We’ve all heard this great saying: “don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions!” but the truth is people often feel so paralysed by the problems they are blind to the many solutions available to get back on track or resolve the issue.
At Fitter Food we are regularly inundated with emails listing why folk simply cannot achieve their fat loss goals. Common barriers include:
- “I don’t have time to train.”
- “I don’t have time to prepare food.”
- “I can’t afford a gym membership.”
- “I have an unsupportive partner.”
- “I can’t afford healthy food.”
- “I have kids so it just can’t happen.”
- “I get bored of being healthy and fall back into bad habits”
You get the picture. I truly believe some people have a genuine reason they can’t achieve their goals, but for many it’s simply a case of making excuses to justify their lack of progress. There I said it, as harsh as it sounds it’s often the truth.
You’re not alone either, I’ve been in your shoes in the past and found myself listing numerous reasons why I couldn’t make things happen – either with regard to my training or running my business. Until one day someone confronted me and challenged me to list the problems and then find solutions. I started off by writing down potential means of overcoming the barriers I was experiencing and then listing strategies to overcome them. Suddenly I realised there is always a way if you think, prioritise and plan ahead, it felt empowering.
So I urge you all – go ahead and do the same. Write down the barriers that are stopping you achieving what you want out of life and instead of shrugging your shoulders and accepting they can’t happen, try to think about what you could realistically do to make a big step forward and get even closer to your goals.
Here’s a few tips I offer my our clients regarding some common barriers experienced by many people:
No Time To Train
Everyone has time to exercise. As much you might try and convince me I’m having none of it. Everyone is convinced that unless you can devote 45-60 minutes to an exercise session you won’t get results so it’s not worth it. This is fitness myth. I have worked with a number of clients who have completed sessions ranging from 15-30 minutes and we’ve achieved fantastic results.
Many of my clients travel extensively too, this means a lot of time sat in the air, different time zones messing up their sleep pattern and limited time to exercise. See how I said limited time instead of no time. With clients like this I devise some super short but highly effective workouts they could do based on how busy they are that day.
Here’s a few examples:
A) 10-12 minute HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) on a stationary bike
Most hotels with business travel have a gym with at least a stationary bike. A great HIIT session you can do is perform 30 seconds of fast cycle (maximum effort) followed by 30 seconds of slow speed recovery cycling. Set the level to one which is testing for you and means you can just about reach an RPM over 110 on your sprints.
If you don’t have access to a gym replace the bike for sprints outside or some plyometric exercises – like jump squats, plyometric lunges or the dreaded burpees. So Something that will get the heart rate right up nice and high! HIIT is great as it ramps up metabolism for up to 24 hours after the session and is completed very quickly. We have an awesome selection of HIIT training sessions in Fitter 365 our new membership site, you can sign up for £1, less than a pre workout espresso (if you live in London that is!)
B) Full body bodyweight 10 minute circuit
This workout is highly effective and done in 10 minutes. It involves no equipment so can be completed in a hotel room or outdoors. Simply perform the following circuit back-to-back with little to no rest and try to do as many rounds as you can in 10 minutes.
10 Jump squats
10 Press ups
10 Long jumps
10 Close grip press ups
10 Mountain climbers on each leg
C) Full body dumbbell complex
This is great if you have a small dumbbell (DB) set at home or access to a basic hotel gym. Perform the following circuit back-to-back without putting the DB’s down, at the end of the sequence rest for just 20 seconds, and then continue for another 3-5 rounds. Select a weight that allows you to complete all exercises with the same weight. Assuming the DB shoulder press will be your weakest move, use this weight. The sequence of the circuit plus the reduced rest will make this incredibly challenging and test your cardiovascular system as well as your muscles.
DB squats 8
DB thrusters 8
DB wide rows 8
DB lunges 8
DB shoulder press 8
DB elbows in rows 8
As well as business travellers, these are great options for stay at home mums who want a quick exercise hit whilst baby takes a nap!
No Time To Prep Healthy Food
This is another common excuse but the truth is it takes almost as long to cook a processed meal that lacks nutrients as it does to make a nutritious, home cooked meal packed with goodness and taste. In fact a whole section of our book is dedicated to super quick meals that take very little time to prepare and cook. We also have loads of recipes on our website that are as simple as whacking a load of ingredients in a baking dish and sticking it in the oven to cook.
The key is to train your cooking skills, just like you train your legs, back and biceps. So you get quick and don’t need to think twice about ingredients, amounts or steps. The more consistently you train anything the greater the results.
Whilst dinner is in the oven you can crack on with other tasks like packing your gym gear for tomorrow’s workout or even get a quick HIIT session nailed.
Here are 5 recipes that are super easy and family friendly for you to try:
- Spag bol with courgetti
- Quick turkey fajita burgers
- Bangers and parsnip mash
- Easy red Thai curry
- Beef and chorizo burgers
To pimp your time in the kitchen further, you should check out this blog on getting savvy in the kitchen.
Focus On The Solutions, NOT The Problems
My main point here is that there is often a solution. Of course circumstances will get in the way at times but all is not lost when things don’t go to plan. You can do a shorter workout, walk and stand more across your day and always have eggs and spinach in your cupboard for a quick omelette.
If you know your week will be busy cook a huge stew or chilli at the weekend that can last a couple of meals, have some quick cook meat or fish ready for a 10 minute stir fry. Use your weekends to do some active hobbies so you feel refreshed and energised for the week. Any of the above can just make life easier. The key is to not be defeated and know that you have control and you can make a difference.
A big reason we set up our new membership site www.fitter365.com was because we wanted to make health and fat loss accessible and easy to understand. We know life can get in the way at times but we are confident that busy work schedules, families and other commitments should not prevent you from living the awesome healthy life you deserve and achieve your fat loss goals at the same time.
For more quick and effective workouts, recipe inspiration as well as helpful cheat sheets, educational webinars and group support give Fitter 365 a try. It’s £1 for month one, £9.99 thereafter – that’s just 33p a day! However you can cancel any time so there really is nothing to lose and only awesomeness to gain!
You can take a peek behind the scenes of Fitter 365 in the video below. Take a look!
