The quote from Alan Lakein is so true and can be applied to so many areas of health and fitness. No matter whether your goal is to drop a dress size or run the London Marathon, it's simple, "Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail"

Once you have identified what it is you need to achieve then its time to work out how to succeed.  Bear in mind that any goals you set yourself clearly need to be realistic and achievable within the constraints of your lifestyle!

I use the following checklist when coaching and training. Try using it to start to develop your own fitness or fat loss plan.
 
1. My current situation is:
What to include: How much time do you currently have to spend on your fat loss or fitness goal? What activities are you undertaking which contribute to this? Are these the most appropriate to help you meet your goals? What is stopping you doing more? What are your main constraints?

2. My Options are:
What to include: What changes could you make to help you achieve you goals? Do you need to change any of your activities? Can you find more time? Are you able to overcome any of your constraints?

3. Exercise Schedule:
List what exercise you will do and when. Include classes you will attend, online workouts and other clubs, activities or sport specific training. Make sure you transfer this information into your schedule and treat it as a commitment.

4. Healthy Eating Actions:
Include at least 3 actions you will take to eat more healthily. For example, to have a lunch style breakfast 4 days a week; to increase your water intake; to cook up some homemade soup.

Try making a detailed plan for the week ahead and a slightly less detailed one for the next month. I'd love to hear about your plans so if you want some feedback then post them up on my Facebook Page. 

Personally I believe Type 2 diabetes to be the biggest health risk for my children's generation, if not my own.  The increase in processed foods packed with hidden sugars and saturated fat and the super sizing of snacks has massively increased our sugar consumption.

Today is World Diabetes Day and this year the message is "a healthy start" with a big focus on breakfast. I completely concur with this approach as in my experience the better your start to the day the less likely you are to snack later on. 

That said it takes a change in mindset to move away from a standard british breakfast and start eating a more healthy protein rich lunch style breakfast.  Avoid cereals at all costs, most contain a shocking amount of sugar as does orange juice. Sugary breakfast cereals (even those promoted as "no sugar added" will still contain sugars in dried fruit, check out the food labels) trigger a big insulin response leaving you feeling low and sluggish and hungry again just a few hours later. 

Protein is key to keeping you going for longer and avoiding the hunger pangs. ‘No time’ is no excuse – omelette or frittata made the night before and eaten cold takes less time in the morning than pouring a bowl of cereal!

Try the following breakfast ideas:

3 egg Spinach and Mushroom Omelette
Slice a large field mushroom and fry in a little oil until soft. Add a large handful of spinach and a handful of halved cherry tomatoes. Continue to cook for a minute until it starts to wilt.

Whisk the eggs together and pour over the vegetables. Cook on a low to medium heat for a few minutes until the egg starts to cook but is still slightly runny on the top.

Place the omelette in the pan under a hot grill for 2 minutes until the egg is cooked through. Serve hot, or cook the night before and eat cold in the morning.

Variations: Try adding smoked salmon with the spinach.

Poached Eggs with Wholegrain Toast
Serve 2 poached eggs with a slice of wholegrain toast and some grilled tomatoes.

For those who can't stomach savoury eggs for breakfast (you can change, I proved it!) then try this alternative. It does contain sugar but much less than you will find in processed cereals. The slow release carbs in the oats will help keep you feeling fuller for longer too.

Apple and Blackberry Oaty
40g Jumbo Oats
1 grated apple
60g blackberries
100ml almond milk
1 egg
2 tsp honey
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Set the oven to 180 c
Lightly grease a large dish and spread over the grated apple and blackberries.
Whisk the egg then add the milk, honey and cinnamon and whisk again. Add in the oats, mix well and pour over the fruit. Cook in preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and thoroughly cooked.

Pilates is beneficial in strengthening the neck and shoulders and alleviating problems in these areas so it is somewhat ironic that for many of us tension in the neck and shoulders, particularly when we begin Pilates classes can be quite a problem.

Many Pilates exercises are done on our back where the head is lifted away from the floor. In this position it is the core, including abdominals and back which is responsible for supporting the head, neck and shoulders and maintaining the elevated position. As the abs tire and stop working the neck muscles start to tense and strain, which if left to persist can create strain injury. If you continue with the exercise in this situation not only are you risking serious injury but doing absolutely nothing for the core, which has now stopped working.

What to do to avoid Neck Strain

1. Relax your shoulders and neck. Many of us automatically hold a lot of tension in this area. Simply being aware of this and making a conscious effort to relax the neck and shoulders will help.
2. Always engage the abdominals, drawing the belly towards your back before attempting to lift your head away from the floor.
3. Keep your shoulders down and away from your ears allowing the neck to lengthen.
4. In exercises where the legs are away from the floor (including all the exercises in the abdominal series) direct them closer to the ceiling rather than lowering them towards the floor. Try the Single Leg Stretch aiming each leg vertically towards the ceiling rather than lengthening it away from you in line with the floor. This will allow your core to support the upper body rather than adding the additional challenge of supporting the legs too.
5. Anchor your hips. Engaging your glutes (buttocks) will help stabilise through the hips allowing you to work deeper into the core which in turn will help support the head and neck.

If your neck starts to ache during an exercise then you MUST modify or rest your head. Your options are:

1. Preform a modified version of the exercise. For example in The Hundred, if you usually have your legs lifted, modify by putting your feet back on the floor;
2. Rest your head down but otherwise continue with the exercise pattern; after a while lift your head back up and then rest down again as you gradually build up strength.

Try this exercise daily at home 5 to 8 times to help strengthen your abs and core while supporting your head and neck.

• Place the hands behind the head supporting the base of the scull, palms overlapping and facing up. Keep the elbows wide and shoulders down.
  
• Breathe out as you draw the belly button towards the spine and feel the spine long in the mat. Tilt the chin towards the chest and slowly lift the spine away from the floor until the tips of the shoulder blades are just lifted from the mat.
• Breathe in and allow the belly button to sink deeper in to the mat and also the back of the rib cage, which should allow you lift the head a little more and lengthen the neck.
• Breathe out as you lower the body almost rolling down through the spine.

Once you are starting to get stronger add a progression. Keeping your knees together, as you curl up lift your right foot away from the floor lengthening your leg. As you roll down lower the foot back down the floor. Alternate your leg each time.