5 bloggers explain how they stick to their fitness resolutions

Did you see our infographic on New Year’s fitness resolutions? If you’re getting to the stage where you’re struggling to carry on with your exercise and diet regime, it’s certainly worth asking other likeminded people how they summon up enough strength and willpower to carry on through the tough times.

We asked five bloggers for their thoughts on New Year’s fitness resolutions.

FOODIE LOVES FITNESS - NICOLE CRANE - WWW.FOODIELOVESFITNESS.COM - HEALTHY LIVING BLOGGER, WELLNESS COACH & FREELANCE WRITER

For people struggling with sticking to their New Year's resolutions, my advice would be to focus on the WHY. What is the ‘why’ for their resolution? What are they fighting for?

The why is not the actual result in itself, but the feeling and satisfaction that they'd get from achieving it. For instance, many people resolve to lose weight in the New Year. What will help keep getting them up out of bed early for a workout is not the idea of losing weight necessarily, but the idea of what that would mean for them. Focusing on the why means thinking, I want to exercise today because it makes me feel great, gives me energy, and gets me closer to feeling more confident with my body. Or, I'm getting up to exercise today so that when I go on vacation this summer, I can feel confident in a bikini!

I'd also say that when it comes to weight loss/toning up/eating better, it's also important to focus on the positive and to celebrate your small victories each day. People tend to harp on the negative (i.e. I hit the snooze button and didn't work out this morning) instead of the positive steps they're making (i.e. I meal prepped for the week yesterday and have healthy meals for every day this week). Every healthy choice is a step in the right direction.

BY LAUREN JANE - LAUREN WILKINSON - WWW.BYLAURENJANE.CO.UK - BEAUTY, LIFESTYLE AND FASHION BLOGGER

The hardest thing with New Year’s resolutions is sticking with them, especially post January. Getting back to the gym regularly was my mine.

Here are my tips for staying motivated;

1) SHARE YOUR PROGRESS

Make your resolution public by sharing over social media & update regularly - friends & family will be more supportive than you think

2) TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS

Seeing your progress via a photograph is extremely motivating

3) SET REALISTIC GOALS

Don’t say you’ll make the gym 6 days out of 7 if you haven’t been for months, start with 2/3 times a week and build up

FOOD AND NONSENSE - HELEN WEST - WWW.FOODANDNONSENSE.COM - REGISTERED DIETICIAN

Often people set lofty goals like ‘I’m going to lose weight’ or ‘get healthier’ without much of an idea of how they will achieve that over the course of a year. This makes it easy to lose focus and give up. Concentrating on small, achievable tasks can help. ‘Prepare healthy meals for the week on Sundays’, ‘walk for 30 minutes on my lunch break’ or ‘attend a weekly spin class’ are easier goals to stick to and will help you form healthy habits in the long term.

FIT RADIANCE – LOUISE – WWW.FIT-RADIANCE.COM – FITNESS, BEAUTY AND FASHION BLOGGER

REMEMBER why you started. If you find yourself lacking in motivation, always remember what got you started. If your goals feel impossible or a million miles away, simply break them down into small sections and plan for the week ahead in advance. Whether this is food or workout related, get planning! This is my number one way to keep on track, and also makes long-term goals easier.

MAKE SMALL CHANGES. If you've jumped head first into healthy eating and can't stand the thought of gulping down a green smoothie, don't worry! Start by making small changes to your diet to ease yourself in. Make some healthy swaps, and take the time to learn about healthy eating. Remember it's not a race, and every small change helps!

HANNAH GETS HENCH - BY HANNAH GILROY - WWW.HANNAHGETSHENCH.COM FITNESS, FOOD & LIFESTYLE BLOGGER

For me, preparation is the key to success. If you want to turn healthy eating and fitness into a lifestyle you need to integrate it into your everyday routine.

Create a food plan for the week ahead and do a big food shop to get everything you need to make your healthy meals. You’ll be less inclined to purchase unhealthy items on impulse if you know exactly what you need to buy. If you struggle for time during the week, cook your meals in advance and then freeze them so you have no excuse not to take something nutritious to work every day.

Even the best of us find it difficult to motivate ourselves to exercise on some days. If we only ever worked out when we felt like it, we probably would hit the gym 50% less. Schedule specific days to exercise on and commit to this with the same vigour as you would a work schedule. Just remember to schedule in off days too - we all need a break sometimes!