Dec
Eddy's Blog
Strategies to Assist with Your Health and Fitness Goals in 2020
So the festive season is upon us yet again!
If you’re thinking is similar to mine, then the year has once again flown by, and you either have or have not achieved your personal health, wellbeing and fitness goals.
If you have, then kudos to you; you deserve to be grateful and thankful for the discipline, focus and energy you’ve put towards getting to where you are now. If you haven’t achieved this year’s goals, you also should, in my opinion, be grateful and thankful for making it through another year with yet another opportunity to start afresh and get the ball rolling.
It’s never, ever too late. Ever!!
Whether you have or haven’t reached your fitness target is not as important to most as what lies ahead.
Starting afresh, for those who really have finally conjured up the desire to make a change and get stuff done, can be just as exciting and challenging as it is for those who have already achieved their goals, are maintaining their current status quo or those entering a re-assessment phase where new goals are being set.
I’m going to give you 3 simple strategies to help you along the way, irrelevant of what stage you’re at. These strategies work for everyone at any age!
1. Change the Way You look at Your Goals
For a fresh start, or simply setting new goals for those who have already succeeded, it’s important you change your mindset and your habits.
If your mindset and habits have not served you well previously, then this is unlikely to change when progressing forward. Some things to consider:
- Get into regular sleep patterns, including weekends.
- Change at least one meal a day to fit into and help progress your goals.
- Re-assess the time of day you exercise and/or re-assess the type of exercise you’re doing.
None of these are overly difficult to do, and for those who are serious, it’s downright simple.
How much do you really want this, how much do you care and how important is quality of life and life in general to you?
Hard hitting questions for most of us…but honest, blunt and realistic, wouldn’t you say?
2. Consider Fasting
Fasting can be, and often is, one of the healthiest dogmatic and pragmatic choices you can make.
Fasting may only be considered dangerous for those with health ailments that may create further complications if they do fast.
However, that’s only a very small percentage of the population. For the remaining majority fasting is one of the healthiest principles you can activate and has super benefits that range far beyond body transformation.
These benefits include:
- Increased cognitive function
- Increased energy
- Increased productivity
- Decreased inflammation
- Lower insulin levels
- Cleansing of your physical being
Fasting for periods of time, consistently, inconsistently, intermittently or just whenever you feel like it, has positive effects all round and also leads to discipline in the way you view food and your relationship with food.
Whether you fast for a day or part of a day, just remember to stay well hydrated.
3. Go as Hard as You Like or Simply Dull it Down a Notch.
For most individuals, goal setting has two switches; an on switch and an off switch.
Whilst its admirable working alongside those that take focus to the ‘next level’, it doesn’t have to be that way and my experiences have shown me that being over-zealous can, and often does, lead to disaster.
Don’t get me wrong; it takes discipline, determination and focus to achieve anything you set your mind to, but there always has to be balance of some sort. Those who know me personally often ask me how I adhere so strictly to my food and exercise regime.
The short answer is, I don’t…well not always.
It’s a simple fact that it’s what you do most of the time that matters, and not just some of the time.
The 80/20 rule applies here so it’s what you do with your lifestyle choices 80% of the time that makes a difference.
The other 20% for the most part makes little difference. So, when it’s time to take a break, eat foods that are not highly nutritious, have a late night, attend a function etc. I suggest you go for it, enjoy it and don’t look back!!
If those things are important to you, they will add to the joy of the journey and the end result.
Steady progress is of greater value to most than extreme, rapid or extraordinary progress as the latter can for many, contain deleterious side effects.
Everything we do is as a result of our own thoughts, actions and perceptions. If you think it’s difficult, chances are it will be.
If you learn to pursue activities you enjoy, then chances are those activities will be of great value with positive consequence.
There is no magic pill, however…you yourself are the ‘magic pill’.
Changing the way you think about and tackle your fitness, wellbeing and health goals is simpler than most imagine.
Change can at times be difficult for some, however, subtle and basic changes or rearrangements can be enjoyable, easy and incredibly effective.
