Who’s making a Fitness Resolution today? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?"
I have to be honest it hasn’t been a pretty site at my house. Now it’s time to say goodbye to the comfort food, Italian cookies (my favorite) eggnog, gingerbread houses and the entire array of feel-good-now-but-pay-for-it-later foods!
So what’s next? Well, gyms are crowded and folks are walking and running. This month is big in my profession. I’ll take it, but what went on the rest of the year?
It’s not too early to be thinking about fitting into your bikini. I know its months away, but basically you’re training now for your body and appearance for spring/summer!
So what’s next? Well, gyms are crowded and folks are walking and running. This month is big in my profession. I’ll take it, but what went on the rest of the year?
It’s not too early to be thinking about fitting into your bikini. I know its months away, but basically you’re training now for your body and appearance for spring/summer!
So all together now, let’s get our butts back on track, healthy, fit and get energized for the New Year! If you want 2012 to be the year you take control of your health, make your body beautiful, strong and get your energy back, NOW is the time to do it. Temptation is gone. No more excuses!
I’m with some of you. My workouts were great, but food wasn’t. I know folks might say both their workouts and food weren’t up to par. So let’s get back to basics, so here are 5 helpful tips to get you back on the fitness track:
1. Let’s start with the easy one. Water, drink your water! This is the one that makes me crazy. When a client tells me they don’t have enough time to get water in, I want to scream. Yes, you go to the bathroom more, deal with it. Drink a lot of it because you probably drank more eggnog, wine, soda and beer more than you normally do these past few weeks, so now it’s time for a detox. Water will restore the balance in your body and get you back in health mode.
2. Get the meals in. Make sure you’re eating every 3-4 hours. 3 meals and 2 snacks are ideal. Increase your veggie intake; they are water-dense foods. Fruits and veggies boost your fiber intake, since it’s probably been insufficient this past month. These foods will get you off the fat-and-sugar track and on the fat-burning one in no time.
3. Throw away! My mother-in-law hates this one. She’s from the generation that forced us to finish our huge portions. Those poor kids in wherever are starving, so “finish what you have on your plate”. errrrrrrrr---So, watch your portion size at meals and its okay to, yes throw away or use as leftovers. Re-stock your shelves with GOOD food. The junk should be gone. Sorry, if you didn’t finish the sugar cookies, they must go, far, far away!
I’m with some of you. My workouts were great, but food wasn’t. I know folks might say both their workouts and food weren’t up to par. So let’s get back to basics, so here are 5 helpful tips to get you back on the fitness track:
1. Let’s start with the easy one. Water, drink your water! This is the one that makes me crazy. When a client tells me they don’t have enough time to get water in, I want to scream. Yes, you go to the bathroom more, deal with it. Drink a lot of it because you probably drank more eggnog, wine, soda and beer more than you normally do these past few weeks, so now it’s time for a detox. Water will restore the balance in your body and get you back in health mode.
2. Get the meals in. Make sure you’re eating every 3-4 hours. 3 meals and 2 snacks are ideal. Increase your veggie intake; they are water-dense foods. Fruits and veggies boost your fiber intake, since it’s probably been insufficient this past month. These foods will get you off the fat-and-sugar track and on the fat-burning one in no time.
3. Throw away! My mother-in-law hates this one. She’s from the generation that forced us to finish our huge portions. Those poor kids in wherever are starving, so “finish what you have on your plate”. errrrrrrrr---So, watch your portion size at meals and its okay to, yes throw away or use as leftovers. Re-stock your shelves with GOOD food. The junk should be gone. Sorry, if you didn’t finish the sugar cookies, they must go, far, far away!
4. Resistance training! Please don’t follow the cardio-crowd workout. You’ll notice the treadmills and elliptical machines are packed. Go to the weight room, if you’re unsure hire a trainer and learn to workout the right way. If you’ve taken time off from your training, don’t go all out. Start with a lighter workout that’ll remind you how it feels to work out and get your body back in the groove. I see too many people push way too hard too fast out of guilt for eating a lot and “not having time to work out.” And end up getting hurt or just quit. That first week is for getting back on track, not kill you! One of the keys to this is finding an activity you enjoy. If you do you’ll stick with it!
5. SLEEP! The last month for most of us has been hectic and stressful. Remember not enough sleep is stress on your body. Not good for fat-loss. So get back to a normal sleep schedule 7-8 hours a night.
Don’t forget to Plan!
Too many people just jump into things without proper planning. This is a huge mistake! Have a plan going forward. This could mean workouts and your food plan. Don’t take chances, it’s too important. Don’t just go to a gym and decide you’ll do this or that. A good workout program is crucial for your success. Remember “if you fail to plan”, “you plan to fail”.
With planning you need strategy to overcome potential roadblocks. If you have potential roadblocks, ask yourself, “What can I do differently to avoid this?” Willpower can only take you so far, remember this, thinking that more willpower is the best strategy is not the way to go……Let planning and preparation be your strategy.
Make Fitness a habit and be consistent. Commit to Thirty Days – Three to four weeks is all the time you need to make a habit automatic. If you can make it through the initial conditioning phase, it becomes much easier to sustain. A month is a good block of time to commit to a change since it easily fits in your calendar.
Goal Setting. Once you have a plan in place set a goal. This gives you a way to measure your progress, and provides a real boost when you realize that a goal which seemed out of reach last year, is easy this year. Set small goals for yourself that are somewhat challenging, but not so difficult that they are unattainable. Once you’ve achieved each goal, set your sights slightly higher and begin again. This is the only way to keep progressing.
The New Year often brings resolutions that turn into broken promises, but this year DECIDE to make it stick. If you do, besides not having this same resolution next year you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you have accomplished something very important. That will go a long way!
Let’s do it!
Looking forward to a great year!
Goal Setting. Once you have a plan in place set a goal. This gives you a way to measure your progress, and provides a real boost when you realize that a goal which seemed out of reach last year, is easy this year. Set small goals for yourself that are somewhat challenging, but not so difficult that they are unattainable. Once you’ve achieved each goal, set your sights slightly higher and begin again. This is the only way to keep progressing.
The New Year often brings resolutions that turn into broken promises, but this year DECIDE to make it stick. If you do, besides not having this same resolution next year you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you have accomplished something very important. That will go a long way!
Let’s do it!
Looking forward to a great year!
Keep Training!!!
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