So now we are into Month 2 of the new year, take a look and see if you are on track with your New Year's resolution goals.
If you are right into it and enjoying the ride, good on ya!
Finding what works and making it fit into your lifestyle is half the battle so if you have been making it work, you have a much better chance to be able to maintain it for the long haul.
If you are finding yourself slowly sliding off the wagon, don't get discouraged. Welcome to reality.
Change is hard, but lifestyle changes are harder.
If you have been living the majority of your life making questionable decisions that harbour your success, it's going to take a lot more than a New Year's resolution and a "high five" to make such big changes and make them stick.
The biggest mistake people make is they make goals without being realistic. This is why the diet industry is a multi-billion dollar phenomenon and still growing. People want big changes and they want it fast. But fast rarely equals safe and almost never means sustainable.
So how about taking your goals and pairing them down to realistic smaller "mini" goals that you can reach and be able to maintain?
For example, if you want to lose 50 pounds, why not scale it down to five-pound increments? This is a lot more do-able and when you reach those first five pounds, the rewards of improved self esteem and the feelings of accomplishment, makes the long-term goal not seem so far away.
And now that you have paired your focus down to a smaller, more reasonable number, how do you apply it?
Remember a basic formula: 3,500 calories equals one pound of fat.
So if you take out 500 calories a day, which is a lot easier to do than you think, by the end of the week, you have lost one pound.
Ta da.
Now throw in some walking, at least 20 minutes per day to start, every second day (remember small changes) and you have increased your caloric burn resulting in even more weight loss.
But what do you do if you are a new mom who is breastfeeding and you can't cut calories?
Make smarter, healthier food choices.
Nursing mothers require additional calories for milk production, but the majority reach for quick, sugar-filled alternatives due to exhaustion and the need for a pick-me-up whether it's the middle of the day or the middle of the night.
This results in plateaus and for some, weight gain after the first few weeks of adrenaline wears off. Remember the majority of pregnancy weight is meant for the growth of the baby, so it will come off in time.
Whether you are a new mom, mom to be or veteran, remember you get whatever you put into it. You cannot expect miracles if you make drastic changes and go back to your old habits.
~ Samantha Montpetit-Huynh is the mother of two girls residing in the Beach/Danforth area. She is a certified personal trainer and holds certifications in pre- and post-natal fitness, nutrition and wellness and resist-a-ball. She offers in-home private and semi-private training and gives workshops on the subject. You can reach her at www.coreexpectations.com or by calling 647-897-5220.