By Lina Martinez
We are very much into the year 2018 now, and you may be seeing Facebook statuses of people already giving up on their New Year's resolutions, or explaining how they have failed miserably just a few days into the year. Unfortunately, this is quite a negative attitude to take, and if you fall into the same boat, you may want to take this gentle reminder - you have an entire year ahead of you. Plenty of people fall at the first hurdle, but it's the people that get up again and again after continuously being knocked down who (Source)
reach their goals. If it were easy, it would not be worth it. If you have set yourself a goal for 2018 to become healthier and maybe lose a few pounds, or fit in those jeans you have kept over the years in the hope you’ll fit back into them, then below are a few tips that can help to keep you focused and stop you falling into some of the unhealthy traps the media always set.
Avoid A Fad Diet
There are plenty of blogs and magazine articles at the moment that will be telling you to cut certain things from your diet, or follow a smoothie diet - without actually telling you that all you’ll be doing is drinking straight sugar for an entire week, or putting the weight back on as soon as you start eating properly again. Most of these diets are not sustainable, and your body tends to go into starvation mode and store every calorie that you eat. It is a lot more sustainable to ensure you are eating a well-balanced diet that does not cut anything out or restrict what you eat in any way. It’s ok to eat chocolate, just in moderation. You need to make sure you are getting your macronutrients in (protein, carbohydrates, fats) by eating the five food groups: cereal/grain, dairy (or alternative), fruit, vegetables, and meat. Following this diet will ensure you are fuelling your body with the right nutrients to see results.
Avoid Constantly Weighing Yourself
Although weighing yourself is a good place to start and setting yourself a goal weight gives you something to strive for and work towards, weighing yourself can become an obsession as you start to see the pounds drop off. Try to limit yourself to once every two weeks or once a month as a progress tracker. Doing it every day will make it seem like you are making no progress and be extremely discouraging.
Seek Professional Advice
When joining a new gym, it is common practice to be enrolled on an induction before you are allowed to make use of the facilities. This is to ensure you know how to work the machines properly at a resistance level suitable for you, so you don’t end up googling “personal injury attorney near me” and trying to sue your gym for an injury caused by improper instruction. If your gym is covering your back as well as theirs, you should also be covering your own when it comes to testing out other methods of exercise. Just like the warning sign that shows before starting an exercise DVD - you should always consult a doctor before trying a new exercise. If you are unsure how to do an exercise always ask a professional to avoid hurting yourself.
Remember, you are only ever in competition with yourself. Comparing yourself to others means you may be comparing the start of your journey, to the destination of another’s.
