If your resolutions to work out and eat better got off to a good start back in January, but your willpower is now weakening, use these tips from Louise O’Driscoll, Xen-Do Kickboxing and Martial Arts London affiliated Holistic Health Coach, to help you stick at it.

If despite your best intentions, your plans to work out regularly or eat healthily are failing, then take a step back and consider the following:

Where or why are you not making it to training? For example it could be that you go home after work then lack the motivation to head back out. In which case figure out whether you could travel directly from work to training, or find a different session, perhaps an early morning or lunchtime class? Starving hungry by the time you get to the end of a day and it’s time for a class? Make sure you eat a decent mid afternoon snack to keep you going. Download the new Xen-Do App to ensure you have all the club timetables at your fingertips and take advantage of the wide choice of days and times available in the three Xen-Do Kickboxing and Martial Arts clubs in London.

Similarly, if you find you are regularly ‘falling off the wagon’ and into a box of biscuits, then make sure you don’t have temptation within arm’s reach. Stop buying biscuits at home and keep a stash of healthier options in your desk for when the office cakes make an appearance.

Ensuring meals are regular and well balanced with good fat, protein and fibre will also make you less susceptible to cravings for junk – attempts to lose weight by restricting your calorie (and therefore often your nutrient) intake regularly backfire this way. Make sure your body is properly nourished, otherwise it will shout ‘hungry’ and most often demand sugar and carbs for speedy delivery of energy – such demands are hard to resist with willpower alone.

If you simply feel too exhausted to exercise then consider whether you are eating properly and getting enough sleep. Without these, you will lack the energy to work as hard as you would like to, so make them a priority. Also think about the possibility that you have been overdoing it, regular rest and recovery is important, particularly when you are starting out from a low level of fitness. Consider having regular days of ‘active rest’ or combine your Xen-Do kickboxing and martial arts sessions with a walk or a gentle swim.

With Xen-Do London’s Hybrid training you shouldn’t need more intensive workouts as a one hour Xen-Do Kickboxing and Martial Arts session delivers chart topping results. Simple consistency of moving regularly is key.

When you are struggling to get to a workout or resist something you planned not to eat, visualise how you are going to feel later, whether you made it to the class, ate the doughnuts, or not. It’s very rare to get to the end of a workout and wish you hadn’t done it – much more likely you will regret staying on the sofa feeling slightly guilty about missing a class! And there’s nothing worse than regretting eating something you didn’t really want. If you do really need to rest or really want the sugary snack, accept it, eat or relax then move on.

Ditch the idea of perfection. If you were doing really well and had a bad day or two, that doesn’t undo all of the good work you did previously, just accept the bad days as part of normal life and get back into desirable habits. If you get a puncture in one of your tyres, you don’t then slash the other 3!

If you can’t manage a full training session for practical reasons such as work or childcare, then remember that something is better than nothing when it comes to exercise. Take a break and walk outside for 20 minutes and follow Dai Master Raf’s advice about practising the basics purposefully:

“I and the Xen-Do London team are committed to helping you change your life, says Dai Master Raf, “our kickboxing and martial arts techniques can be practised anywhere and remember it is purposeful repetition of the basics that instil in you the intuitive ability to react and gain the advantage – in the dojo or on the street. If you can’t make the dojo then practice these techniques whenever you can.”

“I agree” says Sensei Anthony Nieto, “if you have ever wondered what your Xen-Do kickboxing and Martial Arts instructors get up to in their spare time take a look at the football game in this photo!”

This article is based on opinion:
– the author is not a qualified doctor or anyone who can dispense medical advice.
– any opinions stated are just that and people should consult a doctor before making any dietary changes or changes of any nature prompted by the articles published by or on behalf of Xen-Do.
– under 16’s please obtain parental permission before posting anything online.
– any opinions stated are that of the author and do not represent the opinions of Xen-Do.