- Become passionate about you, not in a narcissistic way and not just about appearance but about health, vitality, strength, energy levels… I know it’s a cliche but you have to put on your own oxygen mask before attending to others… you can give more of yourself to others when you look after you.
- Don’t overthink it. Act. Even if you feel bad just do something. The most likely thing that will happen is you will be buzzing afterwards and you’ll want more of that. Exercise becomes a good habit, the most difficult thing is making the decision to do it, so don’t debate about it, do it.
- Dream big, but take small steps. Have an idea about where you would like to be, but focus on the immediate steps. Trust me, even when you get to where you want to be you will still want to go further, that’s the nature of it so be happy with wherever you are along the path.
- Don’t overdo it. Train don’t strain. Consistency is more effective than intermittent trojan effort and you’re more likely to love doing it and feeling the positive effects from it.
- Choose the right exercises for you. Don’t go pounding the roads immediately if you’re carrying a lot of weight. If you run with partners and they are much lighter it will be tougher for you. Resistance training and cardio on something with low impact like a bicycle, cross-trainer, rower is a good place to start. Don’t overdo first circuit or weights session, and wait for muscles to heal before the next to avoid injury. It should be enjoyable and not torture.
- Don’t change your entire diet all at once. Make small changes, cut down on sugary drinks and added sugar, opt for americano instead of latte, try having a meal without carbs like breakfast or lunch. When you begin losing weight from the small changes, stick with it until the weight stops coming off and then make another small change. Small changes over time = BIG RESULTS!!!
- Make time to train. Don’t make excuses here, we are all busy. When you train you will be more motivated and have more energy for the other things in your life. Whether it’s your kids, your job, your friends, your hobbie etc.
- Make time to prepare food. I don’t mean gourmet chef meals. I’m talking prepping a quick salad, throwing on some veg, fish, meat etc. Do things in batches, to economise on time and energy. Boil up some extra eggs when cooking your breakfast, eat them later cold with next meal for example.
- Eat right before training. Make sure you have the energy to put in a good session. This is a good window of opportunity to have some carbs. You need energy to train, don’t do it on empty or it will be tougher than it needs to be. Protein supports muscle repair after training too so don’t neglect that either.
- Don’t give up. Sometimes people expect results too fast, it takes time to realise your maximum potential and for your body to adapt and adjust. If something isn’t working, change it up, change is the key to fitness as we are built to adapt to work and become efficient at it. Shock your system with new challenges often so that you get maximum results and keep things interesting.
Tomorrow is a new day… make it yours!
Don’t Eat for Winter is a book by Cian Foley, IUKL Amateur Kettlebell World Champion and Computer Programmer, that gives the reader the knowledge to hack nature’s rules in order to minimise the body’s fat storage processes and gorge instincts whilst ensuring excellent nutrition. It offers the reader a solution that allows them to tend towards an energetic summer hunter’s physique as opposed to the lethargic winter hibernator’s.
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Cian Foley is a Software Engineer from Waterford, Ireland and also a 2 time European, pan-American and World amateur kettlebell champion. Cian was a 115kg (256lb) obese 35 year old and has completely transformed into to a fit and healthy 78kg athlete through his 8 year journey of discovery around nutrition and exercise. He now competes as a natural bodybuilder at the age of 43 to prove that it is never too late to get into great shape without the use of steroids.
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