Getting Your Healthy Eating & Exercise Habits Back On Track

Happy Christmas and Best Wishes for 2012 from everyone at Enhance Body Boot Camp!

It’s the time of year that you are likely to be feeling a little guilty from an over indulgent Christmas – don’t worry, everyone feels like this, so we’ve put together some top tips to get your healthy eating and exercise habits back on track.

The first thing is – don’t dwell on it too much. Just get going with a healthy regime and you will beat the winter blues! It’s in your hands – so take control and start today!

Top ten tips for achieving your New Year resolutions:

1. Make them realistic... ‘I want to lose 1-2lbs a week for x weeks’ is far more realistic than ‘I am going to lose 6 lbs this week!’
2. Exercise early in the day – then you can feel satisfied and good about yourself all day, rather than feeling guilty.
3. Plan, plan and plan – it’s all about organising your meals and snacks.
4. Never let your blood sugar levels get low … eat every couple of hours – breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, supper. It is if your blood sugars get low that you are most likely to eat something unhealthy.
5. Always carry a banana or some oatcakes with you – great as a snack on the go if you haven’t had time to stop.
6. When eating out plan ahead and give yourself an allowance. For example, ‘I will order a steak and salad. I will not have any dessert, but I am going to enjoy a glass of wine.’
7. If you are having a night out and expect to be drinking a lot, do a decent gym session beforehand and you won’t feel as guilty – you will probably enjoy yourself more and are actually less likely to eat and drink too much!
8. Don’t feel bad for enjoying the occasional indulgence! If you want to have a treat – have it and enjoy it! Just bear in mind that it is a treat and should only be once in a while.
9. Don’t want to brave the cold, dark nights going out for a run? Ok, but try to do something! Sit-ups and press-ups in front of Coronation Street is perfect for when you’re feeling like this! How many press-ups (box press up if you need to) can you do without stopping? Try the same the next night and you will see improvements.
10. Get support – from friends, family, a personal trainer or plan ahead for your next boot camp! People work best when they feel motivated and have something to work towards.

You may be interested in our Luxury Detox and Weight Loss Retreat which has been designed for people wanting to feel better after festive indulgence and winter neglect! It runs for one week in March and is set in a beautiful venue just outside Edinburgh. A 3 day juice detox begins the week – this allows your body to rid itself of the toxins from alcohol and refined sugars that may have accumulated over the holiday season, whilst also aiding weight loss. Exercise in these 3 days will be light and gentle – definitely a retreat and not a boot camp! You will undergo therapies, coastal walks, yoga, pilates, all the while enjoying the 5 star comfort and gorgeous views of Gosford Bay. The next 4 days consist of a much fuller exercise programme, and a carefully planned diet. You will receive expert advice from our inspirational and experienced personal trainers (REPS registered) and qualified nutritionist, and you can expect to lose 8-10lbs (if weight loss is one of your goals) and completely detoxify. Our luxury retreat could be just what you need to kick-start good habits and a healthy attitude towards nutrition and exercise for the New Year!  Look us up on www.enhancebodybootcamp.co.uk  

Tip of the day! Three important factors to eating healthy:

1. Variety!!! You get lots of a vitamin for one type of food for example Vit C from oranges but you won't get essential fat soluble vitamins like A,D,K, or iron and protein that you would get from eating beef. The trick is eat a VARIETY of foods, there is no one magic superfood!!!

2. Moderation - Like chocolate? Crisps? Thats fine - enjoy these as treat...s! Fit it into a well balanced diet, if you have had a meal based on processed refined sugars, saturated fats and wine (sounds familiar?) - then balanced it out with a NUTRIENT DENSE next meal - such as wholegrain carbs, replacing pale foods for bright vitamin packed veggies, and having a omega 3 rich piece of fish or lean piece of beef. Allow yourself to have some naughties...just BALANCE it with the good stuff!!

3.Wholesomeness - Stay away from processed foods as much as possible - and you will be eating more wholesome foods naturally! Apples rather than apple juice, wholemeal bread rather than processed white bread, boiled or mashed potatoes rather than oven chips etc. These natural whole foods have loads more nutrients, and less added rubbish!