A Written Plan
Odds are, you’re going to feel some major resistance to this step. You’ll tell yourself it’s not important to write it down. You’ll tell yourself you can just keep it all in your head. Resist your resistance.
Why?
This step is crucial because writing down your plan forces you to think about what you are committing to. It is scary to commit to anything. It’s easier to remain vague with yourself, but it also makes failure more likely. How can you know whether or not your plan is working if you don’t even really know what plan you’re doing? Writing down a specific plan holds you accountable.
Characteristics of A Good Written Plan
Think of your written plan as a contract with yourself. It’s important to realize that you are in control of the terms. This is not about punishment or making difficult rules for yourself. In fact, the easier you can make your plan, the better. The more freedom you can write into your plan, the better.
This requires some self-negotiation and soul searching. Sit down and be honest with yourself. An excellent question to ask yourself is, What do I want the rest of my life to look like? Remember, maintenance is for the rest of your life. It is unwise to lose weight with a method that you cannot sustain. If you lose weight in an unsustainable way, you’re asking for major trouble when you hit your goal weight.
When you write your plan, take 100% ownership of it. It doesn’t matter what Mindy from accounting did to lose weight. You are not Mindy. You are an individual. Write your own rules for your own life.
A good plan will be:
- Honest: It’s a way of life you want.
- Sustainable: It’s a way of life you can see yourself practicing after you hit your goal weight, and for the rest of your life, if necessary.
- Simple: The fewer rules the better. You need to be able to recall exactly what your plan is during your day to day life.
- Precise: You should be able to say, with 100% certainty, whether or not you are sticking with your plan. Avoid vague phrases like “lower carb” or putting “ish” on the end of any popular diet fad.
How To Write Your Plan
Here are the steps to write your plan:
- Write down a plan.
- Implement it into your life consistently for 6 weeks.
- Tweak as necessary.
- Commit to it for the long haul.
Step #1: Write down your plan.
Write down your plan. List the actions you’re committed to taking, and any rules you have for yourself. For example, here’s what I wrote down in January 2016 (which is the year I went from 205 down to 157):
- Intermittent fasting 6 days a week
- Eat whatever I want during eating window
- Coffee with half and half three times a day during my fasting window.
- Cheat day on Sunday (eat whatever I want, whenever I want)
- Walk 6 miles a day
*For more details about what my plan looked like, click here.
You have a unique life. The day to day of your routine is likely much different than mine. As such, your plan that you write for yourself should be unique to you. Things to include:
- How many days each week you will do the plan
- How many days each week you will take off from your plan
- What your rules for food are (if any)
- What exercise you’re committed to doing (if any) and how many days you will do it each week
Step #2: Commit to six weeks of implementation.
A plan needs to be implemented with consistency for at least six weeks. Expect that you will not be consistent at first. Behavior change is difficult. Habits are hard to break. Give yourself lots of grace and patience. Don’t start the 6 week clock until you’ve become consistent with your plan. Track your progress as you go along.
Step #3: Make tweaks if necessary.
After six weeks of consistency, sit down and look at your numbers. Ask yourself how you’re feeling about the plan. Ask yourself how you’re feeling in general (mood, energy levels, etc). If your weight is dropping, you’re enjoying your plan, and your energy levels are good, I say you’ve found a winner.
But the first plan you write down might not work for you. It might not give you results. It might help you lose but make you miserable in the process. It simply may not fit into your life. That’s okay. You’ll just make changes as needed, and eventually you’ll find what works. Continue to run six week experiments until you find the plan that:
- You enjoy
- Fits in your life
- Gives you results
Step #4: Commit for the long haul.
Keep your written plan somewhere you can refer back to it. I personally recommend brainstorming with paper and pen, and then transferring the final copy to a digital version, like a Google Doc. With a digital version stored in the cloud, you can refer back to it wherever you happen to be. Commit to implementing your plan for the long haul.
Continue to make changes when necessary. You’ll find that as life goes along, you need to make some rules for yourself for going off plan. When you reach maintenance, that will be an ongoing negotiation with yourself as well. You’ll always need to have some sort of plan. Remember, this is a contract with yourself. You are the one who’s in charge.