It is really common to find yourself going round in circles when it comes to sustaining a change in your health and new lifestyle – it’s why a lot of the “diet” industry continues to exist – diets work for a while, people go off the diet, put the weight back on and then go back to the original plan and start all over again – Yo-yo dieting has its name for that very reason!
Having lost 5st a few years ago it very quickly became apparent when you lose weight you don’t just miraculously stay at that goal-weight you’ve spent weeks/months/years aiming for. No sirree! And my goodness does that suck!
Once you achieve results, you have to keep on working to sustain those positive changes and do you know what? Sometimes it isn’t easy!
These past 15 months (yes, because we have gone beyond the year) have been hard for everyone in so many ways. The change in routine that we have all faced at some point or another can make or break you. I know some people who have been able to use this time to embrace new habits, learn something new, improve their health and then there are others who have been like yo-yos, on it one minute, binging the next, out walking every day, curled up watching Netflix the following month.
Do you know what? Wherever you have found yourself right now, that’s OK because it’s been bloody hard!
It’s now June, the weather is getting better, the potential for summer holidays (if you haven’t already booked one) is upon us and, if you’re like me, there’s just 1 more half-term until the summer holidays and I have decided that tomorrow (kids back) I am ON IT! And this time I mean it!
This is the thing with making changes to your lifestyle, you have to do it and you have to do it consistently if you want to see results and whilst I’m not back at the 16st I was a few years ago I’ve found myself at the end of this half-term in a place where I’ve let things slide on and off for the past few months, constantly resolving to be better, but never quite going through with it in a way to really get the results I want.
So tomorrow I am going to be better and I am going to use the next half-term to shift those excess pounds I’ve not been happy with for months – they are actually going to properly go this time!
I’m going to stop eating the excess sugar, which we all know is completely crap for us.
I’m going to go back to meal-planning properly, not just with an idea in my head, I’m going to actually write it down every week because that way I know what I have to look forward to, I know what food I have to have in and I can even plan my snacks so that I don’t just reach for the most rubbish thing I can find to hand just because I’m lazy and that’s the easy option!
I am going to commit to workouts 100%, especially on the days when I can’t be bothered! Strength, cardio and core (yes, even you abdominals!)
Having a goal gives you a deadline to work towards, it gives you something to focus on, a drive, a sense of accountability.
If you find yourself in the same boat that I am in, please join me, don’t sit and suffer, don’t feel like you’re on your own because I promise you that you’re not.
Change habits. Make new habits. The snacks you have at 8.30pm, stop having them, what’s the worst that’s going to happen? Eat when you’re hungry, not when you’re bored – it’s genuinely one of the best things to figure out! That bowl of ice cream after dinner at night? Do you really need it? Or are you just having it because you always have it? Have a little yoghurt instead, in fact, let your dinner go down and then see if you really want something later, because you probably won’t.
If you’re stuck with what to do for exercise, ask for help! I’m available for one-off sessions if you feel like you need little kickstart to get going. Don’t forget there are 1,001 workouts you can find online, on Pinterest, there truly is something for everyone, don’t just assume that you’ve got to get trainers on and get out running.
It is never too late to start. You can have 101 day 1s and that’s OK, the important thing is that you’re prepared to keep on trying because after a while, something will kick in and you will do it this time. You really will and you don’t need a single fad to get you there.
*now, I’m a big believer in a little of what you fancying doing you good, I don’t believe in cutting out food groups. But if your excesses (like rubbish processed sugary tat which serve no nutritional purpose) are the cause of feeling negative about yourself, then perhaps those excesses do need to be reduced and maybe the Haribos need to be banished (even if just for a while), maybe you can’t keep having the chocolate, or nipping into the cupboard and grabbing something (and that happening 15 times a day), or maybe you do need to forgo the cake in the cafe for a biscuit. Sometimes you will need to make choices, but if those choices get the results that you want, then is it really that big a sacrifice?
I know where I want to be by the summer holidays and I’m determined to get there. Like you, I know what I need to do to get there, it's just I'm going to make sure I do this time.
**Also, I'll share over the next few weeks tips and ideas to help you form those new habits which will help you get to where you want.