Five things not to do | Inspirit Retreat

Whether you want to lose weight, tone up, get fit or improve your confidence and energy, if you can make an effort to avoid these five things you’ll be well on your way…

Detoxes, cleanses and restrictive diets. People who come on Inspirit Retreats are often surprised at just how much food they can eat and still see a reduction in stubborn body fat. Yes, losing weight means you need to maintain a calorie deficit, but that certainly doesn’t mean you have to eat lettuce and pine nuts all day, or put yourself through periods of extreme deprivation. It’s far better to play the long game: learn to enjoy eating real food with plenty of protein and fibre, and make it part of your life.
Overdoing the cardio. Any activity is better than none, and there’s nothing wrong with running, cycling and so on – but if you’re serious about shifting body fat, then strength and resistance training should be your focus. Try and prioritize three or four resistance sessions each week, then ‘add in’ whatever cardio you enjoy – but keep it in that order. It will do wonders for your metabolism and muscle mass.
Comparing yourself to others. Everyone is on their own journey. By all means get inspired by others, but their progress has nothing to do with your own. If you measure yourself against someone else’s achievements it’s a pretty sure route to frustration and failure.
People who don’t support your goals. No one said putting your health and wellbeing worries behind you would be easy – you need the right network of people around you. That means spending less time with those who – consciously or unconsciously – want to sabotage your efforts. You already know who these people are. Be around people who ‘get’ you instead – a training partner or a trainer can be particularly helpful.
Too much social media. Yes, we all do it. But don’t must of us have a nagging feeling that the time we spend checking (and checking, and checking…) our phones would be better used for other things? Social media is by no means all bad, but it can be a nightmare for people trying to improve areas of their lives. Just think about the health, energy and quality time you could be getting instead of starting at a screen…