As the summer season approaches and the weather warms up, the tell-tale signs of winter weight gain become more noticeable. Whether your jeans are a bit tighter or your shirt buttons seem to be taking strain, this is usually a result of curling up during winter and avoiding the gym altogether, naturally resulting in a few extra kilograms being packed on.
Gareth Powell, National Marketing Coordinator at USN, says that in order to get back into shape before the summer season, now is the time to start. “Whether you’re just now deciding to take on a healthy lifestyle to surprise everyone around you come summer time, or whether you want to get back into your fitness routine after a ‘winter break’, preparing your body for summer is a far less daunting task if a practical plan for exercise and diet is put into place.”
Powell suggests the following simple tips to help you back to a healthy and fit physique, just in time for summer:
Plan your meals
Not planning your daily meals is arguably one of the easiest ways to sabotage your attempts at a healthy lifestyle and often leads to settling for unhealthy alternatives. Ensure that meals are always planned ahead of time to give you enough time to prepare. Make sure that you include a mixture of carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables and protein in your diet. Your nutritional intake can also be balanced out with your supplementation intake – having a healthy, low calorie shake for snacks, while sticking to a well-rounded breakfast and lunch meal.
Explore alternative and new options
If you are attempting to get back into a routine, it may be a good idea to try new ways of training and eating plan. Adding new and interesting meals and regimes to your healthy lifestyle will help keep you motivated and prevent boredom. Try an outdoor scenic run instead of the treadmill or participate in one of the many organised events.
Find a workout buddy
In the beginning of a training regime, keeping positive can be one of the hardest parts. Training with someone close to you like a friend, colleague or family member makes it easier to keep on track, as it can help turn the exercise experience into fun quality time as well.
Keep a food journal
Keeping track of what you consume on a daily basis will give you an understanding of why progress may or may not have been made. Track everything from snacks to main meals, and use this information to analyse your fitness results and pinpoint dietary changes you feel should be made.
Make small changes
Make attainable, small changes to your lifestyle rather than setting goals that can seem daunting and impossible to reach. These changes could be really basic, such as excluding soft drinks from your diet or adding in more fibre, or taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
Work out from home to start off with
Many of us avoid leaving the comfort of our homes for the gym due to the colder weather in winter. There are a variety of exercises that you can do from home that can help you stay fit until you are ready to enter the public gym space. Jogging, push ups and crunches, leg presses and skipping, or even completing a Zumba video are all simple and easy ways to workout in the comfort of your own home.
“Although it can be challenging to adjust to a healthier lifestyle, if the correct diet and exercise principles are applied, getting your body ready in time for spring will not only be a fun process, but also a lasting one,” concludes Powell.
