We braved it! (And yes, it made us grrrrrrrrrr!) This is a challenging topic for two people who have been standing up against diet culture for so many years but there is no escaping the science and we thought it was time to have an honest conversation about how to create a calorie deficit.

Creating a calorie deficit can be done in 2 ways, and most people will immediately jump to traditional dieting (cutting calories). The other way is of course with exercise. The traditional view on this of calories in vs calories out has led to a distorted view of how it works. It is not a literal equation you can balance - eat 100 calories, and burn off 150. You CANNOT burn off the cake/chips/alcohol!

Procrastination compounds feelings of self doubt and lack of self belief - every time you procrastinate on your workout you increase the feelings of doubt about whether you are worth it, can afford it, have time for it, should be doing it.

Procrastination is also a rebellion, against the things we don't want to do! The only way to overcome that is to be extremely clear on your "Why", clear enough that your brain (and self-esteem) realise that what you want stands on the other side of your workout.

I’ve always struggled with sticking to things long-term, so even my husband is surprised that I’ve kept this up for a whole yeat but that says everything about how much I genuinely enjoy going. Even on days when my motivation is low, I always feel so much better after I’ve been.

As gym Coaches we hear on a daily basis how easy it is to slip into thoughts and speech that sabotage yourself so we thought we'd get some of it out in the open. We've got the things you need to look out for, and then what to do next. We talk about what it looks like for us AND how to recharge your motivation with some simple steps

I bumped into somebody today and we were chatting and she told me she’d given up strength training.  I asked her what she was doing now and she said she was doing a lot of walking with the dog.  I couldn’t have just walked away without saying that although it was great she was walking and it helps so much physically and mentally, if she wants to keep this up into her next decade, she is going to have to do a bit of strength training.  That may sound quite harsh but it’s the truth! 

I wanted to talk about 3 words beginning with “W!”  All 3 very much relate to me personally and all 3 are connected in some way. 

The first “W” is “Worrying”.  Oh my goodness!  How much do some of us women worry?  We worry if we haven’t got anything to worry about! My youngest daughter was staying with us once and lying on the settee one night as we watched TV. I spoke to her and she said “oh no mum, you’ve made me forget what I was worrying about!”.  A little later she said I was quiet and I responded, “well I’m now worrying about what you were worrying about!”.  I can see many of you now nodding in agreement, because we just ‘do’ this to ourselves! 

There’s something special about those 30 minutes at Curves, isn’t there? From the moment you start, your body wakes up, your mind switches on (or maybe off!), and you feel that lovely mix of energy and accomplishment building with every move. 

How you think and feel is what will make a difference to how many workouts you do, how much effort you put in, and your progress. 

Mindset is commonly misunderstood and thought of as motivation or will power. 

Your mindset is something you have to put on every day, just like your clothes (it doesn’t just happen like magic!). 

A word on trying harder 

Trying harder. It’s not just about more effort.  

There’s another component, technique. If you’re already putting in all the effort you can muster, then refining your technique could open the door to better results, with the same effort. 

Just a quick one this week, you know, because everyone is hot 😅 
 
If you need a reason, if you need motivation, if you need to be reminded to push yourself back up the priority list (because you've put other's needs ahead of your own) then here it is:

Wow! I had some fantastic responses to last week’s email (thank you!) about the messy middle and while lots of you are not there in this moment (great news because we can’t all be there at the same time ha ha), everyone related to it, or a version of it. 
One reply though made me realise that I’d overlooked a very important part of the solution to that messy-middle moment (remember the one where I said you want to tap out and might be tempted to set light to everything!).

2025 is half over. I’m not sounding the alarm, I want to make a timely point. 

When it comes to the middle, there can be a tendency to feel like we should go one of two ways… 

I'm not gonna lie – there’s one part of goal setting I find challenging and that’s rewards. I get why they’re important, I can just never think of anything! 
What I do know is that we all deserve a reward, we all deserve to feel special (including you), but maybe it is down to us. I came across this gem on the socials the other day and thought this is something I could get on board with, and maybe you could too. 

I know the last few emails have given you a lot to think about. As always, there’s no pressure, these emails are for encouragement, direction and support. Ignore what you are not ready for, or what doesn’t apply or resonate with you. 

There’s no getting away from the fact that your X-factor IS important. It can also feel hard. Sometimes we’re just in a place where we just want to go the gym, do our thing, feel good, be happy. 

Did you see my “weekly roundup” video I posted this week? 

It might really help you so if you missed it or you’re not on the socials you can WATCH IT HERE. 

Why? Well, in it I connect the dots for you between your X-factor, your goals and your monthly Coaching & Accountability sessions with your Coach. 

🔥 Your X-factor is the million-dollar reason you want to get fit, healthy and in shape.

🔥 It's the thing that we can remind you of that makes all the obstacles and excuses fade into the background.

🔥 It's the one thing that, when we call you on a dark, cold, wet November night because you've not worked out for two weeks that will bring you running back.

Find out how to get really clear on yours…

Your X-factor is the million-dollar reason you want to get fit, healthy and in shape.

A good X-factor puts you right back to the moment you first started this and were all fired up with motivation and how you were gonna change your life

The chocolate is not the problem. You do not need to punish yourself, or your body for the chocolate. You don’t need to feel guilty about it.

You have been lied to about this.

In fact, your body is way cleverer than you think and it doesn’t care. It doesn’t care about the chocolate, and it definitely doesn’t care about your efforts to counteract whatever you’ve been led to believe chocolate does to you.
This is why exercise is so important. Aside from the physical benefits to our health exercise helps us to handle stress, it improves our emotional resilience, helps us to regulate our reactions to what’s happening in our lives and improves our connection to our bodies.

I workout because I want to be able to choose – when someone invites me out for an adventure, I want to say yes and not be worried about whether I’ll make it. When life throws me a challenge, I don’t want my fitness to prevent me from dealing with it.

One of the things I love to see when I am Coaching on the circuit, or hear about when I speak to members is the renewal of their connection to their bodies.

What they experience as they are exercising, actually Strength Training, and finally discovering what they’re bodies are capable of is an incredible thing to watch.