Here’s how to beat that weight gain with our 10 simple steps to success! 🎉

Step 1: Decrease alcohol intake and increase your water intake 💦

Hydration is so important when starting any form of health or fitness journey. It helps to flush out all the yucky toxins in your body and helps it to function in the correct way – after all, we mostly contain water naturally in our bodies! Consuming enough water benefits your skin, energy levels and overall feel-good factor.

Don’t worry about cutting alcohol out completely, for most of us, the odd glass of wine is not going to have a huge impact on our health. Our advice is to decrease your alcohol intake to the odd glass of on special occasions 🍷

Increasing your water intake will help you immensely with decreasing water retention and bloating. Why not treat yourself to a snazzy water bottle that tells you how much fluid you have consumed during the day to help you keep track? 

Step 2: Goal Setting 🎯

Goal setting is so important when looking to lose weight. For most, having something such as an event or milestone birthday is enough to motivate them and help them to remain motivated and focused. Imagining an end goal will automatically help you to remember why you started and why you should carry on!

Grab a pen and paper and start with writing down what your main goal is. What is your big picture? Next, write down a few things relating to your goal: what dress size would you like to be? How do you want to feel when you reach your goal? Who are you doing this for (HINT: your-gorgeous-self!)? Set a date: when do you want to achieve this goal by? Finally, what is your plan? How are you going to get from where you are now, to where you want to be?

Step 3: Find recipes which work for you 🍽

I am a huge fan of starting my day with a filling, wholesome breakfast and then preparing a healthy lunch and some snacks for my days at work. It saves me so much time and effort thinking about what it is I’d like to eat while I’m not at home. With my lunches prepared and ready to go, I am always organised with a delicious meal and cannot go wrong! Once I get home, I will cook a simple to make recipe from the elite: Recipe Book.

Step 4: Plan and prepare your meals 🗓

Meal preparation is your key to success. I will often plan some time in my week to put on my favourite playlist and get messy in the kitchen! My preferred way to cook is to use my oven and my slow cooker so, whilst my meals are cooking, I do some other household chores to save me time later on in my week. I separate my meals into different reusable tubs and put them in the fridge so that I am fully prepared for the week ahead!

Step 5: Find a fun work out plan 🏋‍♀

Find yourself a fun and motivating training plan that will get your super excited to get hot and sweaty!  

Step 6: Rest 💤

All the amazing work you’re doing requires a lot of effort, so take some time to yourself and get some well-deserved rest. Everyone’s resting is different: it might be you enjoy getting an early night with a bubble bath and a relaxation tea, it could be that you enjoy long walks by the lake or just sitting in your favourite chair watching a juicy episode of your favourite TV program! But make sure it is something you truly want to do and do it with no guilt.

Your rest days really have a massive positive impact on your overall training, it is vital that your body recovers.  Your muscles need rest to be able to get stronger and to perform better when your next workout.

Step 7: Adopt the 80/20 rule ⚖

If you are wanting to make a change and start creating your life to be filled with self-love, fitness and healthy nutrition, you have to learn that life happens! Learn that now and you won’t ever find yourself mentally punishing yourself for not quite having an ‘on-track’ week or a ‘100% on plan’ day.

It’s all about balance and being present in your life, with loved ones. We love the 80/20 rule: make healthy choices 80% of the time, and don’t stress about the 20% where a little bit of cake or a few glasses of wine are being enjoyed! 

Step 8: Speak kindly to yourself and never compare yourself to others, we’re all different! 💕

The person we spend the most time with is ourselves. The person we speak to the most is ourselves! You wouldn’t verbally abuse a friend or family member for making a decision you didn’t deem quite right, so why do it to yourself? No two people are the same, and no two people will see their desired results in the same time period. 

Being mindful about how we are speaking to ourselves; the fuel (food) which we are putting into our bodies, and the amount we are moving our bodies (exercising) each week will help you to create long-lasting, positive habits. 

Adding fruit to our morning porridge instead of sugar; swapping one of your daily coffees for a flavoured green tea; or, doing a yoga video on the days you don’t quite feel like a full cardio workout, are all ways you can be mindful on a day to day basis. Think about the choices you are making: will they benefit you in the long-term? If the answer is no, choose differently!