I find it way to too difficult to workout alone.  I've tried but. I need some guidance, I need to be told what to do and I need accountability to actually do my home workouts and not come up with some weak excuse! .I don't like going to a gym.  It all takes too long.  I want to workout in under an hour and carry on with the rest of my day.  And gyms are closed anyway ... and so in 2020 we saw the rise of everything online, including Online PT and doing home exercises.  

But how can Online PT work?  And why do I think it is better than searching YouTube for home workouts.

Losing weight and getting healthier does not need to be complicated.  We can all make some really easy changes to our diets without having to go on a diet or follow the latest fad or plan.  Start with mindset!  Then slowly adjust your habits until eventually your food choices are automatic.  The aim is to be able to eat a balanced, healthy diet, which is naturally within a sensible calorie range, without having to weigh and measure everything or be limited by a specific meal plan.   And don't ban treats or meals out!  Everything in moderation.  

​I appreciate it sounds simple and often isn't!  But take your time, small sustainable changes eventually add up to a big change.  It has taken me a long time to get to where I am now.  And I still get it wrong, but I don't get too upset about it, I forgive and move on.  I love the education I get from my Menu & Mind membership, the healthy recipes, meal plan ideas and mindset support is invaluable.  Plus my Online PT, Drew Gatherer has really inspired me to complete my three workouts a week, no excuses and Drew keeps an eye on my food diary and we chat about making easy swaps to keep hunger away.

I use the NutraCheck calorie counter app, this is personal preference, others like My Fitness Pal.  But get help with deciding on your calories - neither app is perfect at doing this!  Use the James Smith Online Calorie Calculator or speak to a PT like Drew.  I do not count calories all the time though, just when I want to be a bit stricter, it is a good way of learning what you can eat and what your portion sizes should look like.

I did my first workout at home with Drew Gatherer PT last Friday with the second one scheduled for Sunday.  But on Saturday I was feeling really unwell after a rubbish sleep and I had a sore throat.  I got up on Sunday morning and thought, I am not really 100%, I do feel better but I think I will tell Drew that I will postpone workout two until Monday and just go for a walk on Sunday.  Now this is typical Michelle-excuse territory.  I genuinely believed I wasn't really up to exercising.  I messaged Drew ... and he replied ... basically (and very politely) telling me to get on with it!  If you saw my insta-stories you will see me explaining or you can find my facebook video here.

We talked and I realised Drew had a really good point.  I probably was just looking for an excuse, that I needed to try and do the workout and if I was really not well then I would need to stop - but actually if I did it, I would probably feel much better.  I am so used to not prioritising me and my exercise that as soon as there was a small hurdle I looked for an excuse.  But the reason I decided to start a fitness journey with Drew was for the accountability and motivation.  I had to listen to his advice!

Many of you who have followed me on my blog for a long time will have followed my ups and downs with exercise and with my diet/healthy eating as well.  I do like to keep it real!  But it frustrates me that I am often chopping and changing my plans and forever trying to find the right solution to achieve my weight loss and exercise goals.  And all too often I find an excuse not to do it!  I know I am not alone in this.

This blog post is going to be the first of a little series.  I mentioned my plans briefly in my 'being fifty and fab' blog post last week. 

I've worked with a personal trainer in the past, in the traditional way, paying for a weekly session and meeting him/her at a gym.  But I then have to rely on my own motivation to do another (minimum) two workout sessions a week - somehow!  In reality I'd do my PT session then life would take over and any further sessions would dwindle to none.  Exercising once a week isn't enough to see results and although better than nothing, I really wasn't getting value for me (my fault, not the PT's).

Having allowed my exercise to lapse during the uncertainty of 2020, it was time to take action again.