We are in the first week of the 'New Year New You' conversations, people are asking and talking about their New Year Resolutions and wondering just what yours are? I never make them; like diets, I just don't take part. Why? Because, I used to make them, I used to diet and I see now clearly why my resolutions and my drastic diet measures just never worked.
I always approached things in the same way, doing the same things in the same routine and in the same manner. The common thread here is the word same... " If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten" Tony Robbins.
This statement is one I always think about when I am doing anything in my life, in my work, in my relationships and in my training and my approach to food.
Like anything in life there is a right and wrong way to do things. People are on different journeys this year, some are losing weight, some are getting fit, some are trying to get lean, some are looking for that six pack and some are trying to do it all. If you fall into one or all of these categories then there is a way to achieve your goals and it doesn't come from a quick fix or a cabbage soup diet. In order to make things happen in your life, you need to make the decision that you are ready and willing for that change. Change is scary, it takes us out of our comfort zones and it brings us to a place where we feel vulnerable and sometimes out of control. But in order to be successful in areas of our life that we might need to tweak or change then we must go to this place, this scary place.
When we get comfortable, our bodies know, it remembers, and then that comfort level of training will no longer work for us. We often hear trainers saying "leave your comfort zone" and if you want to get into the shape you want then you will have to leave your comfort zone many many times. I leave mine daily, pushing with another few reps, more weight, or trying to master the difficulty of that handstand. I practice my handstand skills every single day - doing the boring hamstring stretches, kicking, putting myself upside down to get used to the position.
On Wednesdays I go to gymnastics. I don't enjoy it - I feel deflated as I am not good at it, but I go because in the few weeks I have been going I have seen weekly improvements in my flexibility and in my very limited gymnastic abilities! Every week I feel awkward in my body and every week I wish I was 4'1 and from China! But since I leave my comfort zone every week, I not only feel my body getting stronger but my confidence and my mind, I feel every time something makes more sense there, I am improving my overall self.
I know women that every couple of months start on the weight loss journey; they follow the same route each time. Normally a slimming group and walking - and whilst this may have worked the first time round, the body now knows what to expect and therefore you will lose a few pounds and get back outdoors for a few weeks but then it starts getting colder, the rain comes and the food temptations start creeping in. This is just routine and people love routine but unfortunately this routine of weight loss and gain will continue forever unless a change is made now. It is time to leave the comfort zone here and embrace a totally different approach to food and to training. Leave the diets at the door, stop calorie counting and eat real food, ditch the sugar and fall in love with water.
Your mindset is the one thing that you need to change in order to be successful and achieving your goals, so if for 2015 you want to be slimmer, fitter leaner, stronger, happier then it is from within yourself that you can achieve this.
Take a leap of faith, join a class that you would never do, try Yoga, Pilates, a running group, embrace weights - the first step will be scary but I will guarantee it will be worth it. If you want to achieve your goals this year then do as you have NEVER done before and take a chance.
