New Years is often the time that many resolutions pop up get fitter and healthier, lose some weight and focus on eating better and moving more. Often we rush on out and get a gym membership or join something like weight watchers and by mid-February the wheels have completely fallen off and we are back to square one and resolve that next year will be OUR YEAR.
This year I wanted to do something a little bit different on the blog, by focusing 100% on setting that New Year’s intention correctly and making the most of your New Year’s motivation to really make a change so that it becomes a lifestyle change rather than something that you do for a few weeks and then give up, feeling bad for quitting but knowing that everything will be okay as you’ve quit every other year as well and things worked themselves out.
Welcome to our 7 DAY NEW YEARS SLIM DOWN series!
I want 2016 to be the year you make a lifestyle change and stick with it! It doesn’t need to be scary, small changes make a huge difference over a whole year! We’ve seen this with our Bootcampers, the ones who make small changes and keep challenging themselves in our sessions are the ones that walk away at the end of the year 10-20kg lighter! The ones who crash diet and go gang busters for one intake and wear themselves out tend to lose a few kilos in that intake (which is a great achievement!) but then taper off and never get any real traction. I know I’d much rather enjoy life making small changes over the whole year and at the end of the year be rewarded with a massive loss than a quick fix over a short 6 weeks – which would you choose?
I want you to think about what you would like to look like and feel like this time next year….. Is it a goal weight? Is it fitting into a certain outfit? Is it being able to do one full push up? Is it being able to come off a certain medication? Chase your kids around and not feel puffed? Really take some time to think about this as it is super important and will help push you through when times get tough!
Now I want you to think about how you are going to get there…. Do you want to join a gym, weight watchers, Bootcamp, 12 week challenge, take up running or yoga? Find something that you actually enjoy, if you hate running don’t decide you are going to run three times a week every week for the rest of the year because that is probably not going to happen!
If you are the type of person who needs someone to push you and keep you accountable I’d look at a Bootcamp/12 week challenge over just joining a gym as no one will hold you accountable at most traditional gyms. If you’re a self-motivator and know once you set a plan you can stick to it then maybe running or the gym is the right alley for you to go down.
You will need to consider both the time and cost factors of your chosen vehicle of getting fitter, healthier and stronger. Some of these cost money and some cost more time than others. There is no correct way, only the way that you will actually stick to! Working out this is definitely the key here! You don’t have to slog it out for two hours a day every day to get results, you can get a great workout in only 4 minutes in fact!
You do however need to make sure your nutrition is on track, regardless of what form of exercise you choose to do. Working out is no excuse for eating crappily! Don’t worry we will be giving you some great healthy recipes you can use on your journey, and you can check out all of the archives on our website for more healthy eating tips! As a general rule, if you can’t pronounce the ingredients in something – don’t eat it. Generally we find most people need to increase their protein and vegetable intake, drink more water and eat a few less carbs (including things like cakes and bread) – whilst this is a generalisation it is true for most people’s food diaries that we look at!
So… your homework….
- Workout WHAT your goal is? (Remember it needs to be specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and time bound)
- Work out your WHY (why are you doing this?)
- Workout HOW you are going to meet your goal
Comment below and let us know your answers… (or send us a message on Facebook or via e-mail if you’d rather keep it private – but a goal that is public is harder to go back on as you have accountability!)
Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for day 2 of our 7 day New Year’s Slim Down Series!
Just starting this a bit late as have had stitches in my leg and feeling a bit blah! But here we go…
•My goal is to run twice a week and compete in at least four organised running events this year.
•I want to do this as running groups were my social time and I really miss the training!
•I need to start going to Running Group again each week and schedule the other exercise into my planner.