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It’s great to have a routine, an Ideal Fat Burning Day.

It’s also natural to take a diversion from the ideal at times, perhaps a holiday, a major life challenge or celebration?

Although it may sound like a good idea to go hell-for-leather to make up for excessive eating and lost leanness it can be a different matter getting your body to jump on board!

So, because something is always better than nothing here are my top tips for easing back to YOUR ideal… my answer to the FAQ: How Do I Reignite My Ideal Fat Burning Day.

1. Be hard on yourself when deciding “do I, don’t I?” and easy on yourself when the deed is done.

To explain, I often see people make choices that they know will limit their ability to reach their health goal – almost unconsciously.  They are not deliberate they just Do and then they give themselves absolute grief after the event when there is nothing more to done about it.

Guilt is a waste of energy. An unnecessary emotion.

So you ate the chocolate cake? Ok, deed done time to move on… Next time how about a lil tough love first “is (insert super compelling goal) worth skipping the cake?” 

So you’re thinking of skipping a work-out? Catch yourself while you’re thinking and harden up! 

If you want the result you’ve got to be able to stick with the actions right now that will earn you that result in the future.

Oh, and when you do slip up – over indulge or under train? Just as important is the ability to Let It Go – be kind to yourself & know that you always get another chance.

2. Buy some gear you feel good in. If you’re clothes obsessed like me that’ll be easy… the challenge is not wearing your gym gear everywhere. If you’re not yet comfy & confident in your training clothes – you will get there.

For now, how about focusing on some new accessories or a playlist you love?

Maybe it’s saving your favourite podcast or a great audio-book for training time.

It’s about drawing your focus towards a component – any component – of getting back into it that you enjoy.  

3. Whatever your ideal is – be it time training, alcohol free days, whatever… if picking up where you left off feels daunting then start with half & move up from there.

5 minutes? 1 set? It all counts!

Recency’ is 1 of the best predictors of a persons future behaviour. 

That means if it’s only been a few days since you last trained there’s a much greater chance that you’ll get back on track than if it’s been longer.

=> If it’s important to you, don’t let another day go by… you are only making it easier on YOU if you get that training session or that alcohol free day or whatever in today!

4. Focus on daily habits. It is easier to say “yep, go me, I ticked those boxes today!” rather than dwell on just how many kilos you need to lose.

For sure it’s important to have a clear goal with a deadline, and this is what you’ll have at front of mind when you set the daily habits that will get you there.

However the journey & every positive step you take is just as vital as the end goal.

Give yourself credit for each positive daily habit.  Track them.  Even decide on a reward for a week of daily habits rather than a number achieved on the scales.

Perhaps it’s something indulgent like a massage or simply like some new nail polish which reminds you of the progress you’re making when you look at it… or simply a couple of hours devoted to your favourite form of laziness at the end of the week, perhaps the movies or reading.

The important factor is to start off at the place that is manageable and non daunting for you, and to acknowledge the progress you are making no matter how small.

The most motivating thing is progress however, sometimes we can be pretty bad at noticing our own progress in our quest for more and better and that next level of achievement.

That bring us to ‘actionable time’… Today like last Friday I’m going to stick with 3 actions steps in the format I include in my weekly email series which starts when you grab my free e-book ‘7 Costly Mistakes That Frustrate Your Fat Loss’.

So there’s one for:

Fuel (which is food). It helps me think of food as the fuel that is best for my body.

Move (which is exercise). It reminds me exercise really is as simple as just moving my body more like it was built to do. 

Life (which is time). It keeps me aware that time must be used wisely and with volition or else it’s a waste of life.

Ok, here are those 3 simple actions to make reigniting your ideal fat burning day easier:

1) FUEL: In a rut with a particular meal? 

Choose your fav lean protein & fav veg & build it from there. Or how about asking for some creative input from the Galvanize Facebook page. After 10 years of coming up with nutrition strategies for the most fussy clients (myself at the forefront!) I’m up for any challenge – so hit me with a question & I’ll do my best for you.

2) MOVE: Find a place to train where you enjoy spending time. 

Whenever I travel I always look forward to getting back to my reg gym – ok, beyond looking forward – even excited. It’s worth a little further travel. Or a tad more $. Because the most expensive gym you join or home equipment you buy is the one you never use.

3) LIFE: Let’s take a closer look at those daily habits.

What is the one daily habit you could implement today to have the most positive impact on your health?  Commit to it today – whatever it is for you – because by most impact, I don’t mean lose the most fat… I mean the one habit you can and will commit to that will become a reference point for success to build on with future daily habits.

Ok, that’s bring us to the end of this week in Healthification.

Super huge thanks to you for sharing this week with me.

If you liked this you’ll also like: My Food Diary: Cheat Day + Ideal Fat Burning Day. (part one)

If you’re yet to share the Healthification love – just click here to zip over to iTunes and leave an honest rating and review. It’d help me out big time. With gratitude, Kate.