3 Fitness Things You Need To Stop Doing
If you are currently on a fitness journey, or considering embarking on one, know that making it a lifestyle will be the greatest thing you can do. The only way to achieve your desired results is by maintaining consistency.
Your motivation will fluctuate, as will your weight, strength, and mood throughout the journey. The important thing to note is that the only way to get to where you want to go is by pushing through regardless of these things.
To help you on your way, I will be breaking down fitness myths more often in my emails, and sharing training tips, fitness facts, and general guidance to support you. To get started, here are 3 things you need to stop doing:
1) Worrying about daily weight fluctuations.
Your weight will fluctuate most days. It means nothing. Your weight will fluctuate daily due to: digestion and whether or not you have been to the bathroom, the quantity and quality of food you have eaten the day(s) before, water intake, menstruation, exercise (if you have had a heavy weight session the day before, your muscles will likely hold some water), salt intake, alcohol consumption, sleep patterns, time of last meal the night before, travel (flying can cause water retention), bloating and so on.
Stop stressing over this. You did not get fat overnight! Pay attention to weight trends every 2-4 weeks instead. This is a more accurate way to track your weight and understand if your daily habits and lifestyle choices are helping or hindering your results.
2) Hiring a personal trainer to undo your unhealthy habits.
It is unrealistic to think that a trainer can undo everything you do when you are not in the gym or exercising. If you have hired or are thinking about hiring a personal trainer or a fitness coach to help you miraculously undo in 1-2 hourly sessions each week what you are doing the rest of the 166 hours of each week, then I urge you to rethink that.
Let me paint a picture of a typical ‘city client’ as an example. You wake up early, skip breakfast and have a training session in the morning with your personal trainer. You train hard and complete a solid workout. Then you leave and head to work where you proceed to sit or stay mostly sedentary for say 6-8 hours. You grab some snacks throughout the day because your energy starts to drop. You consume 3-4 cups of coffee throughout the day as a pick-me-up. You start to feel very hungry because you have not consumed sufficient protein at breakfast or lunch. You grab sugary snacks for energy and eat lunch at your desk. You then go home without getting in many steps that day. You might have a glass of wine to unwind after a stressful or long day. You might order a takeaway because you are too tired or lack the energy to cook. Perhaps you skipped meal preparation time over the weekend so do not have anything to eat so opt for something potentially high in fats, salts, and calories. You spend the evening mostly sedentary, watching television and scrolling on your phone until you are tired. You grab a late-night sugary snack because you are still feeling hungry due to a low protein intake that day. You go to bed late having skipped any form of off-screen relaxation. You are also potentially dehydrated from not getting in 2-3 litres of water that day. You wake up after a poor night of sleep, feeling groggy and potentially low in energy or mood. The cycle continues the next day. Except for this time, you have a late-night client event. You consume 3-4 alcoholic drinks and grab a last-minute takeaway or sugary snack on the way home. You skipped any form of exercise or stretching that day and potentially have another poor night’s sleep. You wake up hoping your personal trainer can ‘fix’ you or ‘undo’ the ‘damage’ from the night before.
Can you see where I am going with this? Does this sound familiar?
It is a never-ending cycle of taking 2 steps forward, and then 2 steps back. The end result is that you are going nowhere and wasting time and money. You are not actually progressing. You keep hoping and wishing that the workouts will help you and that your trainer will change you. This thinking is flawed. Your trainer cannot save you. Only you can do that.
You must change your mindset and daily habits to achieve results. There is no magical fitness plan, HIIT class, or workout that will help you lose fat. Instead, focus on improving your daily habits and behaviours to see and sustain results. Hire a trainer or a coach to help design a personalised strength and fitness program for you, and follow it alongside a tailored nutrition plan or balanced diet. Do these things consistently and you will see results.
Remember, to see a change, you must make a change. To achieve your desired outcome, change your daily habits. This is when the real magic happens.
3) Winging it and expecting results.
Unless you are consistent it is not going to happen. If you want to look and feel your best and finally break the cycle of losing weight, then gaining weight, then losing it again, just to put it all back on (again), follow a personalised fitness and training program to see results. Set clear goals. Set a plan of action as to how you are going to achieve your results and hold yourself accountable.
Your goals will start to become realistic, achievable, and sustainable when you start prioritising your fitness health as a long-term lifestyle, versus a short-term fix or fad.
If you are unsure of where to start, how to train, or what to eat to support your efforts and goals, hire a coach. Follow a program with accountability and clear goals, to level up your mindset and keep you on track.
You cannot just walk into a gym, do a few bicep curls, squats, and ab crunches with no clear structure, plan, frequency, or overload, and expect to achieve weight loss or strength gains. Throw in exercise inconsistency, an unhealthy diet, lack of protein, limited sleep, and a sedentary lifestyle, and expect to lose those stubborn pounds.
Similarly, if you have a fat loss goal, you cannot just wake up and ‘wing it’ nutrition-wise. If you want to lose fat, you have to understand the impact that your food choices will have on your body composition (the way you look) and the scales over time. For example, you decide to skip breakfast. Mid-morning the hunger pains creep in, but you are stuck at work with limited options to eat. You grab a ‘few’ biscuits because you have not packed a protein bar or prepared a healthy snack or shake. Lunchtime arrives, and you consume a high-calorie sandwich laden with butter and salt, then grab a ‘few’ squares of chocolate afterward because you are still hungry. The afternoon arrives and you grab a ‘few’ sugary sweets or perhaps tuck into a packet of nuts. You have no plan for dinner that evening, so decide to grab something from the supermarket on the way home. You are not sure how much protein, carbohydrate, or fats you are supposed to consume, or have already consumed that day, so you opt for a meal that you feel like at that moment. There is a chance that this might be a healthy option, but there is also a risk that is a meal low in nutritional value, which will only close the gap on any calorie deficit you have tried to create in the day and hinder your progress.
If you are someone who is looking to lose weight and reduce body fat, these daily habits and last-minute random and sporadic food and lifestyle choices can start to get in the way of any progress being made in the gym or with a trainer. The same applies to walking into a gym with no plan. You have to know why you are doing what you are doing and follow a plan to achieve the best results.
Remember, fitness is a lifestyle. It is not something you can just dip in and out of when you ‘feel’ like it and expect results. If you want to be successful in your fitness journey, you have to be prepared to make sacrifices, plan ahead, and limit or remove obstacles that might delay the process or get in your way.
Do these things consistently, and you will never look back.
If you are someone who is always on the go, plan ahead. Fill up your fruit bowl, put food into the fridge so you have something healthy and filling to eat when you get home late, and carry a water bottle so you are more likely to stay hydrated.
Do not rely on wishful thinking and motivation to achieve your goals. Neither one is reliable. Instead, focus on consistency to be successful. Small changes to your daily habits will have big results over time.
Need my help? Join my online coaching club or sign up for my personal training and learn how to get into shape and stay in shape.
