GUEST POST: LIVING A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE
Hey all! I’m Andrea from www.andreaothela.co! I got the best opportunity to be working with Elliot from AroundFit for today’s post by being a guest author.
When looking at his website there is a lot of information on living a healthy and fit lifestyle that could motivate anyone! I’m glad that I get to be a part of that.
When starting my health and fitness journey, I have to be honest, I didn’t really know what I was doing and was I very unorganised, which in turn, did not lead me anywhere at all. The tips that I am going to talk to you about are things I added into my daily routine which became my routine. Since starting this routine, I’ve lost 15 pounds, so I am glad to say that it is working for me! In saying that, let’s get started with our healthy lifestyle!
SET GOALS!
I have to say this is what started my journey. Setting goals each week or bi-weekly can be very beneficial when first starting your healthy lifestyle or maybe even weight loss journey like myself. When setting goals, I normally weigh and measure myself on a certain day every week. I write everything down, checking my measurements, my energy level, and my activity levels.
I then set goals for all the exercises I want to work on that week, how many times I am going to the gym that week, and how much weight I may want to lose that week. Not only has it worked, me majority of the time losing more weight each week. It has also made me stay focused on what I am doing each week and making myself stay productive to meet most if not all of my goals.
GET INTO A SCHEDULE!
When getting into a habit of healthy living, it is always best to set a schedule or get into a routine of when you are going to be doing something. Living healthy isn’t just something you do every now and then. It is a daily job. Hint the word lifestyle haha. Making a schedule of how many hours of activity you are going to do each week and when can really help you get into those jeans you want so badly. Or help those abs be seen. It may be a small thing to do, but it will help big time.
INTAKE/OUTTAKE!
This can make a big impact on reaching that healthy lifestyle, especially if you want to see if you are gaining, losing, or maintaining food intake, and therefore weight. As well as if you are getting the right nutrition. Tracking on an app, or keeping a food diary can be a very good way of seeing how much you are eating each day comparing to how many calories you are burning in one day.
This will also be a good way to track your healthy recipes that will give you energy and help you burn fat as well. If you have a fitbit or the fitbit app, this is a very good tool to use to track your calories and how much you are burning. As well as setting your calorie limit as well to make sure you are not overeating as well.
If you have a smart phone, which most of us do, downloading the “myfitnesspal” app will be a great tool in order to keep track of your nutrition. The app tells you how much protein, macros, carbs, and etc you are getting a day. As well when you are done for the day, gives you a motivation note saying if you eat a certain way, in a certain amount of time it estimates how much you will lose in a few weeks to keep you on track. Cool stuff!
WATCH YOUR ACTIVITY!
I know we have talked about setting a schedule. But you still have to follow it each week. Keeping track of how much activity you are really doing compared to what you said you would do are two completely different things. Actually doing the work is what’s going to make results noticeable. Having an activity watch, like the fitbit, would be a great tool for tracking steps, and how long you are active and your heart rate, which is a very good thing to know. It also will help with rest as well. In all, no matter what do the work and be active!
JOIN A FITNESS COMMUNITY!
Joining a community can be the best thing you can do. Have a workout buddy or just a Facebook group to motivate each other can really make the difference between if you are going to eat that whole bag of chips, or if you are going to eat a serving size amount of chips.
Joining a club at your gym or a class, can really help you meet others who have the same goals as you when it comes to weight loss, weight gain, or just to maintain. Even if you are getting fit to do a marathon, there are groups who are in the same boat as you and keeping it fun and competitive can be a good way to work hard towards your goals.
CAPTURE YOUR PROGRESS!
This small action can make a big difference on your mind-set when you feel like giving up and eating a box full of donuts. Taking before and after pictures can really motivate you to see how far you have come. There are days where you are going to feel like you haven’t changed a bit. But just because the scale hasn’t changed, doesn’t mean your inches haven’t changed. Some may get great inch loss and not much on the scale. Others may be the opposite. Always keep pictures or notes in order to keep going on a good path. Don’t give up!
MEAL PREP!
This by far, is my most fun, being that I love to cook and try new recipes. Instead of eating out all the time and stopping to get fast food, try meal prepping. Meal prepping can be a great way to watch what you are eating by prepping your breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks in between. It can be great for bodybuilders who need to consume a certain amount of calories and protein and even those who over eat and need to watch how much they are eating per day.
When meal prepping, you could easily go on amazon and get meal prep containers that can be heated up and put in the dishwasher to use and have all your food ready for the whole week. Not only will it help with eating healthy if you do it right, it will also save a bit of money!
DRINK WATER!
I personally try to drink a gallon of water a day. But some recommend drinking half your body weight…whatever works for you. But at least try to drink a glass of water before and after each meal. This will help in so many ways! It also helps you feel fuller in order to keep those cravings away during the day. A drink of water before bed can also help decrease your chances for a stroke. There are so many benefits. For taste, add a lemon or you can even good detox water recipes that can make water quite tasty if you feel it’s too bland. So always remember, HYDRATE!
Check out this AroundFit article for benefits of water on exercise!
LOVE YOURSELF!
An important fact about anything is you have to love yourself. You can’t just think that by losing weight or getting fit you will like and love yourself by the end. That’s not how it works. You won’t get anywhere with that mind-set. You have to love yourself now as you are and love yourself through the process as well. It’s not all pretty getting healthy. Loving yourself and accepting yourself and feeling great from the start with the mind-set of “I’m already great, I just want to be greater” you are bound to get far. So don’t forget how awesome you are.
HAVE FUN!
This can be a very fun experience if you let it! Going on hikes, appreciating nature, going on marathon races. Also working out with friends or just maybe joining a new sport. Never be bored with getting healthy. With the fun recipes out there, fun workouts, yoga classes, zumba , there is no way you shouldn’t feel good after a workout. Don’t let it stress you out. Rest on certain days - Reward yourself! Smile a lot and burn those calories and build that muscle!
Alright those are my tips! I hope you all appreciated it! I had such a fun time creating this post. I hope you find the info and tips useful in your healthy lifestyle! Feel free to come say hi on my blog www.andreaothela.co anytime!! Have an awesome lifestyle!!!
