By now, 90% of UK dieters have fallen off their New Year's Resolutions.

The big question that always comes up, is why is that ? And the answer to that is actually quite easy...

When people decide on January 1st to lose weight, get fit, and tone up, they start a diet, and start doing exercise. However, generally that diet is so restrictive, and the exercise intensity is so high, that there is no way they can continue doing so for the long run.

Suddenly they stop eating all their favorite foods, and commit to go 4 times a week to the gym for at least 1 hour. And every morning, they step onto those scales hoping to see that bloody number go down.

Is this really sustainable ?

As we all know, the answer is no, it's not sustainable. Making changes to someone's diet or exercise regime does not happen overnight. It's a process. A process of adopting new habits and making healthy eating, and exercise part of your lifestyle.

If today you drink 4 diet drinks (or even normal version) a day, don't stop suddenly. Decide this week to swap one of the 4 drinks by the same amount of water. Then the following week, swap another one, etc. You will see that after the 4-5 weeks, this won't feel hard anymore. And from experience, if you ever would try and have 4 diet drinks again, you will be left wondering how you ever could do that before.

Make a list of a few small changes you feel you can cope with, and focus on those. Once that feels like second nature, make a new list, and start again focusing on those new changes.

What I keep on telling my clients, is that they haven't put the weight on overnight, so they shouldn't expect it to come off overnight neither. It's a process. Your body has gotten used to years of neglect. Slowly, you can show it there is another way to do things.

Using shock techniques don't help. Take it one day at the time, and the end result with amaze you!

If you need help with your weight loss journey, feel free to contact me, Anne Iarchy, Personal Trainer North London and Barnet, on 07880627944 or email me at anne@barnetpersonaltrainer.co.uk