Wednesday 18 August 2010

Out of shape? Do something about it!

Overweight, miserable, no self esteem....

Does this remind you of yourself? Do you wake up on a daily basis, look in the mirror and wish you were slimmer?

If you answered yes to this question you wouldn’t be the only one!
If you’re feeling overweight, low and depressed then STOP complaining and DO something about it!

Harsh but true, I can’t tell you how many times I have heard people getting upset about their body, I’d be lying if I didn’t have my share of ‘fat days’ but when I start to complain about it myself I always have that inner voice that just says ‘well do something about it then!’

It’s at times like this when its easy to blame others but at the end of the day, are they the ones shovelling the food or sugary drinks down our neck? No they are not it all boils down to us.

How many of you have uttered those words ‘oh my god I’ve put on so much weight, right that’s it diet starts Monday!’ So you over indulge on sweets, chocolate, fast food the lot; because we know that the diet is starting Monday! Then Monday comes and goes and though you may have started off with the best intentions, lived off salads and fruit because you aren’t totally sure how to go about getting into shape and by day 3 you just can’t take it anymore so over indulge on loads of sugary treats.... Sound familiar? The failure is probably down to your body craving the crap you’ve loaded it with just days before! Why wait until Monday to start, the minute you utter those words make a choice to start your quest there and then! You may need to do some planning but there really is no need to ‘overload’ on all the unhealthy food you can.

If you have decided that now is the time to do something about it then you have to be willing to pay the price and put in the work,

As a Personal Trainer and Boot Camp owner I receive several emails from happy clients who not only have lost weight but are now oozing with confidence, feeling ecstatic with the way they look and have loads of energy, each and everyone has worked hard and followed a plan to get there.
Would you rather feel tired and miserable with your body or ooze confidence and feel fantastic – I know which one I prefer.

Here are 10 of my tips to follow if you want to be successful in your quest to the perfect body:

1) Have a goal – Know exactly what you want to achieve, if you decide you want to get to a size 10 but a 12-14 would be more realistic then that not the goal. Why not set the 12-14 as one of your milestones but the size 10 as your overall goal? Just think how fantastic you will feel when you get there! Keep reminding yourself of your goal on a regular basis

2) Stop believing in Fad diets – they don’t work, they are there to make money from you and to ensure that you go back to them when you fail, because believe it or not they set you up for failure by allowing you to eat some of the food choices they do!

3) Have a fantastic support network – it’s hard to do these things alone so if you have someone else who is in the same boat as you then why not use one and other to push yourselves towards your goals, it helps to have someone else accountable to other than your health and fitness coach. If your friends and family are supportive of your quest they will do what they can to help you get there.

4) Get up an hour early to do some exercise – it has been proven that exercising increases energy, reduces stress, boosts metabolism and improved mood, so what better way to look good and feel great – oh yes and the sort under the covers with your partner is also great exercise and makes you feel great ;o)

5) Eat a healthy diet – it’s not rocket science but some people do believe that you can exercise and eat what you want and still get an amazing body. You cannot out train a poor diet (trust me I’ve tried in the past!) so you really need to be including healthy foods in your diet, green leafy vegetables, fresh fruit, lean protein, nuts and seeds should all be included in there

6) Hire a professional – if you wanted to learn to drive you would hire an instructor, if you wanted to learn to dance you would attend a course/hire an instructor.
There’s so much poor information out there to cause major confusion over health and nutrition so it’s essential that you hire a health and fitness professional to help you along the way.

7) Follow the advice given by your professional - if your coach has told you to cut out certain foods such as dairy, wheat, alcohol and sugar for 30 days then do it, if they have instructed you to follow a hard training plan then do it, they have put it together for a reason, because it is tried and tested and generally achieves great results.

8) Don’t always listen to your friends! – So your friends are telling you that ‘Mary followed the slim fast diet and dropped 10lbs in 1 week’ and asking why you’ve chosen to do things the way you have instead of the quick fix. Sometimes your friends might not understand fully what you’re doing so may not show the encouragement you desire, they might even get upset at the fact they haven’t got you to go out drinking and eating junk food with them anymore, but don’t despair, when they see how amazing your looking in a few weeks time of hard work they’ll want to follow the same advice as you!

9) Have belief in yourself – It’s too easy to take an I Can’t attitude, or ‘I’ve always been big I just can’t lose weight’ this kind of talk is defeatist talk, the minute you mutter those words you have set yourself up for failure – Have an ‘I Can’ attitude and anything is within your grasp when you set your mind to it.

10) Stop wishing, start doing – stop wishing you had a ‘booty like Beyonce’ and start to work with what you’ve got, don’t compare yourself to others, you are a unique individual with your own body so work with it, treat it with the respect it needs which means eating healthy and exercising regularly, get it into the best shape you can and reward yourself when you get there, trust me you WILL feel fantastic for it!

Next time you start to complain about the body you have, STOP and DO something about it!

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