To transform your body and health – you first have to take a big step outside of your usual routines and habits and introduce change. As the famous saying goes:
“If you continue to do what you have always done, you will stay as you have always been.”
To make changes to your body, you first have to make changes to your mindset, the way you eat and the way you exercise. Progress comes from hard work, adapting and listening to your body and most importantly – consistency.
1. Diet
Consistency when it comes to your food is critical for success. It isn’t just about making good food choices, it’s ensuring you think about sensible portion sizes, what time you are eating and spacing out your meals, and the nutritional content of your meals. It is very easy to let busy lifestyles over-ride making good diet decisions.
We may set out with every intention of eating healthy meals, but when you are busy, tired or stressed, it is so easy to slip up and grab something easy, comforting or convenient (and hence – ruining your diet)! Consistently eating good food at the right time will keep your metabolism ticking over, keep blood sugar levels constant and hormone production regular, meaning you are less likely to binge or make bad food choices.
Also, staying consistent with planning your meals and getting in some food preparation at the beginning of every week is a very useful tip to staying on track and avoiding time dictating your food choices. If you have good food ready to go in your fridge at a moments notice – it is far easier to control your diet and stick to your goals.
2. Rest & Exercise
Making time to exercise regularly is highly important for achieving your goals. Not exercising for long periods of time (eg. Monday to Friday) then hitting it extra hard on the weekend to make up for it will not help your body change and will put you at a much greater risk of injury.
Space your workouts out consistently through the week, and ensure you also plan regular rest days to allow your muscles time to repair and recover. Consistent exercise and rest will allow your muscles to grow back stronger, burning more calories at rest and building that “toned” look that everyone works so hard to achieve!
3. Mindset
Last but not least – the power of the mind. Arguably the most important tool in your weight loss journey, and also arguably the hardest to control. Keeping a consistently positive mind-set when working towards your goals is essential for achieving them.
A strong mind will help you make the right food and exercise decisions and keep you focused on sticking to your plan. A positive mind will keep you moving forwards, celebrating your successes and helping to reduce your stress levels (which is important, due to stress having a negative ability on the bodies ability to burn fat).
Staying consistently positive will help you combat any slip ups and will keep you feeling better all-round in day-to-day life.
4. Stay Consistent
It can be extremely difficult to stay consistent across all areas in our hectic day-to-day lives. Start by setting yourself small, achievable goals and build from there. Trying to make drastic changes in diet and exercise overnight is unsustainable, and you are more likely to fail (causing you to feel despondent and give up).
The key is training your mind to approach problems positively, and to not beat yourself up when things do not go to plan. Identify potential problems (for example, a big girls night out) in advance, and prepare yourself to work through them proactively. After a while – consistency will become a normal lifestyle choice and not something you have to consciously work hard to achieve everyday. When this happens – you know you’ve made it! Head up, stay strong, work hard, train dirty and keep smiling!