I don’t know about you but I am feeling quite overloaded after the holiday season. With Christmas dinners and New Year’s celebrations I have found plenty of excuses to indulge in those slightly bigger portions, or a piece of cake or not bothering to go for a walk because of the ‘weather’. Well my time for excuses is over and I feel the need to get back on track! Here are some tips on how to do just that.
Motivation -
It’s hard to do anything without a bit of motivation
Goals and set rewards. Set easy and achievable goals for yourself. Weather it’s promising to exercise for 30 minuets a day or avoiding junk food. Once you have achieved your goal reward yourself with that present you wanted and didn’t get at Christmas or that piece of Cheese cake you have been eyeing up all week at the local café by work. It will taste all that much sweeter!
Support. Gather a group of friends or work colleagues together who feel the same and work together. Have regular meet up’s to discuss your difficulties, triumphs and cheats. Sharing makes it easier and motivates you to keep going. Having a support at work is an extra bonus. It will keep you motivated when you are feeling under pressure.
Diet -
The noun not the verb! The definition of the Noun Diet is: The kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats. The noun is a much better definition to focus on. When we say diet we automatically think about different types of rules and regulations with your food. Personally I am terrible at dieting (verb!). Here are some tips on how to improve your Diet
Get back to basics. Try wherever possible to make your own food. By starting from scratch you can avoid all the hidden sugars and carbohydrates found in processed foods. You will know exactly what your eating
Plan Ahead. Plan what you’re going to eat for the day the evening before. If possible prepare you lunch for work at home. Controlling what you put into your body makes improving your diet much easier.
Low GI. Foods that are low in GI have a more stable glucose outlet. This means that the sugars and energy that you get from the food is released at a nice even pace throughout the day and you can help avoid sugar crashes like the 3pm slump. Some examples of low GI foods are: Porridge, Sourdough bread, most vegetables and fruit, new potatoes, brown rice, whole grain pasta and blueberry muffins!Low GI Food's List
Exercise -
We all know it but most of us never like to hear it! Exercise is vital when it comes to getting back in shape.
Time management. Time management is essential when it comes to introducing exercise into your daily regime. If you sit down and really look at how you spend your average day. When do you go to work, what you do when you get home, your excuse for not finding time to exercise is eradicated. There is always time for a quick walk. Start off with a realistic goal. Most health care professionals recommend at least 30 minutes of exercise a day.
Changing some of your routine. If you honestly can’t find time then change a couple things in your daily routine. Look at alternatives. Walk to work if you can. Organise your support group to go for a walk at lunch time or do it by yourself!
Mix it up. I find that if I stick to one form of exercise I get bored really quickly and it de-motivates me. Mix it up. There are plenty of activities to do, just be a bit adventurous and inventive. Walk, run, swim, hike at the weekends, climbing at your local gym is great fun, attend a yoga class or do it from home (there are plenty of you tube videos out there, check out ekhart yoga), box it classes, boot camp etc. variety is the spice of life!
Good luck and I promise that it will be worth it when you start to feel happier and healthier. Your energy will increase, your moods will eventually get better, you will feel more confident, your concentration will increase… the list is endless
