1. Pantry clean out

Taking stock of the contents of your pantry is step one in building the nutrition foundations for the new year. Remove the items that don’t support and fuel your body in a healthy way. Having good intentions, but surrounded by daily temptations won’t work. You know the food in your cupboard which takes half a decade to go off. Get rid of it. They’re riddled with ingredients we can’t pronounce and are full of preservatives, artificial colours and flavours. Remove the high sugar, high salt and processed products. Think of anything that contains white sugar or white flour. Chips, lollies, cookies, pastries, soft drinks. Gone.

2. Organised meals = organised life

Meal prepping is the gateway to eating healthy all the time, not just some of the time. Building a routine around your nutrition, just like your fitness, will build the psychological edge you need to succeed. Start by understanding what meals you’ll need to prep for the week and how many. Use a healthy, balanced menu like my 721 Nutrition Plans with lean protein options, good fats and complex carbs instead of refined. Do your shopping in bulk to minimise costs and prep ahead of time.

3. Accountability

Make yourself accountable for achieving your goals. Write them down where you can see them every day. No one else is going to do the work for you. It’s time you owned your own destiny. Some people find verbalizing your goals to family and friends an easy way to keep you committed to yourself. You may even find a new training partner to keep you motivated and tackle your goals together. There’s something in that couple’s that train together stay together… trust me.

4. Track your progress

Keep notes of your exercise and nutrition commitments in a planner and keep up regular photo diaries to visually see your improvements. It be hard but it’s a work in progress. You’ll never know how far you’ve come if you don’t know where you started. Also, consider wearables to measure your daily metrics and monitor your fitness like you would your inbox. You’d be amazed at the results when you give yourself some attention.

5. Keep educating

As you improve your fitness and need to find new challenges, keep educating yourself about your body. You only have one. Learn how it ticks, what keeps it motoring, areas of improvement and times when it needs a rest, it’ll set you up for success and help you to readjust you next milestones when you smash these ones.