The feeling of looking at yourself at the mirror and noticing you have gained weight is devastating.

Let’s be honest, the decision of starting a fitness journey usually happens when you try on a pair of pants and they do not fit anymore! OH No! panic time, right? I hate that feeling… don’t you?

And then you are desperate and depressed and want to start eating healthy right now! But you do not have the right food, or the exercise routine.

You need a strong foundation before you start so you can make sure you will not fail.

Anytime, I feel I need to get back in track (like after the holidays, for example) I do the same steps to get ready.

I want to share with you the steps that I usually follow when I decided to be more discipline about my fitness and nutrition in order to reach my desire fitness goal.

Let’s start your plan to be fit, healthy and happy again!

Here are my 10 steps to follow before starting your fitness plan:

1-Setting a day

Have you heard the saying: I’ll start Monday. Then when Monday comes you find another excuse and you repeat same phrase every week.

So, let’s start with the right food and set a date when you are truly committed to start your new fitness plan. Pick a day no too far from today!

Actually, no more than a week from today. A week will give you time to prepare for you day 1!

Put it in your calendar right now, and make sure there is no other event that will interfere with your plan!

2-Get support

For some strange reason, sometimes we women feel embarrassed to say we are on a diet. I believe the reason is that we are admitting we feel fat, and we do not want to be judged about it.

I have learned that the fact of admitting you need to make a change is actually admirable because you want to be a better version of you.

So, do not feel embarrassed anymore and get the support you need from family and friends.

Letting everyone know that you are making a change in your nutrition, and that you are ready to start a new exercise routine will make you accountable.

In addition, it helps when your loves ones help you not to get into temptations, and maybe they will even join you in your journey!

Having people around you in the same journey is a great motivator and is a great foundation for success.

3-Have an Exercise plan ready

Planning is everything! Do you know what kind of exercises you are doing? How long? How many days?

This is the moment to make a plan! Look at your schedule and decide a time when you are committed to exercise and when you will not be interrupted.

Do not allow any excuse to take that time from you. This have to be put in your calendar. One hour or less dedicated to your body.

There are many ways to make this happen, and I will share some I have done.

Exercising at 5 am when the rest of my family is sleeping

Exercising after 9pm when everyone is in bed already

Exercising while my kids where doing extracurricular activities. My son was in Taekondo, so I will run around the block while he was in class. My daughter was in volleyball so I will exercise in the parking lot while waiting.

There is always a way to find time for your health.

4-What Nutrition will you follow

This is crucial! A nutrition plan must be in place. Exercises is just 20%, nutrition is 80%. If you do not have a nutrition plan your fitness goal will fail completely.

And this does not mean that you will just eat salad every day, because that is unrealistic. Think about what goes better with your lifestyle.

There are so many diets trends now, but remember that you need to find something you can stick with for a longer time.

If you don’t, then you going to get all the weight back. And we don't want that, right?

It has to be a modification in your nutrition habits. But something not to drastic.

For example if you like skipping breakfast, maybe intermittent fasting may work for you.

If you rather get carbohydrates out of your meals, then a keto plan will be perfect.

But if you just want a more balanced meal plan then counting macronutrients will help you best.

Or, if this all sounds very complicated, and all you want if somebody telling you what to eat, then you can just follow a fitness program with meal plans already designed for you.

5-Calories deficit

Many times, people just think they are eating healthier but see no results.

You can be eating salad every day, but if the total calories you eat in a day is more than you are burning, you will see no results at all.

It is very important you understand how many calories you were giving to your body and then go under a little bit so you can get a calorie deficit and start losing weight.

The whole science is that when you burn more calories than you eat, you lose weight; but if you burn less calories than you eat, then you gain weight.

So, make sure you have a realistic plan, and that you can have calorie deficit until you get to your desired goal.

After getting to your desired weight, you will need to stay in a balance where you eat about the same amount you burn. This is called a maintenance stage.

Because, no one wants to diet forever, right?

6-Have a daily Meal plan with recipes

Now it comes the part where you make sure you are actually following your plan. You decided on a nutrition plan. You set your calories. Now, let’s make it work.

The easiest way I believe is to have a weekly plan designed with your daily schedule in mind.

Plan what would you have for lunch, breakfast, dinner and snacks.

This is called meal planning where you are organizing at least some of your meals ahead of time.

You could actually eat the same menu for 3 or 4 days, which makes planning easier. As the weekend approaches you could change things a bit so you feel the difference.

And definitively plan for a treat meal during the weekend!

Having your meal plans decided helps you not getting into temptations. When it is time to eat you already know what you are eating.

If you do not have a plan and you get hungry, then you would want to eat anything it comes in front of you.

But if you have your meal ready, you eat it, and you won't be hungry anymore.

And the best thing, there is no guilt because you ate what you were supposed to eat!

7-Grocery shopping

Next step is to go to the store and get all the food and ingredients you need to make all those delicious and healthy recipes.

You know your cooking flow, you have your recipes, now make a list of what you will need for the first week.

Based on your meal plan, create a shopping list of ingredients you need to buy. Make sure to check for items you already have in your kitchen.

I do not know if this has happened to you, but sometimes I go to the store to get milk, and come back with $200 worth the food.

Therefore, trust me on this one, having a grocery list will help you also save money, and get what you really need.

8-Meal prep day

Having meals ready will help you follow your nutrition plan better. Decide first when is the best time to cook.

Once a day, once a week, or even once a month. However, if you are cooking for a longer period of time, it has to be a freezer friendly recipe.

You will need to pick a day devoted to cooking. I will say from 3 to 5 hours.

Planning for a week or two is the most popular option. I like to prep on Sunday.

Using a weekly meal plan is the best way to cook healthier for your family, save money, and time!

It may take you a full day of cooking, but then during the week you can just warm it up and you will have more time during the week.

9-Record your progress

The best motivator is to see results! So, the day or the day before you start your fitness program take your before pictures.

Wear shorts or bikini for the pictures. Have someone help you or use a tripod. You could even make a video and then just screen shot the pics that you want.

I know we all hate it, but you need to step in the scale and right down your weight. You will then do it again once a week so you can see your results.

However, sometimes we lose fat but gain muscle, so the number in the scale may not change. Do not feel discouraged.

Take some measurements too. Chest, waist, hips, arms, and legs. Measurements are also a great way to see your results.

And last but not least, your pants! Pick a favorite one and check how it fits. Try again in 3 weeks to see your progress.

10-Mindset

A fitness mindset will help you stay concentrated in making progress to lose weight and get in shape, even when you make mistakes along the way.

Make a commitment to show up for yourself. It will pay off in the long run.

The shape you are in today is the results of many days of non-healthy habits. Do not expect you will be back in the same shape in just few days.

It takes time and consistency, but I do promise that you will see results the very first week. Even if they are just a small progress.

That is why it is very important you take those progress stats before you begin.

These 10 steps will help you build a strong foundation on your fitness journey. But it does not stop here. It is up to you how far it goes.