Doing What Needs To Be Done

During this year there have been many changes to my life, and these have have had effects on many areas of my life, including some that I had not expected , and these have proven harder than anticipated to navigate.

My motivation to train has suffered hugely since my career change in April, but I've managed to force myself to train at least 5 days a week whether at the gym or at home (I HATE to train at home).

Many people ask why I bother, I've met my target so surely I don't have to train as much now?! The truth is I don't train as much now, literally not even half as much! But I still train! So, why do I? Because I don't ever want to go back! I never want to go back to how I was; overweight, depressed, eating take out, playing computer games and suffering a bad back!! I did meet my target, and while that was great, my main drive now is to maintain my results! That means eating on programme, training on programme and remaining as committed after the weight-loss phase as during it! Training also helps my back to feel better. I have suffered from low back pain for the past 2 years, and probably always will, but I know the exercises I need to do to help to strengthen it, and make it hurt less. And besides, no-one wants a fat trainer!

I believe in being honest with you, so I'm not going to lie and say that it's easy, it's not! But the benefits far outweigh the negatives, I can't really argue with that! Sometimes I don't want to train, sometimes the last thing I want to do is run sprints for 20 minutes, do burpees or squat more than I weigh, sometimes I'd rather be eating a greasy pizza, but that doesn't mean I get to do that. And neither do you. Not if you want to achieve your goal and maintain what you've achieved! Most of us don't want to do the house work, or get up and go to work on a morning, or walk the dog, but these things need to be done, in just the same way as exercise and eating well! Not only for your "dream body" but for your health!

It's about lifestyle, pure and simple! If you're calling it a “diet” you're setting yourself up to fail. The second you stop exercising and start eating all the things you used to eat, you're going backwards. You're more than likely to re-gain the weight you lost, and probably a whole bunch more, meaning that a year down the line you've got to start again, further back than you started in the first place, trust me, I've been there!

I used to do all those things, I was scarily unfit, and honestly my health was declining because of it. In the past I've had weight loss drives, crash dieted, lost what I thought was the maximum I could lose, gone back to the way it was before the diet and gained the weight plus more. I even lost 2 stone at one point, went to the gym 7 hours a week, ate- what I thought at the time to be- good food, and even considered becoming a trainer back then. But, I got out of the habit, stopped exercising, started eating whatever I felt like and boom, gained the 2 stone back, plus a whole 2 more!! Not this time!

So if you'd like to lose the weight, keep it off, and build the toned and lean body that you dream of, you need to work at it. Every. Day! I can certainly say, I'm not sorry I have!

To find out how I can help, get in touch, we'll arrange your free consultation and get started.

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The Resistance You May Face

This picture really hit home with me, and I'm sure it has with a lot of you too! Over the past 24 months I have been accused of being obsessed more times than I care to remember! Some have suggested that it's started to “interfere” with my life; when all I can see is that I do more with my time now than I ever have!

My question to these people, the negative influences that seem to surround us, is what was I doing before that was so right? I would spend upwards of 5 hours a day sitting at home playing Farmville and all those other games on Facebook, essentially doing nothing! Yes, I may have been at the gym for 10+ hours per week, but what else would you have me do? There are plenty of people who play computer games, go mountain biking, ride horses, baking, learn an instrument and play golf for that amount of time per week, are they obsessed?! No, they are simply pursuing a hobby! To this day I still don't see the difference.

About a year ago, at the mid-way point, when I had lost roughly 35lbs people were telling me constantly “maybe it's time you stopped losing weight” or “I think you've lost enough weight now” etc. Whilst I did appreciate the compliment, after a while it started to become a daily argument about everything I could possibly be doing “to harm myself”. I was telling a friend about this, and she suggested that I respond with “Well thanks for your input, but there was no point at which you suggested that I stopped gaining weight, why do you get to say that I need to stop losing weight?” This became a bit of a running joke! But it's true, it's nobody's business but yours!

Don't get me wrong, not every single person will be against you! Most of them will ask questions out of genuine interest, hoping to glean some information they can apply to their own lifestyle! Some will be genuinely supportive of the work you're doing to improve yourself. And even some of those who seem to resist the most, will actually be happy for you underneath it all.

There is also an element of over sensitivity on our part! With seemingly every move we make being questioned and criticised because it's not what everyone else does, it can get boring, annoying, and can make you doubt yourself. All of which is enough to make anyone a bit touchy!!

At times, it got to me, their words running through my head while I was trying to train, and yes, sometimes it defeated me. I'd leave the gym half way through a workout, devastated with myself for quitting, and angry with them for making me doubt myself. I'd come home and cry on Guy about how people were making me worry that I was going too far, and doing too much. He would reassure me that I'm fine, I'm not too thin, and I enjoy training, so why shouldn't I do it?! I am forever grateful to him for not jumping on the bandwagon, and for helping me to push through the times of doubt. I would return the next day- stronger!

So, ignore the criticism, ignore the people who think they know better than you, or more than you and trust in yourself to guide you through your journey. Try to remember that the resistance could really be coming from a place of love and genuine concern. Educate yourself about what you're doing, what you're eating, and why you're doing it to get you to your goal in a healthy and sustainable way. Then you can educate them! Answer their questions with facts, reassure them with real information that you're safe, and that you're not harming yourself,

Never lose sight of your goal, and where you're going, trust in yourself to get there! If you need reassurance, talk to like-minded people who train and will give you evidence based information and not information based on something someone told them once, or some “feeling” they've got. Make sure you have someone you trust who you can turn to, I have Guy, who will always give me his honest opinion, will tell me if he thinks it's going “too far” and will do nothing but encourage and support me in the meantime!

Work hard, stay focussed, you'll reap the rewards!

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt "Citizenship in a Republic," Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

Making the Change

“Those who think they have no time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness” - Edward Stanley

Every journey has it's testing times!! Whether it's related to the journey or not, life will try to trip you up at every opportunity it can, just to make sure you will have work extra hard to get to where you want to be! On the weight-loss journey it can be the tempting “treats” in the office, an injury, tiredness, work and family commitments or boredom, to name but a few!

For me, there were all of those things; “Treats” in the office, mid-week office nights out, a bad back, an injured shoulder, constant shin-splits, MOT, car service, overtime, vet trips, friends to see, weddings to go to, festivals, training pals bailing on me, being lazy, being disorganised, redundancy notice, training to become a trainer, starting my own business... You know, life!

What keeps us going? Every step of the weight-loss journey and the beginning of a healthy lifestyle is a test! Seeming to add stress to your life rather than taking it away, or helping you to cope. You've got all that to deal with, AND THEN fitting in your exercise for the day, prepping tomorrow's food and clothes etc! Realising that all that “extra” stuff is just as important as the original to-do list will really help!!

As a society, we've lost sight of real food and become obsessed with “low fat”, “healthy” and “convenient” fad foods and opted for every “easy” option going that allows us to sit down and do the minimal amount, when what we really need a is fresh, real food to keep us healthy. As a species we haven't evolved for the sedentary lifestyle that so many of us find ourselves living. But movement, activity, exercise, sport, whatever you want to call it, is now required in order for us to stay healthy, or at the very least, less unhealthy. Movement helps everything in your body to work better: your cardio-vascular system, digestive system, your brain, muscles, joints, hormones and your nervous system all work better when you're active. Why? Because we are supposed to be active. We were designed to be up and about all day, walking, running and standing, not sitting in the car, sitting in the office and sitting on the sofa!

So how do you start? How do you begin to re-introduce “healthy” into your life? If you need some time to prepare, set a deadline! Plan what you're going to change and when. For example, if the first change you're going to make is to start drinking 2 litres of water per day, make a note in your diary for Monday to start drinking a minimum of 2 litres of water a day. Set a reminder for Sunday to buy a 2 litre bottle to put the water for the day in! Tea and coffee don't count, neither does juice, water-containing foods or water consumed whilst exercising. Everything else is a bonus! Then set alarms for regular intervals (every hour perhaps) to remind you to drink from your water bottle! Within a few weeks you'll be in the habit well on your way to proper hydration! (NB, do not drink 2 litres all at once just to get it done, this can be very dangerous and potentially fatal). Set the goal, help yourself every way you can- instead of using modern technology to make our lives less active, use it to help make your life healthier.

The principle is the same for everything. Set the goal, help yourself to achieve it! Set diary reminders, alarms, leave yourself notes, do whatever you need to achieve your goal! Try it with the water, its one teensy change to make, stick to it, and see how you get on!

Remember that life is still going to happen, that's what it does, but it doesn't mean that you and your health have to suffer! Heart disease and diabetes aren't going to wait because the car needed a service, or the kids needed to go to x, y and z event! It's time to make time for you, for your health, for your life. You will see the benefits echoed in all other parts of your life.

Next time, other challenges along the way...