So much of getting into shape is psychological. What we think often becomes our reality. You know the old saying….be careful what you think! Therefore it is crucial that when we embark upon a fitness or weight loss campaign that we do so armed with the most positive thought process to enable us to achieve what we set out to do. I believe that a sound exercise plan and a clean healthy diet together are pertinent to really achieve the fittest, healthiest, leanest body AND this is exactly the way we should think when it comes to getting into shape as well….fit, strong, lean and toned NOT skinny.

I have worked with many clients over the years and many have lost upward of 50kg in total weight. One of the many mistakes that so many clients make is to think about how they are going to eat and exercise when they get to their goal weight. My answer is simple. Don’t even think that far ahead yet. By the time you get to that stage (which by the way doesn’t take as long as one might think) you will be so in the ‘zone’ embracing your new habits and routine that it is really quite simple like anything when you know how.

Another faux par is to stress about that last five kilos of weight loss. I believe it is crucial that we pay more attention to our body’s composition rather than our weight on the scales. By looking at how our body is composed – lean muscle mass and stored body fat, we can create a lean toned healthy body capable of maintaining that weight for ever due to lean toned muscle and its impact and ‘driving force’ upon your metabolism. It is hard particularly for women to not focus upon total weight on the scales due to the strong influence we have had over the years to weigh ourselves and measure our success or our failure due to that ‘number’… This said, when you do need to shed that last five kilos or so for instance, and it can seem to slow down, there are several things that you can do to speed it along or get things moving once again.

Our bodies tend to ‘hit a plateau’ for a few reasons. Our bodies will reflect everything we do to them and our bodies are finely tuned intricate machines which adapt to the stimulus we place upon them quite effectively. When we embark upon a fitness and healthy eating campaign, our bodies will start returning positive results almost instantly, depending of course on the changes we make. The more positive the changes the more positive the results we will get. I believe the main reason the last five kilos or so can be stubborn for many is because we focus too much on that dreaded number and not on how our clothes are fitting or our actual measurements, particularly if we are incorporating resistance training into our routine. Sometimes our weight loss does become sluggish mostly because our bodies get used to what we are currently doing and so we need to get the ball rolling once again. This is where a few simple changes can make all the difference such as an extra 10 minutes cardio each day or if you haven’t been doing so, pick up some dumbbells for a bit of resistance training which I might add should be a part of your regime from the get go for best results. Change your diet up a little bit and sometimes it means eating a little more believe it or not. Anything different to what you are currently doing will almost certainly do the trick.