Wanna know what’s holding you back from achieving the #transformationtuesday of your dreams?
When you see clients each and every day, many of whom have similar goals (that’s before we even get into the “I want to lose weight and tone up” mantra), you quickly start to see similarities.
We’re all human, after all, and there are certain patterns that crop up, again and again, that prevent people achieving what the set out to. And we won’t lie: the vast majority of them are about food. Here’s what we see as the top obstacles – recognise any?
1. Your kitchen cupboard
When we start seeing new clients, nutritional planning is #1 on the list. It’s a massive cliché that you can’t out-train a bad diet, but it’s 100% true – so we talk to clients about what they should be eating: fresh, unprocessed food and lots of it.
But what is it about Irish people being totally unable to throw away food?! Chucking those breakfast cereals in the bin isn’t wasteful; it’s caring for your health. And if you can’t see it, you won’t eat it. Simple.
2. Injury
This is such an important one, and something that people often try to train through – which can make things so much worse. You can always work around an injury, by focusing on different parts of the body and mixing up your workout, but ignoring pain during exercise is a recipe for absolute disaster, and could end up setting you back months of hard work.
If you’re injured, talk to a personal trainer, a physical therapist or your GP about what steps you should take – don’t think that you can just sweat your way past it. (You can’t.)
3. Time management
People often think that they don’t have the time to exercise – but look at it this way. If you do four 45-minute sessions in the gym every week, that adds up to three hours out of your week. A week that contains 168 hours.
The issue isn’t that you don’t have enough time; it’s that you’re prioritising other things. And that’s fine – maybe someone has just started a business, had a baby or changed jobs, and doesn’t want to prioritise their fitness.
But we’d always remind people of how much better you feel – inside and out – when you do make that time for yourself and for your body.
4. A bad diet
If you want to up your fitness levels and increase your strength, you can absolutely do that while eating whatever the hell you want.
But if your diet isn’t up to scratch, the longer it’ll take you to recover; the tougher it’ll be to build healthy muscle; and you’ll find it almost impossible to burn fat. If you want to build muscle while losing weight, you’ve got to get your food in order. It’s as simple as that.
5. Coffee mornings
No matter how much of an effort you’re making with your diet – getting up 15 minutes earlier to cook a protein-rich brekkie, preparing your lunches in advance, spending all evening cleaning Tupperwares – that can all go out the window once your colleague brings in his famed carrot cake, or you have Fat Thursday doughnuts in the name of your new co-worker.
There’s no big secret to this one; you’ve just got to say no, unless you want a mid-morning doughnut to be your one cheat for the entire week, in which case, go mad.
6. Misinformation
Quest bars are super-healthy snacks for in between mealtimes! Everyone needs a day off after a tough workout! Pre-workout energy drinks are absolutely essential!
No, no, no.
Every single person’s needs are going to be different – so if your body fat’s at 35%, why would you think that following Paige Hathaway’s diet on Instagram is going to net you any results, when she has a totally different body composition?
The only thing for it is to talk to an expert – whether that’s a trainer or a nutritionist – about your goals. If in doubt? Eat fresh, unprocessed food; listen to your body when it tells you it’s tired (but don’t be its b*tch); and get seriously sweaty at least four times a week.
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