10 Tips to Achieve Your Fitness Goals in 2022

Want to tip the scale in the right direction in 2022? You know…lose weight or maintain a healthy weight? Some advice…skip the fad diets, extreme workouts, weight-loss supplements, and gimmicky workouts.

Sure, you might be able to lose weight with one of these methods. But these weight management tactics aren’t sustainable…aka yo-yo dieting.

So what can you do to achieve your fitness goals in 2022 and lose weight or maintain a healthy weight?

Here are 10 tips to step into the New Year to achieve your fitness goals:

1. Eat healthy foods

Think about it this way. You’re can’t out-train a bad diet. Fast food, sugary drinks, and sweet treats are loaded with empty calories and fat that tip the scale in the wrong direction.

Tons of exercise won’t help you if you’re consuming too many calories and making poor food choices.

Start the New Year off right, by eating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, fish, legumes + plenty of water.

Or just check out the Portion Control menu for easy-to-make meals all made from fresh ingredients.

2. Set a specific goal

Before you lace up you running shoes and head out the door or put on your workout clothes and hit the gym, get specific about what you want to accomplish, like:

• Lose weight
• Build muscle
• Lower body fat percentage
• Run a marathon
• Get in shape for a special event

Once you get clear on your main health and fitness goal, you can get specific about how you’re going to accomplish it.

3. Create an action plan

Once you get clear about your main health and fitness goal, create an action plan.

Break it down into a day-to-day plan to help you get from where you are to where you want to be.

Set a date you want to achieve your goal. And be realistic. There’s nothing wrong with setting a stretch goal. But you’re not going to lose 50 pounds in a month or run a marathon in a few weeks if you’re new to running.

4.Be consistent

There’s something more important than the best diet or toughest workout to help you achieve your fitness goals….consistency.

Do your best to follow your action plan…every day. And recognize that stuff is going to happen that might throw you off track. It happens. But instead of giving up, just get right back on track and keep going.

When you make smart food choices and exercise consistently, you’ll eventually reach your goals, even if the path isn’t a straight line.

5. Maximize your workout time

If you’re short on time when it comes to working out, don’t worry. You can still accomplish a lot and make gains, even if you only have time for a 30-minute workout.

Some effective ways to maximize your workout time include:

• HIIT - High-intensity interval training. Exercise in short bursts, followed by short rest periods. For example. Do jumping jacks for one minute, rest 30 seconds and repeat. Add as many exercises as you want. Go for 20 to 30 minutes, and you’re done. Or just try sprint intervals.
• Compound movements like squats, lunges, bench press, and more. These exercises target multiple muscle groups and joints, and help build strength and boost metabolism faster.

Stay motivated

Find a way to celebrate your daily-mini wins. For example:

• Keep track of your workouts on a calendar or mobile app.
• Track your daily steps goal.
• Or step on the scale every day and chart your progress.

Creating a visual will help you stay motivated.

7. Crush the don’t-have-time excuse

Know what the number one excuse for not achieving health and fitness goals is? “I don’t have time.”

If you think you’re too busy or don’t have time to cook at home, eat healthier or workout, take a closer look at your schedule, and ask questions like:

• Can you find a block of time to work on your health and fitness goals?
• How much time do you spend watching TV?
• How much time do you spend scrolling on your phone?
• How much time do you spend online or binge-watching shows?

Time is often the big limiting factor for those wishing to embark on a new fitness regime, but it doesn’t have to be. By choosing exercises that give you more bang for your buck, you will ensure those fitness goals are achievable. Choosing multi-joint exercises such as squat, deadlift, bench press, HIIT (high intensity interval training) or sprint intervals. All of the above ensure a high rate of work during a short period of time.

8. Create accountability

Let’s say you wake up in the morning with plans to workout, but you’re just not feeling it.

So you hit the snooze button, roll over, and skip your workout.

That ever happen?

Chances are pretty good, you’d be a lot less likely to cancel if you made plans to meet a friend for the early-morning workout, or you paid a trainer to help you.

If you want to be successful, find a way to create accountability to help you do the work to achieve your goals.