锘? You know when the holidays have been a little too good don't you? Your pants are just a little tighter Tim Brown Jersey , your waist is just a little bigger and your butt... Well, let's not even start on that one!

Not only are your clothes bearing witness to your Christmas overindulgences but when you look in the mirror you see someone who quite simply wasn't there at the end of November. And to cap it all your skin, once radiant and smooth now looks pale, grey and blotchy as a result of all the beer, wine, spirits and Christmas pudding that you've force-fed yourself.

At this point, something way down deep inside screams "STOP!" and you know that it's time to get yourself sorted out and back on the road to health and fitness. Christmas is over...

Well, don't feel too bad. This is the common Christmas story for most people and, despite the urge to tell ourselves we should have known better, the fact is Ronnie Lott Jersey , what's done is done and rather than focus on what went wrong, it's time to get to work and get ourselves back into shape.

So Where Do We Start?

Well, despite what you might be thinking, your first priority isn't to go rushing off to the gym and start a training program. After all, you've tried that ever year before now and it hasn't worked too well has it?

Nope, your first stage of getting yourself into shape is to get cleaned up... on the INside!

Makes sense when you think about it.

All of December you've been taxing your liver, your kidneys and your lymphatic system with larger than normal quantities of alcohol, larger than normal quantities of richer and higher calorific foods and less than normal quantity and quality of sleep.

Your body's natural detoxification system has been literally bombarded for the better part of a month and so, by way of thanks we're going to give it a little time off for good behavior by being super-good.

Water

First off, we're going to give your body what it wants and needs most... Water! Water is the ultimate detoxifier because it reduces blood acidity Marcus Allen Jersey , stimulates lymph, and improves your ability to digest food and eliminate waste. In addition, ample water intake helps to regulate your metabolism, reduce appetite and even improve your skin tone.

So, how much should you drink? Well, a good rule of thumb is 1 litre for every 50lbs that you weigh. So if you're 10 stones (or 140lbs) then you need just under 3 litres. Sound a lot? Only because you're used to getting by on so little!

Your Diet

I've written numerous diet articles for a whole selection of magazines, but in case you're not sure what's required then here's the short version.

For 30 days:

No wheat

No Dairy

No Caffeine

No Alcohol

No Processed foods whatsoever

In addition, try to eat mainly organic fruit, vegetables and meat.

Sound a little harsh?

It really isn't, this is just healthy eating Lyle Alzado Jersey , nothing more, nothing less and, if you follow the guidelines above, you'll definitely reap the benefits over the coming weeks.

Your Goals

Whatever you do, don't start out your exercise and diet plan this year without knowing EXACTLY what you're trying to accomplish.

This is one of the biggest reasons for failing to get appreciable results from diet and exercise programs. You see, without a clear, definite goal, the tendency is to cut corners, cheat and eventually drop off of your program. Obviously, this is not good.

But you can avoid failure entirely by setting clear and definite goals that tell you:

1. What EXACTLY you are going to achieve

2. When are you going to achieve it by

3. What will you need to do in order to achieve it

4. What help you'll need.

Without these factors you don't have a goal Kenny Stabler Jersey , you merely have a wish and, contrary to popular belief, wishes rarely come true.

Exercise

You might be surprised that I've left exercise til last as this is normally the very first post-Christmas action that people take. But, without putting all of those other steps into place, the likelihood of your exercise plan delivering the goods is minimal anyway.
to join a gym. In fact, strange as it may sound, I think that joining a gym in January is a really bad idea.

Why?

Well, gyms are the busiest Jim Otto Jersey , most hectic, most frustrating and downright horrible places to be in January with hundreds of thousands of 'New Year New You' signups all fighting for the same equipment and making every minute of your visit a misery.

Instead, get some dumbbells and a medicine ball and perform a home program of 10-15 minutes a day, do some stretching, do some walking or other light activity that you feel that you can commit to.

Daily activity (and I mean EVERY Day) will achieve much more than 2 or 3 days a week at the gym as long as you're consistent.

That's It!