The new year is here and the Gymshark 66 challenge is back better than ever. If you have read the blog for a while you will know I tend to o this yearly however, I have never actually completed it as I get overwhelmed and fall of track. This year is different though I have entered they year more determined and focused than ever so I am once again throwing myself into the Gymshark 66 with the aim this time around of completing it and creating little habits that are going to set me up to achieve my overall goals, there is no messing around and putting too much pressure on myself this time, I am documenting it for myself mainly however, the community seems a lot more supportive this year and holding myself accountable seems to be coming much easier than before, I think it is going to be my change in determination and the support from those on my social media that really help me stick to my pledge for the 66 days and help me see some real progress in my journey at the start of this year. 

This year you set out your big overall goal then create some smaller goals that are going to help you smash that big goal. For me coming up the big goal was easy as in the long run I now have two main aims for my journey... hit my goal weight which I set from myself in 2020 and improve my health and fitness levels for playing football. When it came to breaking it down to small goals to make this more achievable I have picked goals that are not only going to help me in the 66 days of this challenge but also going to help me for the rest of the year and into the future for me to hit that goal weight in the end and just be healthier and fitter. These small goals are habits I am hoping are going to stick after 66 days of use at the start of the year and if they do stick I think I will see a big change after 66 days and by the end of the year in general. A small goal that is really going to benefit me is cleaning up my diet. I know if I sorted my diet out last year I would have started this year in a better place but that didn't happen so 2023 is the year of cleaning it up. This is going to involve no/less takeaways as they were a big downfall last year & actually meal prepping food which is more nutritious. I also want to cut alcohol out of the majority of the year as I feel so much better when I do this and I don't need to drink it for the sake of it. I am also going to hit my 2 ltrs of water a day as a minimum as I feel so much better doing this and my body is definitely grateful for it and I am going to go back to hitting my steps daily as these make a big difference overall and I need to stop being so lazy. A long with the steps though I also want to do 30 minutes of exercise daily just to keep my body moving and see a difference this will be a variety of exercises with different difficulty levels but I know the more I move my body the better I feel overall. Finally another small goal is be consistent... I want to be consistent in these habits and other goals I have set out for myself as I know that consistency is eventually going to bring the results. 

 I know if I stick to these small goals I am going to make some great progress towards my goals and I am going to really notice a difference in myself. I am really looking forward to seeing where I am in my journey after day 66 as I have pretty high hopes but also the belief that I will really be able to notice a difference. Of  course I will be doing a wrap up post once the challenge is done to share how I got on and what I will be continuing or changing to be able to keep up the momentum of my journey in 2023 as I really push towards those end goals. I honestly feel like 2023 is my year and I am really excited to see what these first 66 days have to offer for me. Bring on the challenge.