7 Golden Rules for a Fit Life (After the Challenge)

Why do we so often get caught in an endless circle of dieting? We lose weight successfully, but the pounds come creeping back. 

The truth is, anyone can lose weight if they decide to. But it's much harder to keep the weight off!

As long as we're following a programme, everything goes as planned. The problems start when we reach the conclusion. We're feeling alone and abandoned, and don't know how to go forward. So what happens then? 

Day after day, the motivation goes down, we're skipping workouts and old eating habits soon take over again.

It doesn't have to be this way!

You're more than capable staying on the path, you don't need a babysitter. However, what you do need is a plan how to continue with a new, fit lifestyle.

7 GOLDEN RULES OF A FIT LIFE

• Follow your set schedule - for diet and workouts. Routine will help you enforce new, healthier habits. You know - ouir life is really a set of everyday habits.
• Break the monotony. Make sure you spice up your menu - there are thousands of healthy recipes online. Now that you know the basic rules about healthy eating, you'll know how to choose the right foods or adjust recipes (i.e. use less fat, leaner meat, more vegetables, whole foods...).
• Keep a food diary.  According to numerous studies, you'll be less likely to give into temptation if you have to write that biscuit or piece of cake in your diary. Keeping a food diary will also help you realise your weak points, so you can work on them. It's a method that nutritionists use with their clients - beacuse it works!
• Download an app to count your steps or note your workouts. Keeping track workouts will make you do more of them. Counting steps will encourage you to park a little further, walk an extra flight of stairs or go for that extra walk - every step counts.
• Gradually increase workout intensity and change them up, (like we did together during the challenge) so that you don't stagnate. You stagnate (or reach plateau) when your body adapts to the workout and stops progressing. That's often when weight loss stops aas well. Many people get discouraged by this and that's when they return to their old lifestyle, thinking that this is the best they could do. When you feel like the workouts are becoming more efortless, it's time for a change or an increase in intensity.
• Weight in (or measure in) at least once a month. Although the scale isn't the best indicator of body fitness levels, a regular weighing-in will allow you to track your progress better and alert you to problems in time. Research shows that people who measure in regularly are more likely to keep their weight at a healthy level.
• Set new goals all the time, keep in mind your "why" and change negative thinking patterns with the help of positive affirmations. Our actions always come from our thoughts - be it conscious or subconscious.