Happy New Year!

This week I’ve been talking to my personal training clients about what they want to achieve this year. Everyone is going to have different goals but for most it will involve losing weight or getting fitter.  A lot of my clients that I’ve spoken to over the past week feel bad about what they’ve eaten over Christmas and the lack of exercise that they’ve done. Christmas is a time for enjoying yourself and relaxing but this doesn’t mean that you have to throw yourself into the New Year by going crazy at the gym 7 days a week and surviving off a detox juice diet because you feel guilty!

Exercise wise, do things that you enjoy, whether it be going for a brisk walk, going to a dance class, playing badminton, doing a home exercise session or taking a trip to the gym. That way, you’ll be more likely to stick to it rather than trying to force yourself to do something that you’re just not interested in. If you’re a complete exercise beginner, just start off by doing a few things a week as that’s realistic and achievable and you’ll feel brilliant after doing them. If you’re a regular exerciser, try to include a different form of exercise into your usual routine to keep it interesting – your body will respond really well to a change in routine and exercise.

Food wise, I think most people are ready to eat healthily after stuffing themselves with all kinds of goodies over Christmas, so January is a great time to kick start a healthy eating plan along side your exercise. Again, make sure that it’s something that you’re going to be able to stick to long term rather than a faddy, quick fix diet that’s going to fizzle out after a few weeks. Firstly and most importantly, make sure that you’re eating enough fruit and vegetables, that you’re drinking plenty of water and maybe try to replace some of those sugary snacks that you’ve been used to eating over Christmas with something slightly healthier. Instead of looking at how many calories you’re eating, focus on making sure that your body is getting all of the nutrients that it needs to function optimally.

I hope this gives you a little motivation to start and continue a healthy and happy 2018!