Quick And Easy Ways To Get Back In Shape in 2017

Happy New Year everyone. I hope you all had the most amazing Xmas period 😀 I know this week is probably going to be the busiest period for gyms, shops that sell gym equipment and supplement stores in general so today’s post is going to give some quick and easy ways to get back in shape in 2017 (or get in shape for the first time). I hope it helps 

1) Focus on eating good food as opposed to starving yourself 
Christmas and New Years is that time of year that lends itself to eating and drinking too much food (I know, I’ve done it too) – so the temptation to do a massive calorie restriction is going to be there this month, and particularly this week.

The truth is, although we can add some weight and body fat over the Xmas period, a lot of the ‘Christmas pounds’ is down to excess sodium (water retention), too much sugar (dopamine down regulating, i.e. making you less happy about the way you look) and a lot of alcohol consumption (your body working hard to detoxify itself which can take away your energy) – all of which can compound into thinking you need to do something drastic to get back to your pre holiday weight.

Don’t get me wrong, a massive calorie restriction (through juices, bars or just restricting food) will work and you WILL lose weight but you can also down regulate the hunger and satiating (‘I’m full’) hormones in your body which can lead you to the dreaded ‘rebound’ whenever you go back to eating real food. If you really want to lose weight quickly and don’t mind looking worse in February/March or whenever you come off that diet then by all means, go for it but if you want to lose body fat, drop weight, have more energy and feel better in general; maybe try this first.

Try this instead:
For these next two weeks, focus on eating quality foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner alongside healthy snacks. There are a host of great foods that you can use but I’ll put some of my favourites below (taken from the Day 2 shopping list on my ‘14 Days of Fat Loss’ through my website)

Breakfast foods: oats, eggs, flaxseeds, fruit or greens smoothie.
Lunch: vegetables, salads, meat, vegan dishes.
Dinner: sweet potato, brown rice, fish.
Snacks: fruits, nuts, 85% dark chocolate.

Also instead of calorie restricting or skipping breakfast, try eating something small every few hours. By balancing out your blood sugar levels, you will have more energy, feel better and actually LOSE body fat through not having to fight yourself from finishing the last of the Roses or Milk Tray because you fasted all day (lets face it, the worse ones are left this time of year anyways).

2) Join a gym or get dumbbells and train at home
Just because it’s the New Year, it doesn’t necessarily mean you need to join a gym. True, the social aspect and the equipment makes it the obvious choice but if you hate the gym or have social anxiety about joining a gym, then maybe home workouts are better for you.

About a third of my clients from my online program do home workouts only; for some its down to time, others its family and work commitments (I have a lot of stay at home mums or busy work people where time is an issue) so home workouts work better for them. Find out what works best for you and then double down on that. Don’t buy a gym program or gym membership just because it’s January. You can get into incredible shape by training at home as long as you have a program based around your specific goals. I also grew up in Connemara, 30 miles from the closest gym so I have a particular soft spot for home workouts ☺

Try this: On Wednesday 7am-7:30am, I’m doing a FREE Facebook Live Fat Loss Circuit from my home so if you want to kick off your day with a HIIT workout, join me on Wednesday (links will be on my snapchat briank019 so be sure to follow me on there).