Over the last few years, as I entered my ‘late twenties’, I’ve struggled to maintain my weight and fitness levels. There’s a number of reasons for this, which I won’t go into here, but essentially I’m more stationary at work, lazier in the evenings and eating/drinking way too much than I should. I just can’t get away with it in the same way I did in my early twenties.

I am now the heaviest weight and largest clothes size I’ve ever been and really don’t feel great about it. I’ve also noticed my fitness levels deplete rapidly and even the smallest of activities leave me short of breath… not great for a twenty-something ey! I’m lethargic, have bouts of feeling low and have lost my confidence in the way I dress and the activities I take part in.

This needs to change!

I’m the sort of person that needs a plan, needs a goal and needs regime. So after a lot of thinking, I’ve come up with a 12-week plan to get me on my way…

My 12-week body optimising plan:

1. 10-20 mins of high intensity work-out 4 mornings a week

The optimal time to work out is in the morning, before you eat. And it’s best to eat your breakfast within an hour of waking up to maximise on getting your metabolism started. A glass of cold water when you wake up will also help this. So my plan is to do 10-20 mins of exercise when I wake up, at least 4 mornings a week. I will then have my breakfast before heading off to work. This will then mean I’ve dealt with exercise before the day has even started and can relax in the evenings without the guilt of having not gone to the gym.

2. What workout should I be doing?

After reading a lot of blogs and magazine articles and knowing in my experience what has worked best for me, it seems the optimal work-out duration is 20-30 minutes of high-intensity, interval and mixed movement training. You don’t need a gym membership to do this and you can utilise your own body for any exercises. You can also use weights or kettle-bells for example, to mix it up a bit. The main thing is to keep your body moving and keep your heart-rate up for this 20-30 minutes. Even if your workout is only 20 minutes long, working-out at this high intensity will maximise your calorie-burning.

I’m using a mixture of work-outs to keep myself interested, as I quickly get bored. I’m using the Fit Woman app, the 7-minute workout app, as well as this great No Equipment workout that I found online.

3. Slimming World food optimisation

Those of you that follow my blog will know I’ve been on Slimming World for over a year now and I managed to lose 12lbs on it in the lead-up to my wedding. I find SW is a great way of changing the way you think about the way you eat, still enjoy food and lose weight steadily and healthily. It’s not a fad diet, it’s a way of eating and doesn’t cut out food groups or deprive you of the things you love. Essentially, it’s everything in moderation and packing in good foods like fruit and veg. The groups give you focus and that weekly weigh-in (I only ever weigh myself at group now!).

To find out more about SW, head to the website, where you can also find your local group.

4. Setting goal-posts and targets

It’s important to be realistic on your weight-loss journey and to not over-reach yourself, as you’ll potentially end up disappointed (I know I have before). You need to manage your own expectations and although targets are a brilliant motivational tool, try and make them realistic! I want to lose 1 stone in 12 weeks, which is just over 1 lb per week. I know this is totally do-able and I can do it healthily, but will need to remain focussed. So it’s a good, realistic goal that will spur me on throughout the weeks.

I also want to drop a dress-size. I found myself creeping from a 12 to a 14 and finding larger clothes more comfy. I want to get back to a 12 and enjoy wearing clothes again!

5. Reward yourself

If you’re anything like me, you’re impatient and want to see results immediately! This isn’t always possible and is one of the main reasons why people give up on their weight-loss journeys. It sometimes takes weeks, maybe even months for a noticeable difference. This doesn’t always mean that you’re not progressing though, but can be really de-motivating and soul-destroying. I’ve therefore come up with a way of keeping myself on track, even if I feel like I don’t look any different. I’m going to reward myself with treats when I hit my targets…:-)

And rewards don’t have to be food/drink based. I’m thinking clothes, days-out, pampering etc. If you know you’ve got a nice treat waiting for you at the end of a long-hard slog, it’s more likely you’ll push yourself through the hard times. So how about you allow yourself a shopping trip after the first 6lbs you lose? Or an indulgent full body massage when you’ve lost 5 inches from your waist? These are just examples, but remember to treat yourself or it can be easy to forget why you’re doing it. Just as importantly, don’t treat yourself if you haven’t quite reached your target…this will defeat the object and make you even more motivated to reach the next goal and get that treat!

6. Take photos

I realised just how much weight I’d put on when I saw myself in a photo after Christmas. It’s easy to not look in the mirror for too long when you get dressed in the morning and to buy the next size up when jeans shopping without really thinking about it. But it’s often when you see yourself in a photo that you realise how you really look. I went for months without weighing myself and was in total denial about my size. Even when my clothes size went up, I convinced myself it was the design, not an actual increase in size! Of course not! Then I saw myself in that photo and jumped straight on the scales…I’d put on over a stone since the wedding (that’s in about 8 months)!! And I was the heaviest I’d ever been.

Moral of this story is, take photos of yourself, even if you don’t want to! It’s a good way to bench-mark your weight-loss and to track your progress. I’m planning on taking a photo once a week, the same time each week (ideally in the same underwear). Then I should be able to see how my body changes over the next 12 weeks. And hopefully have a great before and after shot!

So that’s an overview of my 12 week body optimising plan. Here’s a recap of what I want to achieve over the next 3 months: