough to support my activity. This is not about driving ourselves crazy. This is about driving ourselves healthy. Use this weight-loss calculator to intelligently set a daily goal. Then track your eating here.
5. If processed foods are still a substantial part of my diet, cut out one or two a week. Do I heart crackers? Try carrots, almonds or sunflower seeds instead. Is there a cheese spread romance going on? Try cottage cheese or Greek yogurt mixed with dried or fresh herbs, sea salt and fresh ground pepper.
6. Commit to eliminating extra, unnecessary (usually empty) calories that trigger insulin release, thus putting your body into fat-storing mode.

But I know what you’re thinking. “I missed the mark. Summer is here. What’s the point? It’s too late (did you READ the title of this post?). I’ll wait until the fall to get back on track.”

Sure, you could wait, but waiting means feeling unfit and bloated. Waiting means taking an hour to pick out your outfit because you feel the need to look at yourself from all angles in the mirror while you try to figure out if your empire-waisted tank makes you look pregnant – even though you’re not. Waiting means passing on an invitation down the shore or for an evening out with the girls because none of your clothes fit and you’re too embarrassed to be seen in a bathing suit or your too too tight shorts. Waiting means feeling sick, bloated and ashamed every time you overindulge in a summer treat.

But taking action means – your clothes feel looser or that you rock out a halter or that an ice cream cone doesn’t through you into a downward self-hating spiral because you know that you’ve been eating clean 85% of the time and a little summer treat here or there is deserved.

The point I’m making here is that if you PLAN your method of POSITIVE ACTION (versus a negatively stated goal such as “losing weight”) and ADHERE to your plan for just ONE week, you’ll witness your confidence increase. Increased confidence means a better body image. Liking what you see in the mirror a little bit better means more motivation to stick with your plan.

After two to three weeks you should see noticeable gains—in strength and maybe a little lean muscle mass.

In four action-taking weeks, July will have barely begun and you’ll have lost that aforementioned eight pounds, or maybe you’ll have lost your taste for losing weight and instead be thrilled to see the changes in your body composition that have nothing to do with the scale. You’ll notice strength, speed and endurance gains too—more motivating factors to keep you exercising and eating healthy.

Need a little extra help, motivation and accountability to help you on your way to hotness? Want to lose that last 10 pounds before your beach vacation? Register for our 21-Day Reclaim Your Bikini Challenge. This 21-day intensive program could help you get bikini, bathing suit or short-shorts ready. Plus you can test out part of the program for free.

Do it NOW, and remember, it’s never too late!