Hi all
Well we only have a few days left before December and then I’m sure everything will be Christmas mad 🙂
I absolutely love Christmas!
I love the whole special feeling of happiness, love and family time
Christmas for me isn’t about the hustle and bustle of shopping and isn’t even about lots of presents, spending too much money and leaving yourself short come January, panicking about how much you have spent
As much as I too like nice things, in this day and age we all buy what we want, when we want it
So for me Christmas is about spending quality time with loved ones, taking some time off work and having some rest and relaxation
A time when I let myself go a little with my food and have a few more treats than I normally would.
I never go crazy and I still exercise as much as I possibly can, especially as I know I am not as good with my food, and drink
I enjoy myself, and don’t punish myself for it
This is a big mistake that many people make, and why they cannot sustain a healthy eating plan
Mindset is poor and once most people have a bad day, they then completely fall off the wagon, self sabotage and give up!
That day then turns into a week, a month and usually more
This is then a vicious circle of self sabotage, which is usually repeated every few months
I’m sure you or someone you know has this pattern of behaviour
Unfortunately this will never give you the body you want
This constant battle will not only make you unhappy, but unhealthy too
Mindset really does matter most!
Like anything we want in life, we have to work hard for it
And our bodies health and fitness are no different
Finding what works for YOU is important
Something that is manageable
Something that allows you the odd treat, so that you are not depriving yourself
Yet, 80% of the time you are staying consistent, making better choices and introducing buffer foods to prevent you from going for your favourite treats, which may be triggers for you to make more bad choices
For instance, Christmas time you will only eat what you have bought, so therefore limit the treats that you buy and ensure you have lots of healthy alternatives available too
We all drink a lot more at Christmas than we would normally, so choose wisely
Try not to be going for high sugar drinks and mixers and stick to your white spirits with soda water, which will make a massive difference in lost calories over the whole festive period
Getting out and exercising no matter what you have on is vitally important too
And is NO excuse not to!
This is a big reason I have put a last minute 4 week Christmas fat loss programme on, in house at Shapes to encourage people to make better choices
To be a part of a group where they are accountable for their decisions
Together, we will monitor our food choices, exercise frequently and learn about the things that prevent or help us to lose fat
NO SELF SABOTAGE!
Anyone that falls off the wagon will be pulled straight back on by me!
As I said Mindset matters most!
If you are the type of person who repeatedly falls off the wagon, and has a massive habit of self sabotage, then it’s important you get to the root of the problem
What is making you fall off?
and what makes you then continue to self sabotage?
Finding tools and putting them in place to helm you at these curtail times is vital for success!
For me I know that I need to eat regularly, every 4 hours and if I don’t, then I get so hungry that I crave and want only bad things, this will continue for hours or even all of that day
If I have had a bad day, then guaranteed I will want to carry that on the next day too
So I have learnt that a bad day is absolutely no good for me
I’d never have a treat day, instead I would have 2 treat meals per week, which works better for me and keeps me from craving more
If I go out drinking, then of course, I feel like treats the next day, however, I prefer to have a good meal with a chocolate cake desert,
So again having a treat, but not a whole large meal of rubbish
I have learnt over the years that this works better for me, and prevents me from binging for days.
We all get times when we feel down, depressed and just want to turn to comfort food
I am no different to you guys, and get this too
Again, it’s important we choose things that are not trigger foods for us, foods that would leave us craving more of them
So try and be more mindful of what works or doesn’t for you
As I have said in the past it is so important to be your own detective and learn about your body
We are all so different, we cannot just expect to follow faddy diets, friends influences or the next best pill and potion to work for us
For continued, long term results, where you are not constantly falling off the wagon every few months, then start taking notes of what works for you
Making a diary and monitoring your food, exercise, hormones etc is so so important
You can go back over the good and the bad days and figure out where you need to be to stay on track
For further help or my support in your fitness and fat loss journey, check out my online programme, which will be kicking off January 3rd http://shapeschange.com/
Mindset / Life Coaching help also available through my Lifeshaper Programme also starting January 3rd http://lifeshaper.org/
Until then, keep taking my tips and hints from these emails, and please feel free to email me any questions you may like me to answer
Keep fit, happy and healthy. Invest in yourself, remember health is wealth
Emma xx