It is that time of year again that many of you will be looking to start a healthier lifestyle. Hopefully most of the Christmas food has gone & it is now being replaced with healthier options.
Now. You have probably said to yourself countless times every January that you are going to get fitter, lose weight & improve your health but always quit after a short period of time.
Fear not. Below is a very basic but affect way to approach it this time. These are the 2 key pointers I always tell my clients , especially this time of year.
Food
December is a time of over indulgence with both food & drink. If you were to look at what you have been consuming over the past few weeks or month I am sure your daily calorie count would be much higher than normal.
Now come January many will go on a massive calorie restriction in some way shape or form BUT this never ends well. If your body has been use to excessive food & alcohol & you just stop it all & then go on to a massive health kick with a massive drop in calories you will find this will only be sustainable for a very short period of time.
Instead. Why not set up some realistic goals where you eat a little less every day, try to make better food choices & slowly over the next few weeks incorporate this more allowing you to acclimatise to it easier.
Exercise
The same rule above also applies to exercise. If you have done very little for at least the past month then going to exercise 4-5 x a week straight off will be over kill. The chances of you becoming disinterested, allowing little – no recovery time & the possibility of injuries is a lot higher.
Again. Why not aim for 2 x exercise sessions in week 1 then increase it to 2 – 3 the following week & if you really wanted to, 3- 4 the following week at which point frequency would not need to be increased but the intensity of each session would be.
Hopefully by reading this there is one key factor that stands. CONSITANCY. If you can find a good balance where you are eating better & exercising frequently for longer periods of time, you will feel & look better as opposed to giving up after a few weeks.