The phrase ‘change your lifestyle’ can be thought of as daunting but should it be?

In a book called ‘The One Thing’ by Gary Keller he talks about making small steps towards big goals, a domino effect if you will. He repeats throughout his book “what’s the one thing you will do today which will set off a chain of events to get you where you want to be”.

Why don’t we use this to change all aspects of our lives, diets? exercise routines? Our jobs?

Why do we feel the need to pile all of our little problems into ONE massive unsolvable one?

THIS IS WHY WE FAIL! OR SOMETIMES DON’T EVEN TRY…..

Time and time again new clients come to me telling me how bad their diet is and how they haven’t stuck at a diet or a gym for longer than 6 weeks. WHY? Because they don’t focus on THE ONE THING, they look at their diet and think every thing needs to change. Saying this they have failed already, even if they eventually get their heads around it and get results after 4-6 weeks it won’t be sustainable, therefore taking them back to square one after a time (all the good work gone to waste).

The difference in what makes you add, sustain & lose body fat is so minimal it can be changed by just adding or taking away ONE THING from your lifestyle. Only you can determine what your lifestyle needs to change your body composition, improve fitness levels or any strive towards any goals you may have but just try to think about ONE THING and that ONE THING may tackle 1,2,3 or more problems you had before, just because you pushed that first domino.

Making healthier choices? Whats your one thing you can do today or right now to       ensure you stay on track and eventually hit your targets. START SMALL and you’re more likely to succeed.

1. Move More Eat More.

We need to be in a deficit of 3500kcal to ensure we lose 1lb of body fat per week, that’s 500kcal a day. If you burn 2500kcals a day and you’re only eating 1200kcal you are leaving your body short of the vital energy that it needs to function leaving you feeling tired. This results in you moving less and eventually dipping into the biscuit tin or over indulging past your calorie deficit target because its just not sustainable for you.

2. Hit your Protein target? 200kcal left to eat? CHEAT!!!

Whats got carbs and fats in it? The stuff you love and crave. So let’s enjoy it and celebrate you hitting your protein target so well today. That 200kcals of Cake or Biscuits will not only give you that boost of energy and give you that satisfaction of the food you crave so much, it will ensure that you’re able to continue for a long period and therefore get better results long term. (NO SUCH THING AS GOOD OR BAD FOOD, JUST TOO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE).

3. Refeed Days.

Refeed days are certain days which are scheduled into your plan to hit your maintenance calories (BW in LBS x 15) this is not only to give you a break mentally but it also helps us continue to lose body fat over the transformation period. By refeeding the body you are basically telling it that it is okay to use your fat as an energy source, your body is made to store fat (especially women) so we have to be savvy about the way we do things & Refeed days is the way to trick your body into burning body fat.

Phase 1 (1-4 weeks) – 1 ReFeed Day

Phase 2 (4-8 weeks) – 2 ReFeed Days

Phase 3 (8-12 weeks) – 4 ReFeed Days

If you want to continue losing body fat after this period (12 weeks plus) because you haven’t hit your goals yet. I suggest hitting your ReFeed day every 2 weeks until you are happy, we will then hit your maintenance calories full time to ensure you stay in great shape.

Let me tell you what I have learnt about people & why they don’t get the results they want.

People are looking for the quick fix and why wouldn’t they because the longest stint they have had in a gym is 6-8 weeks so we have to do some crazy & sometimes unhealthy things to ensure results in that time period.

SO WHY ARE YOU NOT CONSISTENT?

GYM- Do you have a gym that gives you the guidance you need? Do you know what you are doing when it comes to exercises, technique & training plans? Have you got a support network where the other clients want you to get the best results possible and will cheer for you louder than anyone?

ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS AND THINK IS YOUR GYM UP TO THE TASK??

NUTRITION- Are you making massive whole scale changes that just aren’t sustainable for more than 4-6 weeks? Yes results happen in that time period but not anywhere close to where you want to be, your lifestyle doesn’t allow you to keep up with the current nutrition plan which forces you to knock it on the head and eventually giving up completely which obviously leaves you worse off than before.

YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE!

GIVE YOURSELF A YEAR!

This the reality of results and getting where you want to be with the way you want to look and feel. I tell all my starting members that they are just about to take on our 3 month transformation programme and that yes, you will get great results during this programme but you won’t be where you want to be. It’s so important to carry on with the work you have already done and keep up with exercise for the rest of your life. Don’t worry though the longer you do it the easier it becomes.

MY TIPS FOR YOU!!

Find the gym for you! Commercial gyms are a thing of the past because of the massive client base and the minimal to zero help you get. Find yourself a gym which looks out for you and will guide you towards the results you want.

Make slight changes to your diet (healthier choices) and look at what sort of food/ drink you are consuming during the weekend because this is usually the biggest thing to stop results in their tracks. All you have to do is cut down not cut out (it’s life after all and we don’t want to be boring).

Start lifting weights! Build some muscle! You’re never going to look like a big, muscle bound warrior. Give it a try for 2-3 months and you’ll never go back. So get yourself a gym that is coaching you to perform these exercises properly so you can get the best results possible.

Work out consistently for at least 6 months and stay consistently good with your diet.

KEEP IT SIMPLE & GOOD LUCK!

Am i proud of what i achieved at BA Fitness? absolutely!! I have built a great place to train & an amazing community and support network with the kindest, funniest & hard working clients i could ask for all in a 2 year time period from absolutely nothing. I went from my mum & dads garage to a 365 sq ft facility, from 3 clients to 125 & we help every single one of those clients get the best results they have ever had.

Am i 100% happy with it? Absolutely not!

BA Fitness at this moment in time is only about 5% of the finished article. I rattle my brain all day and all night about what the next move will be to take us to the next level & how to help my clients get the results they deserve. I feel the losses twice as much as the wins, the thought of letting someone down that is a client in my gym sickens me to my core. My view on fitness is very simple, surround yourself with great people & do great things together (obviously eat a lot of protein as well but that goes without saying) once you leave that supportive group you’re on a downward spiral to mediocrity.

My last 2 years have been my hardest yet!

In the mist of so called ‘success’ i found myself extremely unhappy about the way i was living my life. I didn’t hit the gym consistently (more than twice monthly) for 20 months, my diet consisted of sandwiches, takeaways & cereals and i was the guy my 125 clients were supposed look up too. I was putting on weight and i was so self conscious about the way i looked that i was constantly breathing in for about 6 months (no joke).  I hit a low point in my life that i actually tried to call it a day on my football career because i couldn’t get out of the slump i was in. I couldn’t do the things i wanted to do on the football pitch because my lifestyle didn’t allow it & it made the whole thing worse.

I should be setting a high standard as a personal trainer right?

The words ‘practise what you preach’ were never so right! I am no different to any other working person,  i have to do it in my spare time like the rest of you. Motivation is always the thing that stops you in your tracks. It just comes down to how bad do you want it,  do you want to feel fitter, stronger, better physically and mentally? Do you want it more than the pizza? Do you want it more than whats on TV or your phone? Everyone has a choice.

Well after hitting an all time low in my life i finally found motivation through personal training sessions for myself. YEAH THATS RIGHT! Billy Akrigg the owner of BA Fitness has a personal trainer that i pay £20 a session too and i go to a rival gym to do it.

This was the thing i had to do in order to get myself training and feeling good about myself again. It was the best decision i ever made. I have never felt this good in all my life because of the challenges i have been through to get to the point i am now.

“THE TOUGHEST CHALLENGES BRING THE BIGGEST REWARDS”

So when you are stuck in bit of a rut and you’re spiralling downwards into zero motivation land then just remember that Billy Akrigg a personal trainer and gym owner also hit a real low point with exercise & food. So its definitely okay for you to do the same but promise me you will never give up trying, things will work out for you too and it will never feel better.

GYM, KIDS, WIFE & FAMILY LIFE

I’m a mum of three, a wife, I work and study. I’m a busy person and as my children get older and they start to get involved with hobbies, it gets harder to find the time to myself. But I still manage to find the time to work out 3 or 4 times a week. Mark (my husband) gets up and goes to the gym – he’s busy too and manages to find the motivation to get up despite having a demanding job. 

I started going to the gym for me, I wanted to lose weight and feel good about myself. Them few hours a week I planned on just doing something for me.  I’ve found working out has become more of an emotional journey – it’s made me have a strength I never knew I had. You see in actual fact I’m not just doing it for me; I have three children I want to make all the happy memories with, we want them to have healthy parents and to pick up on some really healthy habits. It’s working! They show interest in what we do and ask if we are going “gyming” today, they have noticed we have more get up and go and that, well to be honest, that mum and dad are a little less stressed. Although I started this transformation journey to lose weight never did I think that going to the gym 3 to 4 times a week would have a positive effect on my children at such a young age. They loved me before I started this journey, they still love me during this journey, I would say they will love me at the end of this journey but I don’t think I will ever be at the end as there is always new goals you want to achieve and other ways you want to push yourself. But the best thing so far is that I’m finding me again, I am far from where I want to be but I LOVE the person I am growing into and honestly I don’t think I would be pushing myself in other areas of my life if I wasn’t pushing myself in my workouts. 

One thing I have learnt is that losing weight will not make everything better, embracing the journey and finding what works best for you will make it that bit more enjoyable and more sustainable and that can be applied to all areas of your life and that is what will make things better. As a mother of boys I feel like I have to not only raise them to be gentlemen but also be a role model for the type of woman they may eventually want in their life. I want them to see a confident woman that of course has flaws like we all do but that can embrace them – a happy, positive woman. It’s safe to say that this journey I am on is still very much for me, but it has changed. One day when I look back I can say that I am proud of myself but what I really want is for my family to be proud of me and for them to be happy that I am happy and I know that they will be. 

Don’t wait until you’ve reached your goal to be proud of yourself. Be proud of every step you take toward reaching that goal. 

WRITTEN BY Shaneen Hetherington.