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"I often get asked by girls who have never eaten healthy or worked out before.. where to start! I totally get how overwhelming it can be! Here are some basic tips I have for those JUST starting out on a health and fitness journey! =)
Get rid of the junk food! This includes (but not limited to): regular and diet soda, cookies, chips, crackers, candy, white breads and pastas, fruit juice, sugary cereal, condiments like ketchup, mayo, ranch and other fattening/sugary dressings and marinades, fast food, frozen dinners and most packaged goods. Start making your own meals from wholesome lean proteins, veggies, fruit and healthy fats. Basically, eat as close to natural as possible!
Cut out the alcohol. It shuts down your metabolism, promotes fat storage and breaks down muscle tissue. It’s basically treated by the body as a toxin… If you’re serious about getting in shape, not drinking won’t be a problem.
Start exercising! The trick is to find something you enjoy so that you will actually DO IT. There are SO MANY options, some of which include: weight lifting, pilates, yoga, cross fit, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, powerlifting, olympic lifting, jogging, cycling, spin, zumba, interval training, jazzercise, jumping rope, dancing, running, hiking, mountain climbing, swimming… the list goes on!!
Develop patience and a positive attitude if you don’t already have them! You WILL have set-backs and losing weight/getting fit WILL take time. You will occasionally cheat on your diet, you will miss a workout, you will stumble, you will make mistakes… you’re human! Nothing worth having ever comes easily… if it WERE that easy, everyone would be in shape! Know that you are only a failure if you QUIT. So don’t quit! You will regret it in the long run!
Surround yourself with people who support you. There is nothing worse than having negative and/or jealous people around when you are trying to make a healthy, positive change to your life. There WILL be people you THOUGHT were your friends try to drag you back to your old, unhealthy ways. They might tease, taunt or grill you for your new habits. Some people can’t handle change. If you find that your healthy habits are being mocked or demeaned by those around you … ask yourself why your ‘friends’ would want you to go back to being unhealthy. Do they not understand the sudden change? If so, explain to them why you’re doing it… Or, are those friends just jealous? If so, CUT THEM OUT OF YOUR LIFE!
Plan ahead! If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Prepare your meals and workouts in advance. Always keep workout clothes, a water bottle and protein powder with a shaker cup in your car so you never have an excuse not to hit the gym. Always carry an apple, a serving of almonds in a ziploc baggy and a packet of tuna with you.. that way you never have an excuse to hit the vending machines or burger joint!
Set realistic goals and track your progress! Keep a journal log of your workouts, your food intake and your stats each week so you can track your progress easily! 1-2 pounds of weight loss per week is a reasonable and healthy goal (depending on your current weight). The scale is not always a good indication of your progress though! Numerous factors can affect the number that are unrelated to fat gain/loss. The mirror, pictures, the way your clothes fit and your measurements are better ways of tracking progress!
You can do anything you set your mind to. Believe in yourself, don’t give up and you will get there ♥
Want to lose weight the healthy way? Follow this fitblr then!"
- Decide
- Commit
- Succeed
Decide. You have to do this, no one can do this for you. You have to decide. You have to get up off the couch and pick a home fitness program that will challenge you, but that fits your fitness level. If you need help with this, I can help. I welcome you to come find me and LIKE my page the fitter Fitter on facebook. Lurk a while if you need to, engage, comment, share and get to know me. Talk to me about what home fitness programs I am doing and what I like about them.
Commit. I recommend jumping in both feet like I did. Get a Challenge Pack and join a Clean Slate Challenge for accountability, because the motivation and support found in the Clean Slate Challenge, or one of the 30 Day Challenges, is designed to keep you going when it gets tough and you want to go back to your old habits. Accountability and support are instrumental in getting you past those critical first 21 days that you need to log to create new habits. Read my post I'm A Winner for more information on what the Clean Slate Challenge is, and what it can do for you. Because you made an investment in you, you are much more likely to do your part, and again, I can't do this for you, nobody can. This is an investment in yourself.
Succeed. We want you to succeed. We want you to get fit and healthy. That's what the layers of accountability are manufactured for. Take advantage of the workout buddies at Team Beachbody (you can join free, or become a club member and get 10% off your purchases!). Use the WOWY (Work Out With You) Super Gym to log your workouts so you can see your progress on the calendar. Enter your measurements in the goals to chart your progress. Post daily in the secret fitness community (so no one else can see your posts about your ups and downs and you can talk freely among people on their fitness journey, just like you). Post in your challenge groups. The accountability works. The motivation from others will lift you up on those rough days and you can pay it forward when you're up and someone else is down. Connect. That's how you succeed.
It won't be easy, but I promise you it will be worth it.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit". ~ Aristotle
"Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory". ~ General George S. Patton
"Victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay its price.". ~ Aristotle
Resources:
Find a home fitness program that excites you, fits you and that you'll enjoy (Invest in a challenge pack for the best investment in your start!)
Connect with me on facebook at the fitter Fitter for motivation, support, accountability and for help finding a program that fits you
Learn how many calories you are burning & how many you are eating with a free account at MyFitnessPal.com
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