It’s so easy to fall into the trap of stopping your exercise during winter.
First you get sick, then you get too busy, then you don’t train for a month and when you stop training, that’s when your diet goes way out the window and all of a sudden you’re 5kg up and don’t know what happened.
I see it all the time.
Consistency is king.
Even when the world is falling down around you, don’t skip training.
Sure, easier said than done right?
Not necessarily.
Even when I have the migraine to end all migraines, I find a way to train.
I may just do 5-10 minutes of strength exercises with up to a minute between sets, but I get it done and that keeps up my momentum and strength and the discipline.
You can do the same.
Some people say diet is far more important than exercise and I say they are wrong.
Yes diet is important, but without the consistency of training, you are less likely to stick to your diet.
Don’t skip training.
When you are training consistently, you feel good and don’t want to waste the work you’ve put in, so you keep up the momentum and eat well.
So my challenge to you is to keep training no matter what comes up for you.
OK so you are bed ridden for a few days.
Can you get up and do some pushups and squats, even if it’s just a few sets in the lounge in front of the TV at the lowest intensity you can manage? Sure you can.
This year I have marked all my workouts on my calendar.
I don’t want to miss a day of scheduled training and I’m sticking to it quite well.
The most important ones to me are my strength training sessions because they keep my metabolism going strong and allow me to improve my horrible posture.
Do I overdo it sometimes? Sure. But at least I do it.
Have you missed training lately?
Did you absolutely have to?
If you made it a priority or an important appointment that you can’t miss, then you would be more likely to maintain your weight throughout the colder months and have a better starting point when getting beach ready for summer.
Again, this can be hard for some people to do.
But there are also many people who do this year round and manage to keep life in balance.
While it’s not practical for many people, I love the idea of training first thing in the morning.
You may have to drag yourself out of bed early, but if you do you are set up for the day and don’t have to think about exercise when the evening rolls around.
Remember, you don’t have to train at 100% all the time.
In fact, you should really be training at around 85% as a maximum to avoid injury and burn-out.
Some days when you are more tired or run down, you should be training at 50-60%.
Do you ever do that?
Those workouts are just as important as the hard ones!
So no matter what training you do, even training sessions where you are just going through the motions are having a huge impact on your waistline too.
Are you getting to bed early enough?
Winter is a great time for sleeping so you should be! It’s dark so the body wants to power down.
Go get that sleep and recharge your batteries. It’s so important and will help keep your weight under control more than you could imagine.
Plus when you get enough sleep, you might feel more like doing exercise and sticking to it.
Say ‘NO’ more often.
We are all busy and have so many other people trying to take our precious time.
Just say no to them.
Don’t answer your phone if you are too busy to.
Don’t answer an email or text if you are too busy to.
Don’t answer your front door if it’s going to interrupt you.
It is your time and you are allowed to do whatever you like with it.
It’s the on commodity that you will never get back, so spend it wisely and what you feel is important.
If someone is wasting your time, take it back.
You can do what you like with your own time and don’t let anyone else take it from you.
Cook in bulk and store your meals ready for when you are too tired to cook.
I couldn’t survive without doing this.
Winter is the perfect time to make up a huge batch of soup and freeze it for the nights you are tired and just want to rest.
Just spend an hour on a Sunday with the slow cooker or a big pot on the stove just simmering away all day.
Even if you are lazy and just throw things in as you remember, it gets done.
It’s very hard to mess up a soup or stew.
I’d highly recommend throwing in some organic beef bones for your soup too.
You’ll get some great gelatin from them that will help with your joints and keep your gut healthy.
And bones make the soup taste so much better.
Just ask your butcher for some.
Beef and Vegetable Soup
Serves 4-6
Nutrition info based on 1 of 6 servings
INGREDIENTS
900g (2lbs) grass-fed beef stew meat
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups bone broth
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 large can whole tomatoes
1 tbsp Himalayan salt
1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1 tbsp dried oregano
6 cups water
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
2 celery ribs, sliced
227g (1/2lb) mushrooms, sliced
4 cups spinach leaves, chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
Pat the meat dry and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
Melt a generous amount of healthy cooking fat such as lard, ghee or coconut oil in a large stockpot set over high heat.
Add the meat in a single layer, making sure that the pieces do not touch, and cook until brown on all sides. Work in several batches if you have to so you don’t overcrowd the pot.
Once all the meat has been cooked, lower the heat to medium, add a little more fat to the pot if necessary then throw in the onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until the onion is fragrant and becomes translucent.
Add the broth, red wine vinegar, Dijon Mustard, canned tomatoes and spices and bring to a simmer.
Turn the heat down, cover and slowly simmer for 2½ to 3 hours, until the meat is really tender and practically all the liquid has evaporated.
Add water, carrots, celery and mushroom, bring to a boil then reduce heat and continue cooking until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
Kill the heat, throw in the spinach, stir delicately and let the soup sit until the spinach is completely wilted, about 5 minutes.
Serve piping hot with a lot of freshly cracked pepper.
