Many years of experience have taught me that, when it comes to health and fitness, February is a pretty good month to start. Or March – or April … !! But January? Gosh. It’s cold, it’s dark, and we don’t even have any parties or presents to look forward to. My main – and easily kept – resolution is to eat and drink my way through the misery.
But say you’re not jaded like me and you started the year with the best of intentions. Veganuary, Dry January, a new fitness regime, no more chocolate, like, EVER. How’s it going so far?
Sorry, what? I couldn’t understand you through that mouthful of pizza.
According to research from the University of Pennsylvania, a substantial 23% of resolution makers have fallen off whatever self-imposed wagon they jumped on when the year ticked over. After about 6 months, that number has grown still further, with only about 40% still on track.
Of course, gyms know that the general public is more susceptible to a deal on a membership at this good-intentioned time of year – that’s why they make it even more tempting with a ‘no joining fee’ or ‘buy 9 months, get 3 months free’ sweetener. The problem is, even cheap gym memberships are a waste of money if you don’t actually go to the gym – and research shows that £558 million is wasted each year on unused gym memberships in the UK alone.
So if a gym membership (not to mention all of the new gym kit you bought to ‘motivate’ you further ..) isn’t the secret to success, then what is?
Realistic and achievable goals are the key, of course. It’s all very well intending to hit the gym 4 times a week for an hour each time, but once you’ve factored in getting there, getting changed, showering afterwards and heading home – well, it’s a lot longer than an hour and it’s a fairly hefty chunk out of your day. No wonder we find it hard to maintain – and no wonder that more and more people are turning to at-home workouts for their fitness fix.
BodyBoss is well and truly on board with the fact that people – us – don’t have hours each day to commit to getting fitter, slimmer and stronger. Their approach is far more palatable: just 24 minutes, three times a week, with some light cardio incorporated into the rest of your week is all it takes to see recognisable results – in fact, a visible difference should be obvious within about two weeks. The 12-week programme is based on the BodyBoss Method, which is a particular combination of exercises – comprising bodyweight resistance, plyometrics (jumping, for the uninitiated), cardio and unilateral exercises. Performed together, these accelerate fat loss and improve fitness and tone – as well as creating an afterburn effect dubbed the #’Boss Effect, which will see your body torching calories and fat long after your workout is finished.
So is it effective? Obviously I can’t tell you as I won’t be starting any kind of fitness regime until January – all 31 dreary days of it – is well and truly over – but with 80% of previous users experiencing weight loss and 75% of these dropping more than one dress size, I’m even more anxious for January to be over so that I can get stuck in.
With the launch of the BodyBoss Superfood 12-week Nutrition Guide – which sold out on launching to a waiting list of 20,000 people – it seems only sensible to also overhaul my eating habits and incorporate loads more nutrient-dense super foods by way of the eating plan, which ditches calorie counting in favour of recipes formulated to squash cravings and get weight loss underway. Three full meals and two snacks daily keep the metabolism fired up and definitely sounds more feast than famine – I’m sure that deprivation has been the stumbling block of many a diet for most of us!
That’s not to say that I’m not expecting the occasional “can’t be bothered” day – nor indeed, the occasional day when my intake is more ‘’super sized’’ than “super foods’. That’s okay though – I’m only human – and one of the biggest factors to derail our efforts (and they ARE efforts, even if we’re not always 100% with them) is succumbing to feelings of failure once we step outside of our new, well-intentioned, box. Accepting that you’ll have off days is a step in the direction of success – because it makes you more likely to jump back on board after they happen.
Beachbody On Demand’s Autumn Calabrese is passionate about the idea that new habits – good habits – take time.
“It takes 21 days for a new activity to become a habit,” she says, “and six months for a habit to become a part of your lifestyle. It doesn’t happen overnight, so be patient and don’t beat yourself up or quit if you struggle along the way. It’s all a part of the process.”
She’s also a firm believer in being realistic about goals: “Any goal is possible but you have to make sure you are giving yourself realistic parameters for achieving it. For instance, if your goal is to lose weight don’t set a goal of NEVER eating chocolate again, instead say I’m going to cut back to eating one chocolatey treat a week.”
Nutritionist Kim Pearson agrees – and adds that rewarding yourself for your efforts is important, but that these rewards don’t need to be food or alcohol-based – look for different, healthier ways that really nurture you. “This might be booking in for a massage,’ she says, “or even just taking some time out to enjoy a mug of tea and your favourite magazine once a week.
And when you do reward yourself with food, or have that one treat each week? The impact of that can be minimised , says Kim, with Tribitor taken 15 minutes before your high-carb meal. A drinkable superpower, it contains three fat-burning ingredients: white bean extract, green coffee and white mulberry, all of which are clinically proven to assist in weight-loss. It’s 100% natural and lowers the GI Index of foods, as well as slowing down sugar absorption. That’ll be my appetiser before I fall face first into a risotto, then. Here’s to healthier, slimmer and less guilt-ridden 2018.