9. Things fell apart over Christmas – so lets get back on track  

Christmas is over and I am sure most of us had a lazy holiday. I certainly did. I had intended to do some fitness every day but the more I relaxed, the less motivated I was to do anything. Today is the first day back at work for most of us and it is time to get motivated.

First take a stock of last year. Did you achieve what you wanted to achieve? What did you really enjoy doing and what did you hate? Let’s specifically apply this to fitness and health.

One of my aims last year was to exercise 4-5 times per week, which I managed most weeks but failed terribly at over the holidays. And how do I feel now after almost two weeks off? I feel mentally very relaxed but physically I feel a wreck. When I stand up I feel like an old woman – all of my body feels totally stiff. I have very little energy and almost no motivation to do anything. I have spent most of the last two days sitting on the sofa. And I know my kids feel the same. We had a ski session on Saturday and all of us stopped before the time was up – whereas two weeks ago the kids did not want to come off and did almost double the time they did this Saturday. So it is not just me who is feeling lethargic. How are you feeling?

The solution is easy – get ourselves motivated and regain our exercise regime. And if you were not exercising last year – this is the week to start.   What exercise are you going to do? Why not try something new? Ski-ing, trampolining, basketball, table tennis, football, rugby, hockey, swimming, diving, archery, fencing, walking, hill walking, running. I could go on. Check out your local sports centre or google the sport you are interested in. Chances are there is a local event near to you. What about setting yourself a challenge – to do your activity at least once a week, take part in a race (check out park runs) or join a team.

If you got an exercise tracker for Christmas – make sure you connect with friends so you get motivated to keep up with others. I bought a fitbit many months ago but have not been wearing it recently. But now I have more friends with one, I am going to keep it on so we can motivate each other to exercise. If you have one – let me know and we can join up.

And what about food and alcohol? You probably did too much of both. Many people are giving up alcohol for January – you can do this for charity which will help motivate you. But also think about how many units and calories are in each glass you drink and definitely aim to keep yourself in the recommended weekly allowance. It is no more than 2-3 units of alcohol per day and 14 units per week, with a few alcohol free days each week. One glass of wine contains 2.3 units of alcohol, which means there are about 10 units in a bottle of wine. Are you drinking more than that? There are a few web sites that will help you think about your alcohol intake – try http://www.alcoholconcern.org.uk/ or find one specific to the country you live in.

And food – if you have been reading my blog you will know that this has been my ongoing issue my whole life. In the last two weeks I have totally lost it – eating way too much. I am not going to try any crazy diet as I have done so many of those before and they give me a short fix. I am going to try and monitor my calorie intake using my exercise tracker. It has a very user friendly food diary. I have written about this in my previous blogs so I will not go on about this here but just to say that today is the day. I have to get back on track with my relationship with food.

So let’s get motivated. I would love to hear from you – we can help each other. Emotional support is a key part of exercise and food management. It is great to know that there are others out there who are also on your journey. So please let me know how you are feeling and if we can support each other. Bring it on 2016…..

Image credit:  sashacarrion.com