Why too much motivation is a problem.

The New Year is upon us and that means it's diet and exercise season! This is when the majority of people join gyms and start a diet only to fall off the wagon in a month or two.

Why does this happen? Most people think it’s because they lack the motivation needed to stick it out. However, I believe it’s the opposite!

People attack their new year’s diet and exercise program with too much motivation.

‘I’m going to get to the gym 4 or 5 times a week’
‘I’m going to stop drinking alcohol’
‘I’m going strict on my diet once and for all’
‘I’ll go for walks on weekends’
‘I need to buy some supplements’

This approach is too intense and unrealistic . It would be like turning on a treadmill at 10mph and jumping on – you’ll end up flat on your face!

Over the next few days before the new year, you’ll probably be thinking about your new year’s resolution.

So, here’s my advice; start with small, but challenging changes that you can stick with forever.

If you drink 1 soda a day – Change it to 1 per week.
Workout sporadically? – Schedule 9 into your calendar for the month and tick them off.
Do you order take-out once a week? – Try once a month or once every two weeks.

Each week take on another small challenge and make these changes part of your lifestyle.

Why ‘forever’?
I’ve seen people achieve some great results over a few months only for them to be undone within a few weeks. This is because the changes the person made to achieve the result were only temporary. Once the result was achieved, everything was undone when they went back to their old eating habits.

The greatest transformations are not achieved over weeks or months, but years. This means making changes to nutrition and exercise that become part of your lifestyle.
You’ll transform your body, and you’ll maintain your results with much more ease.

Being in your best physical shape shouldn’t be a constant struggle; it should fit into your life. Like brushing your teeth.

So, make this a year of building positive habits!