When people decide they want a change, they often make things way more complicated than they need to be. The problem with that? Overcomplication usually leads to frustration, burnout, and quitting before real progress ever shows up.
The truth is, you don’t need a perfect plan—you just need a sustainable one. Start with these three simple steps, and you’ll move the needle forward without overwhelming yourself.
1. Move A LOT More
This isn’t about formal workouts—it’s about your overall daily activity: steps, standing, and movement.
Start by noticing how much you currently move in a typical day. Once you know where you’re at, the goal is simple: find ways to move a little more, every single day.
Since work is usually the biggest obstacle, think about how you can sneak in extra movement around (or even during) your day. A few ideas:
- Take a short walk in the morning and afternoon.
- Add a lap around the office or house every bathroom break.
- Do a quick chore each day (yard work, cleaning, laundry).
- Set a timer to get up and move for 3–5 minutes every hour.
- Park farther away anytime you go somewhere.
- Move during every commercial break.
- Set (and track) a daily step goal.
There’s no single “right” way to do this. The key is consistency. Staying sedentary for hours on end is one of the worst things you can do for your body.
#2.) Prioritize Protein
I usually mention hydration in my “top three,” but today I’m swapping it out for protein—because most people I work with are seriously under-eating it.
Your body needs fuel to move and recover, and now that you’re adding more movement, you need more of the right fuel. That starts with protein.
Here’s a simple strategy: before you touch anything else on your plate, eat the protein. By making it your priority at every meal, you’ll make sure you’re consistently hitting your needs without overthinking it.
The other part of this is to make sure you have protein sources readily available in your house, this starts with your grocery shopping. Making a list of the foods that will help elevated your protein levels throughout the week.
- Ground beef
- Chicken
- Ground turkey
- Steak
- Eggs
- Greek yogurt
- Cottage cheese
- Fish
- Beef jerky
- Lentils
- Nuts/seeds
#3.) Minimum of 1 Workout Per Week
In a perfect world, you’d strength train more often—but the baseline I want you to hit is a minimum of one workout per week.
Why only one? Because it’s sustainable. No matter how busy life gets, you can carve out one hour for yourself. And if you hit that single session every week, by the end of the year you’ll have logged 52 workouts.
Compare that to the “all-or-nothing” approach: five workouts per week for a month, then nothing for the rest of the year—that’s only 20 workouts total. See the difference!
Consistency beats intensity. Every time. Ideally, that one workout should be a full-body strength session. Try to see how many weeks in a row you can go without missing it.
And if you can fit in more, go for It!
Move, Eat, Exercise
That is the recipe.
In good health,
Jeff
If you’d like some help putting this into action, I’ve got you covered. Fill out this quick questionnaire, and I’ll create a free personalized roadmap to show you exactly how to get started.
