The best way to keep your waistline this winter

As the air gets cooler and the nights close in earlier, our summer clothing and bikinis find their way to the back of our drawers for another year how many of you start to relax about your body?  We pull on jeans, T-shirts, jumpers and boots and all of a sudden the stress about revealing ourselves in short, unforgiving clothing begins to fade away.  Combine this with the stodgier meals, comfort foods and hot chocolates (with marshmallows!!) that somehow creep into our lives around this time and we have a sure fire recipe for a crash diet come next summer.

 

I often talk about commitment and consistency being the key to achieving your goals and with the onset of the cooler months it is these rules that I couldn't stress more.  Yearly yo yo weight gain and weight loss is not good for your body or mind, ultimately you will mess up your metabolism and the stress of wanting to lose weight fast every year tales it's toll too.  So what am I saying?  The key to achieving your best body NEXT summer is what you choose to do THIS winter and my advice would be that the best thing to choose to do this winter is exactly what you have been doing all summer (assuming you have been on the straight and narrow, making positive nutrition and exercise decisions and changes that you should be able to maintain for the long term - if you fall into the 'need to make a change now' category now is the perfect time to get a head start on your 2012 summer body).

Yes the mornings are colder, yes when its rainy is now cold AND rainy, yes it get darker earlier but I promise you that YES there are people who manage too maintain their exercise and nutrition routine throughout the winter months.  Let's make that you!  

 5 things to make sure you keep that winter waistline in check 

• Invest in new clothes and a second pair of runners - if you only have shorts and singlets in your training wardrobe it's no wonder that you won't feel like heading out on a cold wet morning BUT if you purchase some warm clothing and wet weather gear you will be a whole lot more likely to stick to the plan.  And your second pair of runners?..... for when the first ones are drying from training and running outdoors in the wet.

• Make a commitment and become accountable- whether you decide to join a gym to stay warm and dry, join a training group or make a regular commitment to train with a friend it doesn't matter.  What does matter is that you make the commitment both to yourself and become accountable to someone else

• Take a start of winter fitness test and assessment - if you don't know where you are starting from how you will you know where you are going to and if you get off track?  Even if in 8 weeks time looking back at these measurements gives you a great big kick up the bum to get it together they will have been worth doing. 

• Try on your summer clothes in winter - keep a pair of summer shorts and your bikini in your wardrobe and put it on at regular intervals as part of your fitness testing.

• Remember that is not JUST about your body image but also about what is happening on the inside - if you spend the next 5-6 months on a less than ideal diet, moving and exercising less weight gain isn't the only negative change that will take place. 

Nurture your body from the inside out this winter, make positive choices and stay on the track you have taken so much time and effort to set up through summer.

We are excited to announce that we are busy building our first ever Winter 12 Week Challenge to see you through these tougher winter months.  So if you need an extra kick, accountability, expert knowledge, a fantastic group of women to train with and of course amazing prizes for our winners please email me to register your interest and we will contact you as soon as we are taking enrollments.