So, how have your January’s been?…any resolutions?

Although I think January is probably the worst month for any sort of dieting, weight loss or exercise (being long and cold), the odds are that we are all probably thinking about it. I of course, put on about 5 pounds over the holidays. Really it was my number one priority to loose it so I could start feeling healthier and more myself. It took me about 3 weeks to go down 7 pounds. Although I’m still at the beginning of my quest for health and well-being here are some of the things I learnt:

Number 1–

if food is a comfort, a treat, a bribe for doing something you don’t want to , can you replace it with another form of comfort? a warm bath, a new lipstick, an episode of your favorite TV show?

Number 2–

rather than punishing yourself invest more time in looking after yourself, see it as a reward- buy yourself a lovely body oil and devote 10 minutes to slathering it on allover. Not only will this be wonderful for your skin, especially if you’re dropping weight fast, but give you time to get in touch with your body and appreciate how hard it works for you. Also, you can use it to practice some Mindfulness. Bio oil is an old favorite; light with a nice citric scent, but I’ve  also just found this little one from Burt’s bees.

Number 3–

are your goals attainable? if they’re not you will only become demotivated; as hard as I try I cannot always solemnly swear that I will do 10k steps a day, and of course I feel really disappointed with myself. However the trick is to lower the goal, so mine is 8k, but more often than not I definitely hit that and it is definitely achievable and the knowledge that I’ve achieved my goal pushes me on to do more. I’d rather hit 8k  and often go over 6 days a week with a day to rest and feel really pleased with myself , than say really struggle to do 10k, only manage it on 3 days a week and feel awful with myself.

Number 4–

inspiration! ‘like showers it doesn’t last’  embrace new trends in fitness, have a go at doing kickboxing, ballet, get really into it. My favorite thing of 2016 was my Fitbit; I have the now almost discontinued Flex, but I love it. I love a gadget, and it’s so simple to use,  just forget about it but it makes you accountable and it’s just so easy. It sounds ridiculous but I find it so motivating to see the little lights flash to show that I’ve done my 8k. Although it hasn’t made a difference in my weight by itself (I use it in conjunction with Fitness Pall if I’m trying to feel healthier) it has made me feel fitter and my daily steps went from 3k a day (I know, dreadful right) to between 8-12 k a day.

Number 5–

even if you don’t want to count calories (I certainly only do it from time to time) I would recommend knowing generally being aware of how much thing’s you generally eat are. For example when I scanned everything I had for breakfast into my Fitness pall (Musely, nuts, dried fruit and a coffee) I was eating around 600 calories just for breakfast, and the worst thing I was not enjoying it, I just thought it was what healthy people ate. And that is quite a lot when for the activity I was doing I was only supposed to eat 1400 a day. I’d much rather have a herbal tea, a croissant and an apple (c. 260 cal).

Most importantly do it for the Love, the enjoyment, the fun of moving your body and feeling wonderful.