At this time of year it's almost impossible to turn on the TV, walk into a store or scroll through your social media timeline without being bombarded with talk of "New Year, New Me" hopes and goals, diet plans and supplements and so on. And I have to be honest, most of the time I find it pretty annoying rather than inspirational!
Nothing makes me feel less inclined to do something than feeling like it's being forced on me. I practically reach for the chocolate in an act of rebellion every time I see a Kardashian flogging a detox tea on Instagram.
But at the same time, I can't deny that a new year DOES feel like the perfect opportunity to approach life with a fresh perspective, re-evaluate what you want to achieve and set some goals...which is exactly what I've been doing. But this year I'm doing it a little differently.
I've made no secret of the fact that I'm unhappy with my physical appearance - to the point that it's been the subject of many therapy sessions with my counselor. I harbor a lot of self-loathing and over the years I've found that it can be quite dangerous to set weight-focused goals when you're in that kind of mental space.
It usually goes something like this - you set yourself the target, you go off track for whatever reason (because, you know, life happens and weight fluctuates naturally from week to week) , you beat yourself up about it and instead of carrying on you sabotage all of the effort that you've put in by turning to comfort food, then you "fail" by not meeting your goal on time and you end up hating yourself and telling yourself that you're crap, worthless, a failure, etc.
Not ideal, not healthy, and certainly not good for the body, mind or soul.
So this year I won't be setting myself any of those "Must lose x stone by x date" goals or trying to challenge myself to fit into a certain dress size either.
I refuse to allow my happiness and self worth to lie at the mercy of the scales or a retailers measuring tape.
Because at the end of the day, there are MUCH more important things to focus on and life is short. Is it really worth spending any of it crying over the half a pound you've gained at Fat Club because you had some much-deserved Dairy Milk at the weekend? No...it's not.
This year, instead of focusing on those things like I usually do and then hating myself when I fail (because trying to hit those targets when your body is working against you is no fun at all!), I'm setting myself a much more simple and enjoyable challenge.
Move more.
Nothing more, nothing less.
No bells and whistles, nothing fancy...just simply...move more. However that may be.
I'm a mother to three super-active little boys under the age of 5 and childcare is pretty much non-existent to us the vast majority of the time - they are always with me, so going for long runs or gym sessions is just not an option.
They also don't nap so doing intense home workouts around naptimes is also not an option.
Instead, this year, I've decided to fit in valuable movement wherever I can.
To help me get going on my fitness goals for the year I've been wearing some pieces from Matalan's Souluxe range - I have the Celestial Space Sweatshirt and the Celestial Ribbon Side Sports Leggings - I often feel that fitness wear is incredibly unflattering unless you're already super thin and toned, and that it shows off more skin than I'd like to but these pieces are perfect for me! They're stretchy but supportive too, comfortable and their moisture wicking technology works perfectly to keep me cool and comfortable - and considering this outfit comes in at under £30 I'm impressed!
We usually go to the park at least 3 times a week, and most of the time I tend to stay by the playset to watch the boys play together - but instead I'm going to make the most of that time by using the parks fitness equipment. It's fun, it's free and the boys think it's endlessly entertaining to cheer me on while I'm doing it and have a go themselves!
We're also lucky enough to live right by several gorgeous beaches and a beautiful forest - so instead of heading to soft play centres on family days out where the temptation to sit with a hot chocolate while the kids play is strong, I'm going to choose more active outdoorsy days out where we can walk more and enjoy nature as well as getting more exercise...which will not only do our bodies good, but our minds too.
And finally, on those days when it's just too hard to get out of the house....when the weather is too bad or the boys are too cranky or when we just don't feel like it...we turn to YouTube! The boys and I all love to dance...we're not very good at it but we love it just the same! One of our favorite channels is The Fitness Marshall who does great entertaining dance workouts to some fab pop songs - the boys and I do a couple of his routines before dinner pretty much every evening now, and it's not only a good work out but it's a great way to have fun together too.
So that's my simple fitness goal for the year ahead and how I plan to achieve it.
What are your goals for the coming year?
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