How’s It Going?

We’re now well into 2015 so how are all those New Year Resolutions going for you? If the “New Year, New Me” hasn’t gone according to plan, don’t worry about it, because you’re not alone.

Gyms tend to be packed for the 1st couple of weeks in January before a steady decline in numbers means that the “Regulars” can have their favourite machines and benches all to themselves again.

It’s also around this time that “diets” are abandoned and the old familiar comfort food is welcomed back to the cupboards.

So why are these predictable scenes played out every year? I have my own theories on it and I want to suggest a few ways that can help you get back on track (if you really want to!)

When my wife and I started our business in 2008, we thought long and hard about a name that would actually mean something to us, and would also let potential clients know what we were about.

I had worked with hundreds of clients in other gyms for the previous 6 years, and had noticed that many of them got great results while others didn’t get anything like the level of success that would have been expected.

Although physiological reasons like under-active thyroid or digestive system issues will definitely have a negative effect on fat/weight loss, these items were not an issue for the vast majority of the people who did not reach their goals.

In most cases, their mental/psychological preparation and conditioning did not match their physical effort and so, they were effectively doomed to failure. Body & Mind Fitness seemed like a good name for our business, because we wanted to convey the idea that in order to reach your physical potential or ideal, a certain amount of mental effort was also required.

Mental strength tends to be a little misunderstood and not many people realize that it can be trained and developed in much the same way as physical/muscular strength. The following tips can be applied to your health and fitness plan but will work equally well for all areas of your life.

1. Focus On The Process Not The Goal
It’s a well-worn cliché that life is a journey and not a destination but it bears repeating in this case. Although it is very important to have, and to be aware of, a well-defined and specific goal, it is also very important to have a series of action steps that will help you to reach it. Constant focus on this ultimate result can lead to impatience and frustration, especially when progress seems to be slow. It’s far more useful to focus attention on mastering the habits that will lead to the goal.

In the case of fitness or fat loss, these habits would include regular training, better quality food as well as better sleep and stress management. By improving your performance in each of these areas, you’ll find that the goal takes care of itself.

2. Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable
In order to improve your body shape you will have to sweat, experience muscle soreness and cut back on junk food and drink. But this is just part of the process that will leave you healthier, stronger, fitter, more energetic and looking great. Think of it as if you were re-decorating your house. While the decoration is going on, the place is a mess, you can’t find anything, and you’re tired and frustrated. But once the job is finished, you forget the temporary discomfort because the result was worth the effort!

3. Think Feedback Not Failure
When you have your well-defined goal and have put together your action steps, it is a good idea to measure your results on a weekly basis. Remember that each of these steps should be taking you closer to your goal. On a fat-loss plan you will usually see weekly drops in body fat % of somewhere between .5 and 1%, your clothes will start to feel a little bit looser, and your scale weight will also drop to some extent.

If none of these are happening, it is not a sign that you have failed. It simply means that your current plan isn’t working, and you’ll have to change it in some way. Eat Less and Move More is usually a good place to start!

Put these 3 tips into action and you’ll have a much better chance of reaching whatever target you set for yourself at the start of the year.