MOTIVATION by Karen Ansell

Make a plan and have a vision, perhaps you want to drop a dress size, or be able to jog for 30 minutes. Commit your plan to paper and continually envision your goal physique in your mind.

Make a written promise to yourself stating that you will give 110 %, and you will not make excuses, and will not give up.

Become selfish, this all about you. Your friends will get over it if you choose to not go to the pub on Friday night or out to dinner, If others are holding you back, it is time to become selfish and put yourself first.

If you start making excuses, then you haven’t made a total commitment. Pay close attention and have a contingency plan for emergencies, like calling your trainer, or gym buddy.

Forget that pizza and cheesecake even exist. Don’t waste energy wanting, looking at, or thinking about food that is not a part of your plan. Be prepared to make some sacrifices and be amazed at what you can achieve.

Find a good support network, rid yourself of negative friends, family and work colleagues just waiting for an opportunity to bring you down. Keep positive support from other gym goers, trainers etc.

Believe in yourself and banish negative talk.

Understand that you will have bad days, be strong and use your motivational tools and know that when you wake up tomorrow your will feel like a different person.

Switch things up: change the way you train often, try circuit training one day, aerobics the next, weight session next, swimming, cycling, swap and change, keep it alive.

Sign up for a race or competition, challenge of some kind. Having a deadline to stick to gives more meaning to your workouts.

Write a contract for yourself, naming your goals, clothes you will be wearing, paste pictures of body types you admire and aspire to look like etc.

Put pictures on your fridge, and a huge goal page on it also, so every time you go to the fridge, you will have a reminder of this to keep you on track

Reward yourself with a massage or facial, trip to a spa etc, hairdresser. (not food). You deserve it, you have been working hard.

Take your measurements every couple of months rather than weighing yourself often, give you a clear place of where you are at.

Do the exercise you hate the most first of all in your program, that way it is done, and you can stay motivated for the rest of your plan.

Start a fitness network group, and keep each other in check, ie. Text when feeling low and needing support.

Be practical with your goals, don’t set unrealistic goals

Understand you will make mistakes, aim for perfection but don’t expect it! If you make a mistake put it to the back of your mind, get right back on track and there will be minimal damage done!!!

Lastly, be consistent and patient, practice consistency and patience. The number one reason people fail in their attempts to lose weight, is that they simply give up too soon. You cannot change your body overnight, but be consistent, give it a good 12 weeks....110%

and remember...

You will get out what you put in.