How to make a good & useful new years resolution

It's getting close to the time of the year when people start making the same resolutions as they have for the last few years. And it AMAZES me, it really fucking does. If you can plan and follow through on going on holiday, then you can develop a plan to get in the shape you want. And as for this shit of waiting for the 'perfect' time to start? What a crock of shit. It's a total cop out.

You don't sit in the drive waiting for every traffic light to go green before turning the key in the ignition. That'd be batshit crazy. And yet that's what most people do with

How to make a healthy habit stick

Chatting to many of my challengers over the last few days, and it seems motivation is sometimes letting you down....

Feeling motivated is an emotional state, and like all emotional states, it rises and falls, kind of like the tide; so if you're relying on motivation to keep you on track you will sooner or later (usually sooner) feel a lack of motivation, and unless you have another way of staying on track, then you're going to fall off the wagon (and probably start beating yourself up over it).

So you might then try to rely on willpower... but this takes mental energy, and the more decisions or choices you are faced with over the course of your day, the more drained you are of mental energy.

So where does that leave us?

How I stayed motivated while losing weight.

My weight loss journey took some time, during which I got rid of over 70lbs of fat, and at the same time put on enough muscle that i looked good rather than gaunt! It wasn't easy, of course. Nothing of significance ever came easy. This was back before hashtags and #fitspo, hell, you could be on the phone or the Internet but not both, and broadband didn't exist.

My motivation was the one and only Mr Arnold Schwarznegger, the skinny Austrian kid who went on to become the Austrian Oak, a mighty champion. While I had no interest in becoming a bodybuilder or champion of anything, his story inspired me, and in the space of about a year I transformed myself from very fat to very fit. 

This required making some changes to my lifestyle, some more dramatic than others. The one most fundamental to my success though, was a change in attitude, from I wish to I am. No more "I wish I could lose weight"; that became "I'm in control of my weight".

I took responsibility, and I took control; I made mistakes and I learned from all of them. I cooked all my own meals from scratch (except for pasta), nothing from jars or packets; I stopped eating in front of the tv; I introduced more physical activity as I became more able, using what I had (my bodyweight & some rocks). Eventually, I was cycling instead of taking the bus every Friday for my 11mile each-way commute. After a while I was just as quick cycling as taking the bus. 

Some of those early meals were bland, some were borderline poisonous, but with practice you learn what combinations of seasonings make a dish mouthwatering instead of eye watering (hint: use cayenne and chilli peppers sparingly until you know what you're at!).

20 years later and I'm still no bodybuilder, but then, I'm not trying to be. Annie inspired in me an attitude which allowed me to take responsibility for my actions, and to take control of my life to make it go in the direction I wanted. 

Hopefully this will inspire you to take more control of your own life. If you'd like some help along your journey, I'll happily be your guide. You have to take each step though, nobody else can do that for you.

If you are ready to take those steps, drop me a line mal@malkelly.com or pick up the phone 086 1945 040. If I can't answer, please leave a message and I'll call you back as soon as I'm free.