Goals

Have you set yourself a goal for 2018?
Have you written it down?
Have you broken it down to smaller, achieveable goals?
Have you got deadlines set and paid your entry fee for them?
These are the the questions all trainers/coaches ask, and the guilt you will feel if you haven't done that is palatable! You might even tell a white lie and say yes.... you might suck in your belly a bit and tense up your quads to make it look like you're definitely getting your 'leg day' done in the gym..... but don't! They need to know where you really are. They can't help you if you're telling fibs.
Before you contact a PT in whatever discipline is relevant, go for a lone walk or cycle, talk out loud to yourself, and make a deal with yourself that you will do your best to achieve your goal, you will sacrifice enough (family time, nights out, new handbags, bags of chips), so make sure you do it right and for the right reason.

I use the free app "my fitness pal" as a guide to see what I'm eating and the nutritional value I'm taking in, just so I don't go too far off track. There are so many gadgets for nutrition tracking but they are only to be used as a guide and once you do it for a couple of weeks, you will realise we eat pretty much the same foods regularly.
Use this along side setting your goals when going to your trainer. And for the love of God, be honest! Don't tell the trainer you eat salmon/spinach/kale whatever is the newest superfood if you can't stand the stuff. There's no point.... the trainer will know within a week that you're telling porkies.

Now for the hard bit.
Getting off your backside.
Yes. That's the way to hit any goal.
Not on social media.
Not on Telly.
Not in a coffee shop.

Use the goal. Find some ally's if that helps. (Personally I'm a lone shark and prefer my training alone)
Get your trainer --- please make sure they have a scientific education behind them, not a few weekend courses and they know how to take a good Instagram picture. Your trainer should live the life you want to be part of.
A cycling coach for cycling.
A running coach for running.
A swimming coach for swimming.
A triathlon coach for triathlon.
A horse riding instructor for horse riding.
A hockey coach for hockey.
You get my drift.....

Finally after my rant- Please eat real food. Drink water. Use supplements when necessary. Use gels and protein powders if you need to. They're not all evil. Bought from a fully trained shop you can get the right information and they can be very beneficial.

If you have been smashing your goals for 2018, I take my hat off to you. Well done. Keep up your hard work. You will reap the benefits for years to come.
Please tell us if there are any pointers you would add to this? All input really appreciated.