Starting your year the right way

As I type I’m thinking about the droves of people flocking to the gyms in the new year. This is not a bad thing in itself. The problem is, people all to often enter in to this realm with no real planning or forethought; I’ll join the gym and get rid of the weight I’ve gained over Christmas/ the year!

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad thing to do. It’s just not thought out so well sometimes, and all too often that leads to failure. So I’m here to help avoid the failure and get you some great results.

Change your mindset

You need to have the right mindset. The intentions can be all good, but without real focus and determination, you may as well not bother.

Visualising yourself at your target weight/dress size/shape is a powerful tool that costs nothing and can always be called on. Don’t give up until you reach your target and even then, you have to keep it up. It’s not a quick fix solution it’s a change of lifestyle for the better.

Change your daily routine

This is probably the hardest part of getting fit and losing weight/toning up. You will have to find time to exercise and prepare your own food. This can be very difficult for some people as their lives are very busy and have little time spare.

To begin with, half an hour a day is all you need for exercise. That will change as you become fitter and lose more weight. Your eating habits will have to change as well. This is another difficult change to apply but not impossible. Your diet will not have to change drastically and you don’t have to give up those things you like eating. You may need to make changes to your portion sizes and frequency of eating, and usually the foods you eat too.

Build a support network

This can be close friends that also want to lose weight or family members, work mates or housemates, basically anyone that you enjoy being with and will be supportive of your endeavours.

Having a training partner not only gives you confidence and support it also makes you work harder and often gets better results.

Join a club or gym

I know I steered you away from this idea earlier in this article but having a regular day or time of day to meet and discuss your progress either with a fitness professional or friends is a great way of reinforcing your training routine and progress.

There are many clubs around that give good advice on eating habits, activities and track your progress too. Any decent gym will have staff that are more than happy to give advice too.

Don’t give up at the first hurdle

Many people give up far too soon after not seeing significant results straight away. Anyone that knows and that has done it, will tell you, losing weight and toning up take time and effort. Years in some cases. That’s not to say you only see results after training for years. You often see results very quickly if employing the proper techniques.

You will sometimes feel like you can’t bothered to exercise and sometimes you will give in to the food craving you have. That is fine as long as you don’t do it all the time. We are only human after all and all have our ups and downs, even me! You just have to pick up where you left off and train twice as hard and stick to the plan. It will pay off in the long run.

I have many clients that will testify to that. Through training with clients I have brought about not just physical changes, but psychological changes, emotional changes, stress relief, pain relief, confidence, postural improvements, mobility and flexibility improvements. It really does give you a new lease of life.

Do some research

The more you know the further you will go. Seek advice from professionals where possible. The advice will usually be good. Read articles on the internet and newspapers. Read several articles on the same subject as some can be incomplete and only offer the basic facts without giving an in depth explanation.

You will always find a friend of a friend that lost 4 stone on a carrot juice cleanse in 3 days. I wouldn’t seek their advice as most rapid weight loss schemes often work initially but when you stop doing them the weight just piles back on with some extra. Everyone is different so what worked for him or her will not always work the same for you. You have to find your own way and often, given time and trial and error, you do. It’s a long journey but it needn’t be a difficult one. It’s all about sacrifice and persistence, if you persist you will reach your goals.

On that note, I’m going to leave you with this thought: You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great! Cheesy but true.

Have a very Happy New year and may 2019 bring you good health, good fortune, and happiness!