If you started some sort of fitness/sugar-free/lower alcohol/coffee cut-back regime in January, then it’s around now that you might find you’re clinging on for dear life. ‘We only live once, Goddamnit,’ you murmur as you eye up the KitKats in the biscuit aisle. I urge you to hang in there – experts say it takes six weeks to break a habit, so if you stick with it now you may have just broken your unwanted ways forever.
But how to hang in there when the going gets tough? Health expert Louise Parker, whose new book, The 6 Week Programme, aims to kick-start a sustainable healthy regime, explains that the initial boost of motivation will always fade. ‘Motivation is a temporary swell,’ she says. ‘No matter how much fire there was in your belly the day you decided to change, it’s human to feel demotivated and then it’s easy to throw in the towel.’
For Louise (who counts the Duchess of Cambridge as a client), success is about resetting your habits, from eating better to exercising regularly, resting more and thinking positively. This formula, she’s found countless times, not only transforms your health but also creates a better body and more sustainable weight loss than any restrictive diet ever has.
But what should we do if we’re having a serious craving and are teetering on the verge of face- planting in a tub of Ben & Jerry’s? Life coach Jacqueline Hurst suggests a trick: ‘Remember why you started,’ she says. ‘Make a list of all the awful things about your old habits, enter it into your computer and get it to pop up three times a day.’ While I didn’t go that far, I did try remembering why I started when the left-over Christmas chocolates started calling my name this week. The result? It interrupted the craving and stopped them in its tracks.
Jacqueline also stresses the importance of taking one day at a time. A long-term project can feel like a life sentence, but if we say, ‘I’m going to go the gym, just for today,’ it won’t seem so overwhelming. ‘It’s about taking it one day at a time,’ she says. There are a few faithful tricks that have helped me stay on track in the past. Exercise-wise, it’s vital to mix it up – don’t do the same workout four days a week as you’ll get bored quickly. I do yoga, HIIT classes, running, gym workouts, swimming and spinning (but not all in a week!). I also do that thing of scheduling workouts into my diary and not moving them, even for a work meeting.
Food-wise, I try to remind myself how good I will feel if I eat well, and if I want something sweet I try having a cup of tea instead. As for alcohol, I find cutting it out entirely is unsustainable, but I do try to abstain Monday to Thursdays. When Friday comes around, that G&T tastes very good indeed.
You can follow Susannah Taylor on Intstagram @susannahtaylor_
If alcohol or drugs are seriously impacting your life, visit alcoholics- anonymous.co.uk or ukna.org