The new year is always a good excuse to get fit and really lead a healthy kind of lifestyle. Making that resolution, however, is a lot easier said than doing and actually sticking to it. For someone who’s always been in love with snacking, eating cakes and munching during late night movie marathons, getting into the routine of exercising everyday was nowhere near a challenge compared to changing the way I ate.
I’ve tried all those fad diets and after a month of shaping a flexible health regimen and planned meals, I’ve got to say that nothing will work as well as exercising and eating right. Tea that promises a slimmer you? Tried that. Diet pills? Been there done that. 40 minutes of cardio? It was hard work but insanely rewarding.
So, while I am still on my journey to lose 15kg, there are so many things I have learnt and this is only the beginning. While it’s no easy feat to stay disciplined and really put the effort into preparing healthy meals, I can tell you for sure that it’s so rewarding.
Here are some of the things I have learnt since changing to a healthier and more active lifestyle:
You’ll want to quit – If you have been eating whatever and whenever you wanted, hardly exercised and just didn’t bother to get involved in any physical activity, you’ll find yourself wanting to quit during the transition from your old ways to your brand new healthy lifestyle. And this thought of quitting will overcome your entire being for weeks before you actually get used to the idea that keeping fit and eating healthy is a lifestyle, not a form of torture.
It’s gonna hurt – There is no short cut to victory. Nobody ever made millions by slouching on the couch and you won’t magically get into the lifestyle of regularly hitting the gym and being conscious of what you’re eating by just thinking about it. You actually have to push your body out of it’s comfort zone and most days, it will hurt. But the pain will pass and you’ll start seeing progress, which leads you to loving the kind of routine you’ve gotten yourself into.
No more junking – In the early stages, the mere sight of a brownie could probably break you, and you’ll end up foregoing your diet but if you really stick to it, you’ll soon get to a point where even warm cookies couldn’t tear you apart. You are what you eat, and you’re not rubbish, so don’t eat it.
You will get lazy – Sometimes work gets the best of us and after a long day at the office, the only thing you want to do when getting home is just veg out on the sofa while watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians but try your hardest to resist! Even if you’re feeling lazy, just keep pushing yourself to hit the gym because at the end of the workout, you won’t feel an ounce of regret.
It’s not a phase – Prior to this change of lifestyle, I tried so many quick go-to diets and they never worked. At the end of it all, you gotta accept the fact that if you really want to change, you’ve got to put in the effort and change a few things. Make your routine and diet sustainable, so that it’s easy to keep up. Stay away from extreme short cut ways because they never end up working and if they do, they won’t stay.
