With summer done and dusted, Autumn has arrived! Remember those 2012 resolutions you made? Have you achieved anything? No? Why not? What’s standing your way? It’s time to identify your roadblocks.
1. No Time
One word: LIAR!!! Make time.
We all have the same 24 hours per day some of us are just more effective at fitting our bits and pieces into them. Schedule your time better, easy!
– Diarise your workout if necessary
– Prepare your breakfast, lunch and dinner the night before to avoid the excuse “I have no time”
– Get the kids organised the night before (as much as possible). Uniforms laid out, homework done, bags packed. The kiddies can easily do these 3 jobs themselves. Responsibilities!!!!
– If you workout at home, create a space that you want to exercise in. If their is junk everywhere, you’ll make an excuse every time not to have your workout.
You don’t need a lot of equipment; a set of dumbbells (try 4 or 5kg) will be a good start. Use this blog to find workouts that are time effective and get your results. Try to lift weights at least 3 times per week.
2. Excuses
What’s yours? “I’m lazy”, “I can’t”, “I have a thyroid problem”, “My friend’s mother’s cat’s uncle’s son is sick…blah blah blah”, “I have PCOS”, “and I have the kids”, or my favourite, “I’m just too unfit” – STOP THE EXCUSES!
You are allowing your fears and weakness to rule your life. Stop being afraid, conquer your fear and the reward will be all worth it. Every time you hear yourself make an excuse, question why you are making it?
Ask yourself: “Why am I lazy? “Am I scared of failure?” “Do I feel like I don’t deserve a healthy body?” You will slowly start to realise you can be your own therapist, you will embrace those feelings and then hopefully realise they really don’t need to stand in your way. Push through them!
Use this daily affirmation: “Excuses take me further away from my goals. I AM A DO-ER! THIS IS THE NEW ME AND I EMBRACE IT”
3. Bad Eating
The types of foods people eat generally are the reasons individuals will succeed at fat loss or suck at fat loss. Harsh but true.
Avoid products in boxes that have a long shelf life. Brown rice & quinoa would be an exception but pasta, white flour and breakfast cereals should be avoided.
Eat regularly and also have breakfast. Making sure your breakfast contains a high protein element has proven very successful for fat loss. I always start my day with a high protein and healthy fat meal. Eggs and haloumi cheese is a favourite.
Consume an abundant amount of fresh green vegetables. If you consume grains, choose whole grains and have them in moderation. Choose lean proteins such as read meat; chicken, fish and if you are vegetarian try tempeh over tofu. Tempeh is fermented soy whereas tofu (made from soy) tends to be genetically modified and very heavily sprayed with pesticides.
4. Lack of exercise
What happened to running everyday? Going to the gym with your girlfriend after work? Perhaps you set the bar too high? The reality is if you want to see a change in your body shape, you are going to have to add exercise into your plan.
Work on balance rather than an all or nothing attitude.
Aim for 3-4 sessions per week, you can even break it up to 15-20minutes twice per day if that works better for you. As long as the workout gets completed.
Remember to always include resistance-based exercises. It will mean your results come quicker and when results come quicker (change of body shape, fitting into smaller jeans) we are more likely to continue on our exercise plan.
Have a reliable workout buddy. If someone you choose keeps standing you up when workout time comes around, ditch them! Cruel? Yes, however your needs are more important. If you feel working out alone is the best option then stick to that. A trainer or group class can boost your motivation levels so why not try a few sessions or classes.
Rather than just exercising at the same intensity why not try some intervals. Next time you are running select a distance you will sprint for approximately 1 min. Try to add 5 or 6 of these into your ‘standard run” and experience an increase of calorie usage and increase of out put therefore increasing your fitness levels quicker.
What about team sports? If the gym isn’t your thing try some team based sports. You get a lot of bases covered with playing sport. Co-ordination, balance, core conditioning, explosive speed and fitness.
Good luck and stay awesome! Until next time Rescu. beauties…
Nat xx
