fitness

New Year, New You!

I think most of us are guilty of setting a New Year’s Resolution to eat healthier, maybe lose some weight. Quite often forgotten about within just a few weeks.

After the Christmas celebrations I think most of us are wearing a few extra pounds (or stones!!!). Each year in January, I’m on a mission to lose some of that extra weight… ‘I would just like to lose this extra stone’ (sound familiar?)!

Last January I wanted to lose that extra bit of weight and set myself a super strict low carb diet, not only that I started at the gym too. After just a couple of months of such a restrictive diet I started to cheat more and more. Over the course of the past year, I never lost that extra stone but I did work hard at the gym and tried half heartedly with eating right. My downfall is that I like to eat socially… a lot! I love nothing more than an afternoon tea with my family or a huge yummy roast at the weekend!

My weight

My weight stayed the same over the course of the year, fluctuated by a few pounds but on the whole remained pretty level. What did happen was my body shape completely changed. I developed muscle and toned and shaped my body. With muscle weighing more than fat, there was no surprise there was no change on the scales, so I tried not to get disheartened by the scales and kept going. I actually started to like what I saw in the mirror and stopped giving myself such a hard time.

What I discovered during this time was much more important… I finally realised after all these years, it wasn’t losing that stone that would make me happy… it was about finding my confidence again. No I didn’t weigh what I did when I was 25 but I was working hard at the gym and getting happier and falling back in love with my body. The number on the scales stopped mattering and instead I took photos to see my progress. This time last year I carried more weight around my bottom, waist, upper thighs and back. This year however I weigh the same but I now have a waist, a really strong core, my bottom has lifted and I’ve shed a load of back fat… I also stopped judging myself so harshly and started concentrating on what actually makes me happy.

I’ve come to realise that no one actually cares what you weigh, it’s actually all down to how you see your self. Quite often that pressure comes from you. You have to learn to not only like but love yourself and actually the only opinion that should matter about how you look should be yours, not that of a family member or old school friend! You need to stop judging yourself so harshly and be kinder to yourself.

My New Year’s Resolution

This year I’m continuing with all my hard work at the gym, building my confidence and trying to target those areas I’m still less than happy with… for me it’s my arms. I go to a David Lloyd gym and find there are a huge range of classes which means I can be flexible with my training. I like to challenge myself and try new classes and keep things fresh. I also take my daughter and she absolutely loves going to the DL kids club there. The children’s timetable is brilliant with so much for them to do and keep them active. To read more about why we love training as a family see here.

Mental Health

Over the last year I also discovered that I need to put at lot more effort not into my physical health but also my mental health. People can be so busy with their lives that their own mental health can be way down on their list of priorities. I had a particularly stressful time last year and I neglected my own mental health. The stresses of daily life took their toll. It made me realise just how important it is to look after yourself mentally as well as physically. At the gym I now book classes that are just as great for your mind as they are your body. David Lloyd recognise this and offer so many great holistic classes. I always look forward to relaxing on a matt at the end of a Body Balance class, lying in the dimly lit studio concentrating on my breathing and forgetting about whether I’ve loaded the dishwasher or if Eden has clean uniform for the following day. I’ve really found classes like that are helping me to deal with my stress and anxiety.

Declutter

As part of my New Year’s resolution for 2018 I need to tackle my clutter! I think it’s important to break down big tasks into more manageable chunks to avoid being overwhelmed. My desk at home is almost always a mess and I constantly mean to go through and declutter my wardrobe… each time I look at them my heart sinks as it seems such a huge task. I’ve now started to take the pressure off and set myself a target of 30 mins a day. I set myself a timer and tackle a bit at a time instead of spending a whole day doing it. This gives me peace of mind, I feel like I can ‘cope’ and don’t feel so overwhelmed by it all. I really wish (and so does my husband) that I were a ‘super tidy neat freak’ and that it came more naturally to me… but sadly not!

This year… I will succeed!

So this year, I’m not setting myself an unrealistic challenge of losing a stone in a month. I’m eating healthy but if I want a cake at the weekend or ice cream at the cinema I’m going to allow myself that treat. I’m concentrating on working hard on the inside as well as the outside. I want to be strong and healthy not skinny. This year I’m going to do what makes me happy and going to the gym really does (I never ever thought I would say that!!!). I’m going to tackle my house and declutter where I need to and I’m going to make time for me! Most importantly I am going to continue making happy memories with what is most important to me… my family.

Look after yourselves… get healthy but in a safe way, make good food swaps, don’t deny yourself something you truly love, forget unrealistic goals, ditch the fad diets, try out a new class and learn to love yourself in 2018!!!

Thank you for reading ‘New Year’s Resolution, how to succeed!’

Working in collaboration with David Lloyd Gyms. All thoughts and opinions are completely my own.