Mind and Body Fitness by the Sparkle Coach Avoid fads and find the key to real success in the new year

FROM BUYING every new weight-loss gadget on the market to overdosing on diet pills, I have tried every fad going in an effort to ‘fix’ my body.

But whilst all these gizmos and trends may give us a quick high when we purchase them or help us lose (water) weight overnight, often what we’re left with is an empty purse and longerterm health issues. Or at best, we’re back to where we started, except we lack even more motivation to address our desire to feel strong and healthy in mind and body.

Whilst

it’s great to see so many people contemplate and prepare for a ‘New Year, New Healthier Me’ during these winter months, it’s important you ‘prepare to fail,’ in the sense that new year is a great boost to take action, but we also need to make sure our motivation to eat, sleep, exercise and live well lasts us all year around and we avoid relapsing as much as possible.

For me, it starts with the key to exercise motivation as this will boost your feel-good hormones, which is to find workouts, groups, classes, venues and movement that you can access and enjoy from yoga to dance, from weight training to kettlebells and running, anything is better than nothing. So now is a good time to start trialling online classes, groups, or venues and personal trainers to work with.

Then jot down a plan of your health and fitness goals (include nutrition, fitness, sleep and mental wellbeing) over the festive period. Break each goal down into segments of short-term (one week to one month), mediumterm (one to six months) and long-term goals (six months) utilising the SMART goal-setting method of making each goal Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. Rather than focus on the destination or ‘outcome goals’ such as to ‘lose weight’ or to ‘run a marathon’, try and break these down into ‘process goals’, which is the ‘journey’, such as to ‘run 45 minutes a day.’

The next step is to focus on motivation all year-round as consistency is key to making significant changes to our overall health and wellbeing, not just for January.

If possible, find a reliable relative, friend or colleague who is wanting to also stay focused on taking action, adopting similar lifestyle changes and hitting goals to keep each other accountable each week. Exercising together or living healthier in tandem can boost relationships as well as add a competitive edge which is great motivation. You may also want to hire a personal trainer or join a group which can help you plan, adapt and implement necessary lifestyle changes.

Another big factor in motivation is variation when it comes to nutrition and exercise. This helps you to continue discovering food you enjoy and varying workouts to keep your interest and to build on your results.

Finally, make sure you build in incentives and rewards for following through with your plan, at least once a month, think of something positive you can do for yourself and build this in.