What I've learnt

I've just about been in to this whole fitness thing for over a year now, and as I explained in a recent post, I thought I would be well on my way to a brand new body by now. The truth is, you can't just wake up one day and decide to change your life and start exercising with an end goal in mind with no real knowledge of what the hell you're actually doing! (Maybe you can, in which case congrats, but it didn't work for me.) The past 14 months has been a journey of discovery and learning, breaking habits, and realising I shouldn't believe everything I read on the internet(!) That's not to say I now know everything there is to know, no way, not even close. I will never stop learning, but that's what I enjoy so much!

Here's a few things I've learnt throughout my journey so far, which will hopefully help others too!

1. Set realistic goals

This is an important point to make and is something that everyone should consider at first. In order to make changes, you need to start small. Setting yourself an end goal which is inevitably going to be too difficult to reach, will more often than not result in failure, which can be disheartening and you'll probably beat yourself up about it, adding to your discontent. Instead, set simple, easily attainable goals, no matter how small, and go for it. Achieving these will build your self esteem and set you up with a positive mindset.

So to put that into a bit of context, if you jump straight in the deep end with the mindset that you want 6-pack abs in time for your summer holiday in 6 months time, then I'm sorry, speaking from experience, it ain't gonna happen, and you will feel let down. A better starting goal would be to aim to get a workout in at least twice a week consistently for the next month. When you've achieved that, set yourself another!

2. Don't over complicate your diet

I must have tried, or at least researched, a million different diets in my lifetime. I've gotten myself in to a right old pickle reading the vast amounts of conflicting advice on nutrition and diet - to the point where I just wanted to throw my laptop out the window and cry into my tub of Ben & Jerry's. I could write a dissertation on this topic, but maybe that's for a future post...

What I've since learnt though, through trial and error and educating myself via the right platforms, is that it really doesn't have to be that complicated. Keep it simple, and more importantly, something you can stick to. There's definitely a balance to be achieved between what you should eat, and what works for you. There is no value in giving up foods you enjoy, or certain food groups because 'xyz' says so, if it isn't something you can commit to for the foreseeable future, there's no point. If it works for one person, it doesn't necessarily mean it will work for you. Yep life's hard.

3. Exercise for the right reasons

Everyone knows the importance of keeping active to maintain a fit and healthy body. However a healthy mind is also just as important, if not more so. What I mean by this is that it's not wise to unwillingly force yourself to go to the gym to grind away day in day out if it's not enjoyable for you. It will just make you miserable, and that's no way to live! Similarly, I've learnt to not look at exercise as a form of 'punishment' for your body after eating that extra slice of cake the day before. That will just make you start resenting the gym and eventually giving up.

For me, I can't stand long distance running (so boring - sorry runners!) so I don't put myself through that chore, but I happen to really enjoy other forms of cardio - like circuit training and kick boxing classes. More recently, I'm enjoying the challenging of resistance training and learning what my body is capable of. There are so many other ways to keep active and in shape; various team sports, dancing, gymnastics, yoga, martial arts... the list goes on. It's just finding one you enjoy enough to stick to and to make a part of your every day life.

Most importantly...

...I've learnt that change takes time. Be patient, love yourself and remember that any step in the right direction (no matter how small) is something to be proud of. We all have bad days - no one is perfect!