Here comes January!

That title is probably the most unimaginative one to date!!! The title is supposed to draw in your audience, yet I'd be surprised if there's half a dozen of you still reading this. And that's because I'm currently rather uninspired! You're probably thinking 'where is she going with this?' and quite rightly so. My point is that you're probably of a very similar mindset at the moment. So lets tackle this together.

My December started off great. Training was ace and I was making some nice steady progress. Diet was consistent and it was looking like a great place to transition into a cutting phase for my first competition of 2018. Cue the flu! I've never had the flu before and its safe to say it floored me in every way. I now know the difference between a bad cold and the flu! The first week of it I basically stayed in bed and lived on hot Ribena and buttered toast. (which is really tasty btw) My step count was less than 1000 per day which is a big bit shy of the usual 15,000 to 20,000 I effortlessly clock up. As my appetite picked up over Christmas I ventured on to chocolate and bacon rolls.......at least there was a marginal increase in protein.......washed down with prosecco. (again very tasty) I decided that yesterday I would venture back into the gym after 2 weeks off......low and behold I woke up full of the cold....still more pleasant than the flu mind you!

Here I am on 31st December, 13 weeks out of a show, chocked full of the cold, demotivated and uninspired, deliberating my next move! This got me thinking that if I feel like that, then I'm sure many of you do to. So lets put an action plan in place that will actually work.

1. Be realistic about where you're at. If you're recovering from illness your starting point will be very different than if you've just simply taken your foot off the gas and over indulged a little. If both apply to you (like they do me) then you really will need to take things slowly.

2. Get the basics right with your diet. Starving yourself will not help. Neither will procrastinating until the 15th of January when you've finished all the junk food in your cupboards.....and on the shelfs of your local supermarket! Focus on sticking to a sensible calorie goal with a good amount of protein. Swap chocolate for nutritiously dense carbohydrate sources and get that water intake up. Get some veggie soup on the go! Its all really simple stuff but will take a conscious effort to break the festive eating habits. Aim for an improvement every day.

3. Move more. There's an abundance of ways to do this and you don't need to do them all at once on day one! Ease yourself back in gently and work your way back to where you were at your best. This is a lifestyle remember, steady and consistent wins the race.

4. Stay off the scales. Unless you want to sabotage your progress with false unrepresentative results then don't do it. At this point you'll likely be watery as hell and have intestines full of junk food waiting to be expelled. What good is the number if it means shit......literally!

5. Don't fall for the quick fix sales pitches. They don't work! If you expect to loose 6lb a week then be fully prepared to be dieting for the rest of your life, completely miserable, and resultless. If it seems too good to be true then it most likely is! I've never met anyone who got sustainable fat loss results by doing anything other than moving more and eating less. The laws of thermodynamics are fact, so do yourself a favour and accept this. Scientists have spent generations proving this. I plan on being in my best shape to date this year and I'll do it the only way that works....hard work and consistency. If I thought I'd have a better chance at winning a comp by drinking this miracle potion or believing some money making brands outlandish claims, don't you think I would?

I practice what I preach and can assure you that I'll be taking my own advice. I intend to get the best results possible and I'll sustain them. So, if you want to look back and admire how far you've come, knowing that you can sustain it, do it with me.

For online coaching and personal training enquiries complete the contact section, or drop me an email at lyndsaygallacher@gmail.com. Happy new Year when it comes and let 2018 be your year.xxx