With the shorter, darker days and speedy pace of December we can often struggle with time and our motivation to work out and eat healthily.
Mindful eating, making better food choices and being goal driven does not have to come and go with the seasons though, in fact it does not have to change at all.
It just needs to be a continuation of your daily/weekly life.
People often have the same yo-yo Ing mentality year after year. Think here of the build up to Christmas where the pace of life picks up crazily for a few weeks and then in January we are looking at the ‘damage’ we have done and its ‘new year new me’ etc, and you claw it back and then summer hits with the longer nights and prosecco and it’s a bit like ground hog day as you aim to claw it back again.
Instead of being guided and driven by the seasons, think instead of each week flowing into the next and your life continues but with minimal tweaks.
A lot of people look at their calendar ahead and think of holidays, parties, events and set their goals only as far as these, when really, we need to have the commitment to see beyond the seasons and understand the commitment is all year round.
Changes only need be small, incremental, sustainable and realistic. I see this A LOT, and I get great results from SMALL SUSTAINABLE CHANGES. Going to extremes one way or another generally doesn’t work long term.
UNDERESTIMATING the amount of calories we consume is EASY!!!
COUNTING calories is HARD!!
That said, doing your best daily (and consistently) will hold you in good stead to enable you to achieve the right balance (think here 80/20).
In winter it’s easy to gain weight if we fail to burn the calories we are eating of the foods we choose to comfort us during the colder and darker days.
Ideally, it’s great to have some kind of tracker (Fitbit, apple watch, Garmin etc) so you can see how many calories your body burns in total each day, and balance this out by creating a deficit by consuming less calories than you burn.
One of the simplest most effective things I recommend my clients to do is to incorporate as much movement into your day as you can even if this is just a morning 20 min walk and the same after tea.
Remember if you think you CAN, you CAN… motivation is what gets you started, habit is what keeps you going.
Invest in your own health and happiness as 2022 draws to a close, and if you need a little help/nudge in the right direction with your fitness goals, give me a shout, I would love to help.
Janet x