How to Set Realistic Body Goals for the Summer

May 5, 2020 dotcomwomen

Summer has stereotypically been about glistening bodies, sweat, and the ocean. If your goal is to have a rocking bod by the summer, let’s get to work. But, there’s one caveat.

No, that doesn’t mean giving up entirely, nor does it justify keeping up bad habits. However, it does mean listening to your body first and foremost. So, scrap your crash diet and get ready to make lasting healthy changes to your lifestyle.

Consider Your Options

How you go about losing weight and getting fit is up to you, your starting level, and the timeline you have in mind. Everyone’s journey looks unique, so you shouldn’t model yourself after any YouTuber or blogger that you’re following. Some people start to get fit by incorporating exercise while others start with making healthy food choices.

If you have been in discussions with your general practitioner and can foot the liposuction cost, surgery is an option. Check with your insurance as well, if this is the choice you want to make.

Know Your Limits

You can’t expect to hit the gym aggressively right off the bat without consequences. If you haven’t been exercising regularly, you’ll want to start slow. Take your time planning out exercises that you get excited about. Mix things up and focus on a different aspect of your health each day you work out.

Make sure that you have a couple of rest days buffered in throughout your week. Your body needs time to rest, recover, and build muscle between workouts. If you continuously go to the gym without pause, you’ll become burnt out no matter how motivated you are.

Have a Community to Hold You Accountable

Joining an accountability community will give you a place to share your progress, make friends, and gain valuable information to help you on your journey. Make sure that you choose your fitness community carefully, though. You don’t want to join a group that shames you for your current weight or pressures you into exercises you don’t like.

Your community and you should focus on supporting each other. Sometimes having one workout buddy is enough, while others like to feel as if they are part of a gym or fitness tribe. The choice is up to you, but be consistent once you have found your group.

Eat Intuitively

Whether or not you’ve been aware of your eating patterns before now, you’ll want to start tracking what you eat. You could start a food journal or use a fitness tracker app. However, this does not mean that you should obsess over your food. Note your eating patterns on an average day. Record when you eat your meals, when you feel hungry, and how much water you are drinking for a couple of days.

Be diligent, but don’t judge yourself. After recording your diet for a week or so, slowly make changes. Start with one small diet change, such as switching from cereal to oatmeal for breakfast, and then continue to build. If you try to change your eating all at once, you’ll feel overwhelmed.

Wear Clothes that Fit You Now

The goal is a fitter and more toned body, but that doesn’t mean that you should hate your current form. Dress for the figure you currently have. Buying clothes for your target body will only work to dishearten you, and it limits the outfits you have in your closet.

Buy clothes that you are comfortable wearing in the present moment because fitness takes time.