How To Get Your Groove Back

When it comes to eating right and working out, let’s face it — from time to time, we all get a little lazy. Whether it’s a week of missed workouts or that you’ve simply been indulging in a bi-weekly dish of ice cream, a few extra pounds or loss in gains are clear signs that you need to get back on track.

Here are six of the best ways to get back in shape after a fitness (or nutrition) lull.

1.) Ease in.

There’s no need to spend hours at the gym. Short-bout exercise may be as effective long-term as longer workouts for weight loss, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Based on the study, mean weight loss remained the same for women who exercised for half an hour as for those who exercised for one hour or more.

What’s more, it also helps to gain some momentum. Don’t think you have to start at 100%. Start with 50% and ease in — maybe that means a 10-minute walk around the block, adding a quarter-mile each time. Maybe that means starting with two-thirds of the weight you were lifting when you last did your routine. Whatever — it doesn’t matter, just so you’re doing something and building momentum.

2.) Make it fun.

“No time and boredom are two of the biggest barriers to working out,” says Naomi Watts’ trainer, Adam Rosante (source). Since we already recommended starting with short bouts of time (see #1, above), how about making workouts fun and social? Gather friends for paddle boarding, kayaking, or surfing if you’re near the water, or go for a hike, bike ride, or even a long walk together if you’re not.

And with the large variety of fitness classes popping up nationwide, there’s never a good reason to be socializing over beer and fatty appetizers. Try SoulCycle, Orangetheory Fitness, or CrossFit if you’re the fierce, competitive type; go for yoga, Pilates, or ballet classes if you’re more into guided, disciplined stretching; or simply try playing league sports. Just remember: Keep it light, make it fun, and make it social.

3.) Start with the basics.

Unfortunately, after weeks of indulging, your body’s levels of ghrelin and leptin, two hunger-regulating hormones, may be severely out of whack. Start with three solid meals, each with a combination of protein, fat, fiber, and greens. The combination, according to Jessica Alba’s nutritionist Kelly LeVeque (source), “keeps you satisfied for hours by calming various hunger-related hormones.”

From there, you can build back in your smaller portions, fitness smoothies, extra doses of protein and/or healthy snacks. The key is to start with the basics, something simple you can do everyday.

4.) Hold steady for 28 days.

It has long been believed that it takes 21 days of consistently doing a daily behavior to make it stick as a habit (British Journal of General Practice). But if you want to make it realistic, give yourself 28 days, or four full weeks, to make something a habit. That way, you have some wiggle room to mess up, try something new, or to gather the equipment you need to make your habits stick.

5.) What gets measured gets achieved.

Tracking is essential. In a 2015 study of 47 men and women, Duke University researchers found that those who weighed themselves daily lost 13 pounds more than those who didn’t over the course of six months. Measurers lost an average of nearly 20 pounds, compared to the non-measurers’ measly 7 pounds.

And if you’re trying to lose weight, don’t just measure your weight — measure calories, carbohydrates, protein grams, and weight, waist circumference, and thigh circumference. If you’re trying to gain muscle, do the same, but focus on those biceps and triceps measurements more.

6.) Change up your environment.

According to Brian Wansink, author of Slim by Design, your environment makes the biggest difference in what you weigh. If you think it’s solely willpower, think again: According to Wansink, slim people simply live differently. A few of the habits he notes:

• Slim people fill the candy dish on their desks with office supplies, not candy;
• They don’t have bread or cereal out on the counter;
• They do sit near the door at restaurants, not at a booth near the back;
• Slim people counteract a mid afternoon slump with a nap or a brisk walk, not food;
• They throw out stale potato chips;
• They try all of the salads at the buffet, leaving room for only one dessert;
• They bring four cookies into the TV room instead of an entire box.

People who successfully lost weight made only one or two changes per month, but it made all of the difference.

In Summary

If you want to get your groove back, you don’t have to make a monumental effort. In fact, thinking that a Herculean effort is necessary for getting back to where you were may be exactly what prevents you from ever even trying! Instead, keep it simple. Start small and slow, with simple, easy steps. Give yourself time to build momentum, try new things, and to even mess up along the way. Track your progress, and make sure that you measure your efforts and your progress!