Need a dose of motivation? The Happiness Personal Trainer Mollie Millington offers her expert tips on living your best, healthiest life!
By Mollie Millington
Trying (and failing) to achieve your health and fitness goals? We speak to the Happiness Personal Trainer Mollie Millington about healthy habits, effective weight loss and investing in yourself.
It’s the time of year when the world falls in the resolution mind set. Best intentions are laid but unfortunately, many of us will not be able to achieve our goals. Why is that? We set our sights too high because we don’t have the knowledge we need, nor do we have the support.
Common goals you hear around the office are to lose weight and become fitter. Here are my top tips on being happy and healthy in 2019:
✔️ Sleep more: When you are well-rested, you will have fewer cravings for sugary food. Your body signals that it needs additional calories to fuel itself when it is tired. Sleep is also the time when the body repairs itself from exercise. If you are starting a new exercise routine, you may find you are still exhausted when you wake up and want to give up. We often sacrifice sleep when we are busy because we feel we need to stay up and get things done. Tiredness reduces your ability to concentrate, so it might take you longer to complete tasks at work and home.
✔️ Count calories: Time to get back to basics and re-educate yourself on food nutrition. I have been tracking my calories for over a year now using My Fitness Pal, aiming for 2000 per day. This will vary per person. I am amazed at how much I can eat (easily 5000 calories/day even when I don’t exercise). I weigh out all of my portions when eating at home and read food labels when on the go, which has made me much more aware of what I am consuming. I have learned I would much rather have dessert than an alcoholic beverage in terms of additional calories. Hold yourself accountable by having a buddy you check in with once a week.
✔️ Choose a realistic goal: Having curves or a slight belly isn’t a bad thing. It might be your genes dictating what you look like or it might be something else out of your control. The important thing is that you feel healthy and can easily move your body. Dropping a lot of weight can be hard due to metabolic changes as you age and certain life experiences (such as child birth). When setting your target, you need to factor in life. Do you want to pass up opportunities to go out with friends and family and enjoy a great meal with plenty of banter on the side? Do you have time to spend all day Sunday preparing meals for the week? Speak to your doctor to obtain advice on what weight is recommended and how long it should take to get you there.
✔️ Start by moving more: Take the team outside for a walk instead of sitting in the boardroom. Get off the train one stop earlier and walk home. Walk the dog rather than let him/her out in the garden. Aim to add 500 extra steps a day to your target each month as 2019 progresses.
✔️ Make new family routines that include spending active time outdoors: Whether it is a group bike ride on Sunday morning or a walk in the park after dinner during the week, encouraging the family to more move and interact with each other (rather than with electronic devices) will benefit everyone.
✔️ Try something new: New fitness class, new food, new style of clothes. A gentle step outside your comfort zone will possibly help you find something that brings you joy. And if it is fun, you will want to do it again! Have you ever wanted to try fencing, bowling, swing dancing, wild swimming, or tennis? Now is the time! There are many options for online programmes you can follow from home if you have responsibilities that keep you in the house. Be sure to stick to the schedule and make it a priority.
✔️ Work with a dietitian or personal trainer: Resist the urge to online shop and over-consume. Instead, use that money by hiring a professional to help you. If weight lossand being physically fit were easy, everyone would be able to do it on their own. Sometimes you will need a cheerleader and sometimes you will need tough love. A professional will have the knowledge and tools to help you achieve, as long as you follow their guidance.
✔️ Learn not to over-commit: Even at the age of forty, I am still working on this one! We live in a culture of ‘yes’ and FOMO which leaves little time to relax or spend time doing the things we enjoy. Instead, we are constantly running around, checking things off of our to-do list and overfilling our diaries. Avoid the constant stress and worry by eliminating things. It can be one less after-school activity for the kids, limiting the number of parties you attend a month, or hiring help with cleaning or grocery shopping. Several small changes will soon add up and release you mentally and emotionally.
✔️ Stick to three goals: Remember when setting goals, have a maximum of three at a time to ensure you can focus on them. Even if you follow only one or two of the tips above for a few months, you will start to feel and see a change, whether it is in your energy levels, interactions with others, or how your clothes fit. I wish you the best of luck for achieving your dreams in 2019. It is time to get started.