Unfortunately,
come January 1st, and the accompanying hangover or general lethargy
from a previous 4 week period spent overeating and under exercising, few of us
run with the momentum of a New Year when
it comes to taking control of our diets. So, if you are really serious
about taking control of your weight and dropping a few kg in early 2013 here
are the steps you need to take.
1)
Get organised after Boxing Day
None
of this waiting until January 1st, then January 8th to
get your diet on track – if you are really serious this time around, you need
to set the wheels in motion straight after Christmas. This means throwing away
your high calorie Christmas leftovers, starting to exercise immediately and
committing some time while you have time on holidays to make a plan of attack
for a fit and healthy 2013.
2)
Make a plan
While
it may sound like the obvious thing to do, you would be surprised how many
people who claim to want to lose weight, have no idea about how they are going to
do it. Spend some time considering what will be the best exercise program for
you and the best way to approach your diet. Identify which days of the week you
will exercise, how you will balance your calorie intake and what support
structures you will need to help you keep focused and on track. Most
importantly, spend time writing these strategies down – goals are significantly
more likely to be achieved when they are documented and reviewed on a regular
basis.
3)
Start calorie counting
Individuals
who want to lose weight lose more weight when they keep a log of their calories
compared to dieters who do not. The week post-Christmas is the perfect time to
start to reflect on how many calories you are having on a daily basis, and
identify the key times you may need to cut back. As a general rule of thumb,
adult women will need 1200-1500 calories a day for weight loss, and adult males
1600-1800 calories each day, although naturally this may differ depending on
age, activity levels and hormonal issues.
4)
Rally support
Human
beings are naturally social creatures and also become like those people who
they spend their time with. This means that if the people that you spend the
most time with are fit and healthy, chances are, you will too. On the other
hand, if your family, friends or even work colleagues are an unhealthy bunch,
and you are trying to lose weight, it may prove a little more challenging. For
this reason, if one of your goals for 2013 is to lose weight and keep it off,
you need to identify and recruit your support team. Whether it is your partner,
bestie, adult child or neighbor, seek out someone to help keep you on track, to
exercise and eat well with and your weight control journey will become a whole
lot easier.
5)
Adopt ‘acceptance’ as an attitude
Often
clients will come and claim to be lacking ‘motivation’, and then use this
motivation deficit as the excuse as to why they have not achieved the diet and
exercise targets that will help them to lose weight. So, here is the key – the
sooner you stop looking for the ever elusive motivation to take control of your
weight, and rather accept that eating well and exercising regularly most of the
time for the rest of your life is what you need to do to take control of your
weight, for good, the sooner you will do so. It is safe to say that if you are
one of the many who struggle with your weight, you are not a naturally
motivated person when it comes to your diet and exercise. There is no issue
with this, we are all different and have our own strengths and weaknesses but
simply accept that you are not a celebrity trainer and get on with it. The sooner
the better and lets move into a fit, healthy and most importantly happy 2013.
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