Monday

New Years Resolutions

New year New you!
What I’d like you to do right now is think about your response to this question..
If I could lose 2kg each month, that would be
a.       Fantastic                      b. Achievable                 c. Not enough               d. Why bother                 
Now if you circled c or d then hopefully we can change that attitude in the next 400 words.
As we welcome in the new year it usually followed by regrets of all the Christmas feasting and grandeur ideas of what the year will behold.
20kg’s lighter?? Pre children body back?? Fitter for football??
This is usually followed by a clean out of the pantry, a whole week of back to back runs but within 3 weeks with not much weight lost, legs that feel like lead and a hankering for a greasy burger we’re usually back to our old habits and before we know it Santa’s is here and it’s another year gone.
SO let’s rewind and look at the one step you missed. PLANNING.
Now I’m not recommending you sit done with pen and paper and log every food item eaten, calorie burned and micromanage every second of your day but you do need to sit down and goal set. For instance setting the goal of saving for a holiday doesn’t = $5000 saved;  we need to budget then plan how much each week, fortnight or month we can save.
You also need to keep goals realistic. Although we would all love to look like Jennifer Hawkins or be as fit as Chris Judd unfortunately genetics plays a big role so set goals that are S.M A.R.T.
Specific                Measurable                       Achievable                         Realistic               Time bound
Health changes require the same process.
First you need to decide
1.       what you want
2.       what do you already have that can help
3.       What changes you feel you can maintain
4.       How often you can do it.
i.e.
1.       lose weight and tone up
2.       I have an exercise bike and Chester (your Labrador that hasn’t been walked in weeks).
3.       Skip the beers every night; get up 30minutes earlier; plan my snacks; drink more water
4.       I can set aside 30 minutes a day.
Next comes putting this all to practice. Calenders are really helpful for this..
Seeing what we want on paper is usually the best way to stay on top of what we’re doing (yes that why iPhones have a notes section)
Break into days, week and months.
Daily:
Drink 2.0L water
Have a fruit/vegetable/salad with every meal
Weekly:
3x bike rides; 5x dog walks; 3x core/weight sessions
4 alcohol free nights
Takeaway once
Monthly:
2 kgs loss of weight.
Increase average speed on bike.
Decrease time over distance during walk with Chester.
It’s important to tick them off as you go. Mentally doing this doesn’t really work. When you see it on paper  you can’t cheat yourself into thinking you’ve done more or less therefore you’ll be more likely to follow through.
Weight loss is usually the hardest milestone for clients. Not the loosing bit but the accepting the amount. If you think about it, it most likely took you about 10 years (or 3 pregnancies) to gain the weight. Our bodies are just millions of atoms and physiological processes, a machine have you, so losing the weight is also going to take time. So we need to slow down and accept smaller amounts of weight loss as these will be maintainable, long term and keep you in a good mental state. If you can consistently lose 2 kg a month that’s 24kg’s in the year. 4 dress sizes.
2kgs a month also means you won’t be limiting yourself to a carrot stick each meal. If you don’t feel like you’re missing out every meal you will also be able to integrate these changes into you lifestyle and before you know it you’re the better version of yourself you’ve been planning.
Last but not least make it fun!!
·         Plan to do a fun event in 6 months (mother’s day classic, tough mudder, mini triathlon)
·         Piggy bank the money you’d usually spend on beer or chocolate and buy yourself some new runners
·         Plant a veggie or herb garden

·         Get the kids to choose 1 new recipe each week.

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