Last week, it felt like someone flicked a switch.
One minute we were moaning it was too hot.
The next, summer had packed its bags, the rain was coming sideways and it was getting dark noticeably earlier.
So to everyone who spent July complaining about the heat…
Cheers. You’ve cursed us.
I got absolutely soaked getting my steps in last week.
Proper soaked.
The sort where you get home and even your socks have somehow given up.
And somewhere between my trainers filling with water and me regretting leaving the house, I realised something.
This is normally the point where people start putting the weight back on.
Not Christmas.
Now.
Nobody wakes up on the 1st September and thinks:
“Right. That’s me done with looking after myself until January.”
It happens slowly.
It’s raining, so you don’t bother with the walk.
You miss one training session because work is manic.
Friday night turns into a takeaway.
Then Saturday isn’t great either.
It’s darker in the mornings.
Colder at night.
Halloween appears.
Bonfire Night.
The Christmas meals start getting booked.
And somewhere along the way you quietly decide you’ll properly sort yourself out in January.
That’s the bit I think people get wrong.
The biggest mistake you can make this autumn isn’t eating too much on Christmas Day.
It’s mentally clocking off three months before Christmas even arrives.
Because most people don’t lose their progress in one spectacular weekend.
They hand it back a little bit at a time.
And the annoying thing is, you might have already lived this year before.
You got yourself going.
Lost a bit of weight.
Felt fitter.
Your clothes fitted better.
You started feeling stronger.
Then life got busy and things slowly slipped.
Until January came round and you stood on the scales thinking:
“How am I back here again?”
So let’s do it differently this year.
And no, that doesn’t mean dieting from January to December.
You shouldn’t.
There’s a big difference between not dieting and not trying.
There will be times when losing body fat is the goal.
But there should also be times when you stop chasing the scales and concentrate on getting better.
Train consistently.
Get stronger.
Build some muscle.
Keep moving.
Keep some structure around your food.
We’d call that an improvement phase.
But forget the name.
Think of it as the bit where you stop chasing weight loss and start making yourself harder to knock off track.
Because fat loss only reveals what you’ve built underneath.
If every year is just lose weight, put it back on, lose it again, you’re forever starting from the same place.
At some point you’ve got to build something.
A stronger body.
Better fitness.
More muscle.
And, probably most importantly, habits that don’t disappear as soon as the weather turns crap.
You don’t need to live like a monk either.
Go for meals.
Have a drink.
Enjoy your weekends.
Enjoy Christmas when it actually gets here.
But there’s quite a big gap between enjoying yourself and going from three training sessions and 8,000 steps a day in August to one half-hearted session and the distance between your sofa and the kettle by November.
Hold onto the basics.
Get your training booked in before the week fills up.
Keep walking even when it’s raining.
Eat some decent protein with your meals.
Try to get stronger in the gym.
If you have a bad meal, enjoy it and carry on normally afterwards.
And stop turning one missed session into a missed week.
None of that is exciting.
But it works.
And that’s why I actually think September can be a better time to reset than January.
Summer holidays are pretty much done.
The kids are back at school.
Normal routines start coming back.
And there are still well over three months of the year left.
That’s a decent chunk of time.
You could lose body fat.
You could get noticeably stronger.
You could improve your fitness.
You could build some muscle.
Or you could simply get so consistent with the basics that Christmas doesn’t knock you completely sideways this year.
You don’t need to be perfect between now and January.
You just need to stay in the game.
Because January is coming either way.
And I’d much rather get there thinking:
“Right. What can I build on from here?”
Than stand on the scales trying to work out how I’m back where I started.
Again.
-Ryan
P.S
Our September spaces have now gone.
Plenty of people clearly had the same idea about getting themselves sorted before Christmas.
We are taking enquiries for our October intake though.
Hit the Find Out More button below, choose your nearest Transformation HQ location and your Head Coach can send you the details or get you on the waiting list.