Have you ever woken up to declare that this is the day you’re going to change your life? This is the day you’re going to change your life and lead a fit and healthy lifestyle, right? Of course you have. Do you know what, you’re not alone and lots of other women have felt exactly the same. We all have good intentions to make dramatic differences at various points in time and these sudden spurts of enthusiasm have often been building up inside for some time. It’s often the impetus that leads women to join us here at Kaia and really follow through with this feeling of change. What is important during these early days of determination though is to not go over the top in your efforts. What you need for success is to adopt moderation for the modern-day woman!

Let’s just be clear from the outset, moderation does not mean lacking dynamic action. It does not mean that you take a half-hearted approach or that you move forward at an infuriatingly slow pace. In fact, what moderation means in terms of health and fitness, is taking realistic and practical steps to achieve results that are sustainable. Moderation is about avoiding any style of training and diet that is extreme. This idea of excess, whether too much exercise or too strict a diet regime, is still a psychological go-to process for many, resting on the myth that there is no gain without pain. The fact is that while you do need effort and the ability to rise to a challenge you don’t need to put yourself through a terrible ordeal to reach your fitness goals.

Diet and exercise extremes can have many negative side-effects:

• Quick results that don’t last, no real results or even unwanted results, such as gaining weight.
• Poorer quality of life and less enjoyment, leading to feelings of failure and despair.
• Unnecessary pressure to perform, leading to undue stress and fatigue.
• Potential damage to health.
• Lack of balance both physically and mentally.
• Injury, pain, and physical instability.
• Irritability and mood changes, leading to relationship strains.
• Unsustainable diet and workout routine, leading to a full-circle back-to-the-beginning situation where no change is achieved.

Instead, moderation can open up new discoveries and ways of exercising that fit with who you are, where you are at fitness-wise, and also reflect what you want to achieve. You are able to explore a healthier lifestyle that feeds into realistic and achievable goals in ways which you are comfortable with. Exercise and diet has to be integrated into not only your physical status but also into every aspect of your life. In effect it is about balance.

Those that work out so much that they are left feeling exhausted and those who are constantly hungry from a diet of deprivation are the extremes but there are shades between. It’s always worthwhile understanding why you are following a certain workout regime and what a particular nutritional plan can bring to the table. When you are giving up more time than you think is healthy, in a bid to be healthy then you might want to rethink your plan of action. If each day is a struggle to maintain your diet and exercise plan then perhaps you are expecting too much from yourself.

Moderation is the effective ideology behind a sensible and results-driven health and fitness strategy. We have just the right tools to formulate what you need, so get in touch!