Be realistic, and stick with it!!

It’s new year resolution time!!

It’s the time that many people join gyms, or hire trainers, and start on a diet or weight loss plan. I don’t know the stats, but I do know from experience that MOST people do not keep going for long and it’s another resolution down the toilet.

But we start off keen – often we buy heaps of new workout gear, tell the world (and Facebook) that we’ve joined a gym, drastically change eating habits, maybe lose a kg or two, and things are looking up!! But if you go too extreme at the start of your journey, chances are you’ll end up quitting and end up back at square one. With all the crazy ‘quick fix’ diets and supplements going around, often people will choose these extreme measures which are hard (and usually unhealthy) to maintain. And again, most end up quitting not long after starting. There’s also those who work out every single day, for a while, burn out, and you guessed it – quit. Once you’ve realised it’s a lifestyle that you’ll struggle to maintain, there’s every chance you won’t keep it up and throw in the towel.

One way around this is to introduce one change at time. Remember, if you want to keep these changes for life, which you should, then they need to be realistic and maintainable. Even if you write yourself out a food diary for a week, then sit down and have a look through it. Common sense will hopefully tell you what’s helping you and what’s not, so pick one habit (for starters) that is slowing your progress and remove or substitute it. You might be surprised how small changes can make a big difference.

And don’t kid yourself that you’ll maintain working out 7 days a week – start with 2-3, get your mind and body used to that routine, and add extra days later if you feel you can.

Don’t try to turn your whole life upside down all at once. This method might work for some, but most of us won’t maintain too many drastic changes at once.

Yo-yo weight-loss attempts are really frustrating, and will knock your confidence.

It’s important to know that to lose weight or become fit and healthy, you don’t NEED to do anything extreme. It’s not rocket science and it’s not overly difficult.

Slow and steady – and you’ll get there!! And remember patience, the fat didn’t creep on overnight – so it doesn’t leave you overnight either.

Have a great day,

Paula