Where on earth did 2017 go? As two weeks of 2018 come to an end, your motivation to keep your New Year’s resolution might be dwindling as well....
health
Where on earth did 2017 go? As two weeks of 2018 come to an end, your motivation to keep your New Year’s resolution might be dwindling as well. However, if fitness and health is your goal, there are several things you can do to stay on track. Getting fit and eating healthy should be considered a long-term commitment, instead of a quick fix solution. 2018 could be your year of achieving this goal. Read on for our favourite top fitness tips and diet trends which we have lovingly complied for our readers...
Don’t just set a goal, set a smart goal: The easiest way to stay motivated is by having concrete goals. Vague ones like wanting to ‘look better’ or ‘be healthier’ lead to vague workouts. Set realistic health and fitness goals. Keep them simple! Getting into a morning exercise routine - that’s not too strenuous - will set you up well for the day and keep you going throughout the year. Once you have your goal, the next step is to plan out how you’ll achieve it.
Plan, plan, plan: Getting in shape and working towards a healthier version of you takes planning and preparations. You have to make time for fitness because fitness will never make time for you. If you keep telling yourself that you’ll squeeze a workout in when you get the chance, it’s not going to happen. Whether it’s hitting the treadmill, or heading to yoga, committing to a schedule will help you build healthy habits into your lifestyle.
Find a fitness regime: Working out is another important tip for losing weight and staying healthy. There are a number of fitness routines that can help with this, but finding the right one that works for your physique is important. If high intensity interval trainings (HIIT) workouts is not your thing, a simple bike ride, Pilates or yoga class at a local gym still counts as a workout!
Get a support system: Finding a workout/fitness buddy can be a great way to stay motivated in achieving your goal. Just make sure to find a buddy that has the same agenda, and can HELP instead of hurt. Nothing damages a successful week of meal prepping then a deep dish pizza brought over on the weekend, by a friend that knows you’re trying to lose weight.
Use You Tube for free fitness tips: YouTube is filled with free exercise programmes, including yoga, aerobics and even boot-camp style workouts. While it might be hard to copy exercises from books and manuals, it is much easier to get them right if you can watch them on a screen.
Use your phones, they are not just for selfies: Forget Pokemon, your phone can actually help you get fit for free. You’ll find apps that provide step-by-step instructions - just like an expensive trainer - for little or no cost. From strength training and yoga to running and more, you’ll find a great workout partner to complement your exercise goals. Our favourites include the Zombies Run! App - highly motivational. Other good apps include MyFitnessPal , which helps you track your calorie intake and exercise, and Fitocracy , which helps you fit workouts into your life and remain motivated.
Clean out the pantry:
This might seem like an easy tip to do, but it’s an important one. Cleaning out the pantry of all junk foods like chips, and cookies is a must. Starting off with baby steps - switching out soda to sparkling water; add a bowl of fresh fruits and veggies to the fridge etc. Placing a fruit basket fill with pears, apples and bananas in the middle of a table is a better option than a bag of chips. This is probably the best tip to achieving a healthy physique for 2018.
Keto craze: A low-carb, high-fat diet might just be the secret to dropping pounds - fast. The Keto diet, also called ketogenic, is a diet that all but eliminates carbs. When your body doesn’t use carbs for fuel, it creates ketones, which help your body process, its own fat for energy instead. The good news? You can eat as much cheese as you want. The bad news? Some followers find the diet hard to stick to in the long-term.
Intermittent fasting: One of the biggest diet trends is not a diet at all. It’s a timer. Intermittent fasting (sometimes called IF) is a weight loss strategy that involves squeezing in all your day’s calories in a short amount of time. The most popular way to go about it is with the 16:8 diet -16 hours of fasting followed by 8 hours of eating. Giving your body a fasting period is said to regular insulin and blood sugar for a healthier overall body fat percentage.
Squat like a three-year-old: Do you think when young children sit in squats, that they’re exercising? In fact, the squat is the innate resting position for the human being. Unfortunately at around the age of four, you were introduced to a new resting position - the chair. One of the unfortunate consequences of this is that we lose our ability to sit in a squat. The squat not only keeps our hips flexible but also lines up our digestive system for bowel movements. One of the best things you can do to make certain you’re not getting your hips replaced in a few years is to get your squat back. This requires spending three minutes a day sitting in the squat position. Heels must be in contact with the floor, feet facing forwards and your knees should be wider apart than your feet. Also, it’s easier with a wedge under your heels so you can start in heels and work your way down to bare feet.
Be organised: Don’t be afraid to write things down though! Nothing feels better than crossing off a task as completed at the end of the day. Even getting a monthly calendar that hangs on the fridge, or using a phone calendar are great tools to use. Actively keeping track of your fitness journey with weekly pictures will not only add motivation, but it’s a great way to see progress!
