We’ve all been there. The new-year-new-you train is at the station, but every time we get on the train it turns out this is a circular line and before we know it, we’ve ended up back to where we started. So how do we stick to it this year?
So, what can we do to avoid this and make sure the health and fitness resolutions we set this year we stick to, and even surpass? Firstly, we need to figure out exactly what our goals are and how we are going to reach them. Setting small, easily achievable goals that lead into big results are far more manageable than trying to change lots of things in one big go that can seem daunting.
It takes a while to form new positive habits, so don’t just set one overall goal, map the steps that will get you there, make small manageable changes each week and suddenly something that seemed stressful and a huge mountain is suddenly climbed without noticing it.
If you want to join a gym, that’s great! But focus on overall activity first, maybe start walking to work, instead of committing to 5 training sessions a week and a super strict diet, which will often lead to failure. Start simply by committing to two gym sessions a week and then increasing this over time, when the body is more adapted to the stress of training physically and mentally.
Instead of overhauling the diet, maybe just try and commit to have a source of lean protein with every meal and before you know it this will start to reduce overall calorie intake, cause weight loss and then you can start to worry about other things.
After the festive period and the inevitable over-consumption of mince pies, chocolate and cake, the temptation can be to start the new year by starting a crash diet that often requires a severe restriction of calories. Of course, this will cause initial weight loss, but equally as likely is that after a few weeks, the stress of this restriction becomes too much, the diet fails and by association you will also feel like one too. Instead, start to make small positive changes in your diet. In the long run this is by far the most sustainable way to go and the only way to ensure long term success. We are creatures of habit and sometimes it takes a while to change those habits, so do something that you can stick to initially and build from there.
Whether it is diet or exercise, there seems to be a perception that in order to get results that there needs to be some suffering. Although this might be true if we are looking to be elite-level athletes or have the body of a Greek God, the truth is that to get and maintain a lean, athletic and healthy physique, we can do this by incorporating things we enjoy.
If you enjoy lifting weights in the gym then great, but there are many other ways we can develop strength and muscle that might be more fun, or at least more of a distraction from actually doing exercise. Team sports/activities can be demanding but at least there is support in large supply which can provide both fun and a distraction from the suffering! Even if that is too demanding for a beginner, if you are just looking to be healthier then walking clubs are a great way to socialise, make friends and get some fresh air as well as burning some calories and to get you fitter and the confidence to do more demanding activities.
Even for those looking to train hard, sports like rock-climbing can be a great addition to a training program to develop strength, agility and endurance whilst alleviating the boredom from training just in the gym. Some of the best all-round athletes I know hardly ever set foot in the gym and have incredible physiques and athleticism, most importantly they love their training variety and never get bored. It’s ok to change sports or activities when you get bored, as long as you are being active!
Finally, try and get other people involved. This might be friends, family or work colleagues, the more people who want ‘in’, the more support you have and you have also created accountability to others. It might be easy to fall off the wagon with diet and exercise on your own, but if you have a group of people invested in yours and their own success, you can help each other through the low points.
Whatever stage of your health and fitness journey you are at, taking that journey to where we want to be can often seem daunting when we look at the enormity of the task at hand. However, when we work backwards and break it down to tiny steps that we can make each day, then things don’t feel so daunting. It is taking these steps consistently that leads to success and acknowledging that when things aren’t working, it doesn’t mean you have failed, it just means that you need to find another way that works better for you or you need some help along the way.
Paul Rimmer (BSc, MSc, PhD).
