It’s about 6 weeks since we set our New Year fitness & weight loss goals so it’s time to evaluate how well we’ve been getting on and see what successes we’ve had. Don’t worry if you’ve ‘fallen off the wagon’ recently, I’ll give you some advice for getting back on it and get you feeling motivated again!

There are different things you might want to measure depending on what your goals are. If you are trying to lose weight then you will of course want to weigh yourself, but  you may also want to take some measurements from around the tummy, thighs, chest & hips or compare how clothes feel bigger. Your weight loss goal may have turned in to much more than that too – if you’ve been following an exercise programme as well as a healthy diet then I’m sure you’ll have noticed improvements in your fitness and  noticed your muscles are more toned too?

If your goal is fitness related, have you got faster or has your stamina improved? Have you managed to stay injury free?  Does it feel less effort than before? Can you keep up with someone who you couldn’t keep up with before – maybe in a group exercise class or a running buddy? Have you entered a race for the first time or perhaps beaten your personal best time?

As well as all the physical benefits you have to remember the psychological benefits too. Are you enjoying exercise and/or eating healthily now? Have you felt happier, less stressed and more confident since you started? Do you sleep better at night? Have you found it easier to achieve your goals because you’ve got a plan to follow?

At this point it’s also good to reflect on what hasn’t worked well so you can make changes for your next 6-week programme. If you’ve missed sessions because you feel tired after work then you need to do your exercise sessions in the morning or at lunchtime when you’ll have more energy. If your favourite exercise class is on a Saturday morning but you have to take the kids to swimming lessons, then you need to find a similar class elsewhere. Or if you’ve started running but you’ve developed pain in your knees then you need to do a lower-impact exercise such as mini trampoline exercise so you don’t do any more damage and end up not being able to do anything.

The same with your diet, if you’ve tried to ‘cut carbs’ but you feel tired and have headaches all the time then you may need to introduce some carbohydrate back into your diet – foods like brown rice, sweet potato and oats are good sources of slow release energy. Or perhaps you’ve been eating junk food because you haven’t prepared healthier alternatives and end up reaching for the first thing you see because you’re too hungry to cook – you’ll need to be more organised in future and not buy the junk foods!

Finally, make sure you reward yourself for ALL your successes no matter how small they are. Try not to reward yourself with food or alcohol  because we are trying to break those old habits, instead, book yourself a manicure, buy yourself a magazine or a new dress and feel good! Knowing that you have a reward at the end of a goal will also keep you motivated whilst you work hard.

After you’ve finished evaluating & rewarding it’s time to start the process again with some new goals,  a new plan and some more hard work! I hope this has helped to get you back on track and feel more motivated again.