Just do it already!!

Well it’s the new year! Isn’t this the time when you’re supposed to make all those resolutions about health, wealth and anything else you desire?

Don’t take this the wrong way, but I hate New year’s resolutions! It’s almost guaranteed to fail because instead of making the choice based on the need to make a lifestyle change and invest in your self, people fall in line with everyone else and use the New Year as an excuse to make a difference.

Year after year, personal trainers like me get overwhelmed with people making resolutions to lose weight and eat right. And with all my heart, I cross my fingers and support them to do the right thing and take the first step in improving their health. But what happens is after the thrill is gone and the hard work continues (it’s a commitment, not a quick fix), clients fall off the wagon, get discouraged and quit.

It’s tough to watch goals and dreams fall by the way side just to be replaced by old habits that do nothing but make you feel worse than before you started. Sound familiar?? We have all been there, but the trick is not to follow the flock of others who give in to defeat. The trick is to get right back on that wagon and not give up! Gyms all around the world love people who pay for a 1 year membership in January just to stop going 6 weeks later. Ever notice the gyms never seem crowded anymore by March?

Well it’s easy for me to say, right? I mean, I’m a personal trainer and I must exercise all the time!! Hello… I’m also HUMAN!! Don’t even ask me how much I worked out over the holidays (sshhh), but I was back at the gym today like I had never stopped.

I guess what I am saying is New Year’s or not, when it’s time to make the change…. MAKE THE CHANGE!! Be realistic in what you are asking from yourself and know that it’s going to be hard work all the time! I love to work out yes, but I also like doing nothing (I have 2 kids remember?). I made a choice to make a lifestyle change a long time ago and for the most part, I have stuck with it. I love the rush I feel after a workout and for being a woman, it’s very important for me to feel strong. So let this be the year (at some point) that you take a good look at your life and make a decision to change it, if you so choose. Because if you do, you will only benefit from the endless results!

You can do it!

Samantha Montpetit-Huynh is a mom of two beautiful girls and the owner and founder of Core Expectations, a Toronto-based full service wellness team that delivers personal training, abdominal rehabilitation, nutrition, massage, chiropractic and doula services to pregnant women and new moms across the GTA.