Managing the January madness…

By January 19, 2017Client

To finish off the series of new year blogs, I got chatting to Claire Hougham earlier this week about getting stuck in the January cycle and she had a very sensible approach to it all that I wanted to share.

Claire is one of those crazy types who regularly dashes off at the weekend to run a marathon or an Ultra marathon. She’ll be joining the team at All Change fairly soon to work with clients who want to focus on running, so whether you’re a seasoned runner looking to get faster or run longer distances, or you’re new to running and want some help getting started then Claire is going to be able to help! She’s also available to give a little advice on better nutrition.

We’ll make sure we give her the introduction she deserves when she joins the team (so excited!), but for now, here are her thoughts on finding balance in January when all your instincts tell you to do everything differently to how you did them in an overindulgent December! Enjoy!

January, being the first month of a New Year, is usually the time we all resolve to eat healthier, drink less and get fitter.  We’re now halfway into the month and, if you’re anything like me, that resolve may be waning ever so slightly.

It’s amazing how quickly habits, good or bad, are formed.  It’s like they sneak up on you when you’re not looking.  My January food resolution was to cut back on mindless snacking and mid-afternoon trips to the office vending machine in particular.

As someone who has struggled all their life with their weight, I have had a go at most diets.  For me, I’ve found it’s the small changes that become habits, that have made all the difference.

If you’re trying to lose a few pounds it’s important to remember that you didn’t just wake up one day and there they were.  Weight gain tends to happen slowly, a pound here and a pound there.  We all know how difficult it can be to lose weight, so why do all we expect those pounds to fall off overnight?  Small steps will add up to big success but you need to be in for the long haul.

Having said that a bit of what you fancy can do you good.  This is about everything in moderation, including moderation.  If you deny yourself a particular item of food it won’t be too long before all you can think about is that particular thing.  Trust me on this one, having fallen head first into many a bag of giant chocolate buttons.  Much better to take a balanced approach and allow yourself a small amount of whatever your guilty pleasure is.  Make it a real treat one day a week and not an everyday occurrence.

At the end of the day, it’s important to be kind to yourself and remember we’re all only human.  If you have a bad day or two, so what, pick yourself up and get back on it.  Don’t let those bad days ruin all the good work you’ve done.  You’ve got this.

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