Do you need some motivation?

It's the middle of Winter, and a lot of people might be lacking motivation to eat well and exercise. Sitting on your butt with a glass of wine and a big bowl of pasta often seems like a much better idea. I have touched on this information before, but it is so important for you to understand the basics.

Let’s say you go to the gym 4 times a week, for an hour each time, working at a reasonable intensity. There are 168 hours in a week. So take away those 4 hours and we are left with 164 hours. Let’s also assume you get 7 hours of sleep a night, which brings us down to 115 waking hours in your week.

Not surprisingly, it’s what people do in these 115 hours away from the gym, that is ultimately going to determine whether or not your goals will be reached. If you’re on the treadmill for 30 minutes jogging on level 9, followed by an intense 30 minute cycle, you’ll burn about 2000kJ (or about 500cal). So if you then decide to treat yourself to a latte and a muffin (2500kJ) you’ve really wasted your hard work. Most people think the food they eat is great, but they may be eating too much, not enough, making poor snack choices, or gaining extra kilojoules from other bad habits.

Make today the day you make a change for the better. You don't have to wait until Monday! Making small changes that you can sustain will be positive changes for the future. I often advise clients to make one change a week when they are working towards maintaining a healthy diet. With just one thing to focus on, you are more likely to succeed, rather than trying to change everything at once. Some simple suggestions you could try include:
- drinking an extra cup of water a day
- having fruit after dinner instead of chocolate, biscuits, ice cream, etc
- bringing lunches to work from home
- having a serve of vegetables to nibble on before dinner
- eating a nutritious breakfast
- limiting coffee intake to 2 per day
- only eating wholegrain carbohydrates

Now, even though you might think these changes are small, imagine if you took on one each week, and kept up the changes! You would have a pretty good diet, without making huge sacrifices! Give it a go, it is absolutely the best way to promote lasting changes in your diet, and staying healthy in your 115 waking hours.

What a quote!

"The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest her or his patients in the care of the human frame, in a proper diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease" Thomas Edison (1847 - 1931)

Thanks Mr Anton Pilli, what an inspirational quote!