Moves with Abbie PT – Female Personal Trainer Gloucestershire

Below are my 5 TOP TIPS for helping you to stick to your wellbeing goals which I hope will give you the knowledge and tools to start creating a healthier and happier lifestyle for YOU!

ONE – MAKE SMALL ACHIEVEABLE GOALS

When you are looking to make a change to your lifestyle, often it comes with the perception that you have to change multiple things at once and go all out. That couldn’t be further from the truth!

The most sustainable goals are the ones that are the smallest, that you don’t feel you are actually doing enough for, but actually turn out over time, to have such a positive impact to your lifestyle that you don’t have to consciously think about it. It just becomes habitual.

Big goals are always good to have, but break them down into smaller goals, that overtime, will all add up to achieving your overall bigger goal.

Focus on no more than three small goals at a time, and ensure they are completely different. For example, one fitness/movement, one nutrition, and one lifestyle. Any more can become overwhelming. If that ever feels too much, again, strip back, and only once you feel you have got to grips with one aspect and it’s becoming more of an unconscious habit, do you then look to address something else. Remember, everything takes time, so being patient (which I know is hard!) will lead to the success.

TWO – PLAN, PLAN, PLAN

Sorry for those that hate planning and organising, but organisation is key! Use your diary to manage your time. E.g. inputting when you are planning to workout helps to keep you accountable, as well as building a routine each week.

Additionally, meal planning is one of the most useful things! Plan each meal where you can – breakfast, lunch, dinner and any snacks throughout the day. Not only will this in the long run save you time, it will also save you money by only buying what you actually need, rather than buying what you think you may use or need.

When looking to ‘meal prep’, again, time manage and plan! Use your diary and look at what time you have available. It could be one evening a week when you may be slumped in front of the TV or a morning at the weekend once you’ve done a food shop. Whatever works for you, but making the effort to do some cooking will help you to be prepared so you are ready for a busy week ahead. It will also help to reduce the ‘convenience foods’ or the ‘quick grab and go’ options, and ultimately, hopefully lead you to eating more wholesome, nutritious food.

THREE – TRACK YOUR PROGRESS

Fitness apps, smart watches, or writing in a notebook etc., are great for helping to track, record and monitor your progress both in relation to your exercise routine, as well as your nutrition. They give you that visual feedback to show you what you are doing/eating and gives you that daily feedback to make you think about how well you feel that may have went, or if there are small tweaks that you feel you need to make to potentially improve in the next coming days/week.

Journaling is also a great way to help keep your mindset strong when making changes/adjustments to your habits and lifestyle. Writing down any achievements from the day of what you may be proud of, happy about, and what you were grateful for throughout the day, is such a lovely way of creating positivity. Not only that, if you feel you haven’t had the best day, and things may not have planned out how you had hoped, finding little bits of positivity really does help to build more of a positive outlook.

Journaling also gives you a space to write down your thoughts and any stresses that may be playing on your mind. It is a good way of releasing things that you may not want to share with someone else. This is a really powerful tool for helping to find a little bit of calm, when feeling anxious/worried/stressed etc.

All these small little things can feel insignificant, or you think why am I doing this? But I promise, it is one of the most powerful tools. It takes a lot of mental will power when making small changes to your lifestyle, so actually allowing your brain to find goodness, to release any stresses it may be thinking about, is one way to begin building a strong, positive and resilient mindset, which I promise (as I now do this every night for the past 3 months) will make a difference to your whole overall wellbeing.

FOUR – BE ADAPTABLE

Life happens. Often when we feel we are just finding our groove, life will throw a curveball to challenge us. I know it is so much easier said than done (and certainly depends on the circumstances!!) but try not to panic and stress. Missing one designated workout, or going slightly off tangent one meal doesn’t mean you’ve failed. There is always a fresh start the following day.

Don’t beat yourself up if curveballs are thrown. Be kind to yourself, adjust if you need too and allow yourself to refocus on the next day. It could also be used as an opportunity to potentially improve your strategy or adjust your diary accordingly if needed to ensure a similar situation doesn’t happen again.

FIVE – CELEBRATE YOUR SMALL WINS!

Recognising your progress no matter how small you perceive it to be, is still steps that you are making to creating that lasting sustainable positive change in your life and your overall health and wellbeing!

Using progress photos and measurements will help you visibly see overtime the changes that may be happening to your body to help keep motivation high, and optimistic that you know your hard work is paying off!

Setting incentives can also be a really useful tool. Bigger goals may be your holiday, or a celebration (e.g. a wedding) but actually setting yourself your own reward for something you want can help keep motivation too. For example, you may have had your eye on a certain item of clothing or jewellery, or booking yourself a massage etc. Whatever it may be, gifting yourself that when you reach a certain milestone is a great way of celebrating you! Your hard work! Your progress! And your dedication!

SUMMARY

As with everything in life, we are all different, and what may work for someone, may not necessarily work for someone else. The most important thing when looking to make a change is that you are doing it for you, and no one else!

Hopefully by following these ideas, you will have found some inspiration and tips to begin to create your own system of accountability that keeps you motivated and moving towards your health, fitness, and well-being goals not only throughout January, but beyond too!

If you do feel overwhelmed, struggling to make progress on your own, or not sure where to start, please reach out! Asking for help isn’t a sign you’ve failed, it is a huge strength!

As a PT & Wellness Coach, I am here to SUPPORT, GUIDE, MOTIVATE and keep you ACCOUNTABLE to help you to achieving your goals and aspirations!

If you would like some support, or just a chat on where to start, pop your details in the box below and I will get back to you!