My 4 tips for staying in shape during Winter

Yep at the end of Autumn and beginning of Winter each year it's the "Summer bodies are made in Winter" sales pitches going around. Honestly what does that even mean? To me that is saying that in Winter you don't have a body and that you somehow have to make it during winter. Spoiler alert - your body in Summer is exactly the same as it is in Winter. It does not actually change over that period in time. I know in Winter it seems like everything goes out the rails, it's harder to eat well cause let's be honest when it's cold you don't generally want a salad you want something warm and satisfying and the colder mornings and nights mean you need to dig that extra bit deeper for the motivation to go for a run or to the gym. But Winter does not have to be your health downfall.

Here are my 4 tips for staying in shape during winter

1. Try something new exercise wise - It can definitely be a lot harder to get up out of bed and want to exercise when it's colder outside. This could be the perfect time when you need to shake up that exercise regime to keep you interested and motivated through the colder months. If you're an early morning Runner in Summer (cause let's be honest there's nothing better than a run/ walk in the outdoors) it might be an idea to join a gym through Winter so you can still keep your fitness up running on the treadmill or to try out a new fitness class or indoor bootcamp.

2. Make soups for lunch - As much as I love salads, in winter I definitely feel like I want a hot lunch. This is the perfect time to get meal prepping on a Sunday so that you have tasty soups ready for the week or to make extra when you are making dinner so that you have leftovers. Not only will your wallet thank you for it, but so will you waistline. You may think that getting lunch out you are ordering the healthy option by having soup or another warm dish but quite often they are packed with added extras and very calorie dense.

3. Book in for an event (e.g. fun run or walk or swimming event/ triathlon in Spring) - This will be the motivation you need to keep training through the Winter if you know you have any event coming up in the spring or summer.

4. This is where discipline and making those good habits in Summer come into it - Everyone says oh how are you so motivated. Yes motivation is great and will get you started into a good fitness routine. But look down the track 4 or 6 months. It's turned cold, no motivation in the world is going to keep getting you out of bed on those days. Instead it is going to be discipline and not letting yourself use excuses such as it's dark, it's cold, it's raining let you skip a workout. Now i'm not saying you can never miss a workout, but missing one, leads to missing 3, leads to having 3 weeks off and before you know it the whole winter has gone without you working out once.