Give and Take

04 Oct Give and Take

Hi!

Welcome to Real Life! Life where we get nothing for free! Life where we have to work hard – we are grown ups, surely this is something we have learned right?

So how come we still expect results for free? How come we still expect to continue drinking alcohol and having a treat every day and at the same time look like this:

Or maybe we don’t? But it seems to inspire us a lot? The diet industry makes billions telling us that by having shakes, pills, teas and quick fixes, we will look JUST like this – over and over! Truth is though, to look like this you have to work HARD! Very very HARD! You can’t drink alcohol on a regular basis, you will spend an hour a day working out, you won’t eat everything you feel like – yes your life will be quite restricted and there simply is no quick fix way to look like that! Though what you get in return will be an incredible body right?

So what is it YOU aspire to? What is it you would like to look and feel like? And do you know what you have to give up and do in return for it?

Goal setting is a huge part of the journey to being healthy, losing weight and getting fit and strong, but goal setting isn’t a ‘jeannie in the bottle’ wish contest where you say what you want and it will magically happen! What you set as your goals has to go well in line with what you are willing to GIVE and this is exactly where we often fail right from the start and also why I enjoy the goal setting process at the start of our Shape Ups so much!

Here is my simple guideline to success to help you set achievable goals:

• To lose 12kg+ in 12 weeks you have to: Restrict/change your food intake! There won’t be alcohol or treats on a regular basis. You will be able to eat a little more if you add in exercise – exercise will help your body function more efficiently but it isn’t a must! You can lose weight without doing any exercise whatsoever!
• To lose 6kg in 12 weeks you have to: Restrict/change your food intake, but not as much as for a 12kg+ goal. Any exercise you do on top will allow you to eat a little more – it will also help you tone and get fitter and for your body to work more efficiently.
• I want to tone up! This is what you have to do: I hear this A LOT! Now what you have to realise is that to tone up you may need to lose weight – unless you are at your ideal weight and want to add some muscle tone. I find that a lot of people carry an extra 10-20kg and want to exercise to tone up where really they need to lose weight and exercise at the same time. So to ‘tone up’ you MUST exercise – but you may also need to lose weight!
• I want a six pack! This is what you have to do: Get your body fat percentage down to about 20-22% (this increases slightly with age). Once your body fat percentage is this low you won’t be carrying much weight around your stomach and with some great workouts you will start to see your stomach muscle definition come through. Exercise wise, full body workouts are best as it will give your entire body nice muscle tone and these are also most efficient for your abs! They also burn the most amount of calories which helps with the fat percentage side of it.
• I want smaller legs/butt! This is what you have to do: Lose weight until you are at about 20-25% (this increases slightly with age) body fat. This means you aren’t carrying extra weight in these areas. Exercise like walking or running as well as strength based leg exercises will help with toning!
• I want to improve my skin. This is what you have to do: Our skin is the largest organ in our body. It also reflects what goes in on the inside! Decreasing our body fat percentage along with good water intake and a low intake of processed food will help your skin become smoother and improve your complexion! Exercise on top of this to increase blood circulation and when doing all 4 of these at the same time you are giving your skin the absolute best chance to be at it’s best!
• I want to be more confident in my own body! This is what you have to do: Learn how to be in control & do things that are achievable! By taking time to do something for ourselves and achieving small goals at the same time, our confidence grows incredibly! Motherhood can be draining and we often forget that we need some TLC too – upping your confidence and with that the way we feel about ourselves & our bodies isn’t hard! We just have to take the leap and get started!

Now that you have a better idea of what it is you have to GIVE in order to GET results – I wish you Happy Achievable Goal Setting 🙂

Simone xxx