TOWARDS the end of the year, buffet tables are filled with long lines, with significantly less warm bodies in the gym. It’s a cycle we all know too well. Endless feasting in December, then we resolve to lose it all and get in shape starting January. Or do we really?
New year, new fragrant possibilities. Three hundred and sixty-five days have passed and we look forward to improving ourselves in the coming year as the Earth prepares to fully orbit the sun anew.
Here are some tips on how to make sure we achieve our fitness goals and make ourselves our fittest best in 2019.
Follow a system—Achieving success means finding out the right process that will get us to our respective fitness destinations. It’s not enough that we go to the gym or exercise whenever we want to. We have to trust and follow a process that works. Grabbing a couple of dumbbells here and there, half-heartedly doing cardio whenever we want to is not going to cut it. Pick a system that will work for you, commit to it, and be consistent in order to see results.
Don’t listen to your excuses—We will always find a reason to slow down, take it easy or skip a workout altogether. Once you hear yourself whispering excuses to yourself, shut down that voice, slant your eyes, grit your teeth and soldier on. Commit to not making excuses and simply do your thing.
Get a workout buddy—Indeed, there is power in numbers. If you find that working out by your lonesome is ineffective and just leads to you abandoning ship later on, try finding a workout partner who can motivate you, and vice versa. Not showing up for a workout is harder when you know that someone’s waiting to sweat it out with you at the gym. Or better yet, join a fitness community where you can find like-minded individuals whose energy you can feed off as you burn fat and have fun at the same time.
No to starvation diets—Starving oneself to lose weight is so last century. Not only are starvation diets unhealthy as they deprive people of much-needed nutrients, but they can also lead to the loss of lean muscle mass. Skipping meals and eating ridiculously minute amounts of food is not the way to fitness. Instead, eat enough food to fuel your daily activities, but make sensible diet choices. A slight caloric deficit of about 500 calories a day will help us lose 1lb a week. That is a safe peace to lose weight. Slow and steady wins the race. As for diets that starve you to shed fat, simply ditch them.
Let us put the over-indulgence the past months behind us. Maybe we gained a few inches around our waists. But instead of whining about past follies, let’s get down to work, and come up with a plan.
Those excess calories easily turn to regret. Now let’s turn that regret into the chiseled bodies that we aspire for in 2019.
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