There came a moment in Jessica’s life when she knew she needed to change something…
Growing up, she ate whatever she wanted. Her friends always wondered how she never lost her figure (turns out, her metabolism was off-the-charts amazing).
Then she had her first child. Then her second. She began to get older, and her metabolism started to slow down.
Before she knew it, she had gained 30 lbs. She was more lethargic than ever before. She didn’t feel anything like herself anymore…
Jessica’s biggest obstacle to getting healthy was that she had no idea where to start.
“How many calories do I cut? What workouts should I be doing? How often should I workout? What supplements do I take?”
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the idea of living a healthy lifestyle. But fear not! We know how to get through it!
Here’s a short and simplified guide to starting your fitness journey off on the right foot!
Set Your Goals
This shouldn’t be too difficult for you. Most people that gravitate toward a healthier lifestyle do it because they want to accomplish some specific goal.
Maybe it’s time to get back into your high school sports shape. Perhaps you want to get a six-pack in time for the summer. Maybe, like Jessica, you just want to be healthy for the rest of your life.
Your goals—and how specific they are—are important because they determine everything else in your fitness life. If you’re trying to build some bicep and tricep muscles, for example, you’ll want to do some burpees and battle ropes. You’ll also want to consume a diet heavy in protein to facilitate muscle formation.
Write your goals out, and create a specific timeline for getting them done. Hopefully, the rest of this post will help you fill that out!
Hit the Grocery Store!
Time to exchange those fatty meals for some home cooked goodness!
You’d be surprised at how many calories you skip out on when you make the commitment to cook your meals rather than eat out.
The question is: do you know how to cook?
If the answer is yes, then simply grab a healthy recipe (we recommend one of the ones here: http://realhealthyrecipes.com/).
If you don’t, no worries! You can always grab healthy pre-made meals (lean cuisine, for example) to keep you going until your next snack.
Remember: get all your ingredients and snacks for the week while you’re there. It’s always important to keep your cupboard stocked with healthy food, because when you’re hungry and run out of food at home, it’s very easy for the body to rationalize fast food when it’s starving.
Download a Fitness Tracking App
Another concern on your mind might be making heads or tails of which macronutrients your body needs and which ones it doesn’t.
What is a macronutrient, you might ask? Simply put, it’s one of the many categories nutrients that your body needs. While some of these macros—such as fats and carbs—get a bad rep, our bodies do need them in smaller amounts.
Now, one way you could track all the macronutrients you put into your body is by counting the contents on EVERY single label on EVERY single piece of food you consume. But let’s be real…that’s a LOT of math to do, and ain’t nobody got time for that!
Fortunately, there are some great apps you can download for free that will tabulate these numbers for you! Simply enter in the food you ate, along with how many servings you had, and add it to your list of foods eaten for the day!
These apps can also calculate the daily amount of each macronutrient you need based on your height, weight, and activity level. That way, you’ll easily know when you’ve had too many carbs or fats for the day.
Make a “Do Not” List
Everyone knows about “to do” lists—those lists that help you keep track of your goals.
But have you ever heard of a “do not” list?
People rarely talk about “do not” lists, but they’re just as—if not more—important to achieving your weight loss goals.
Basically, you want to set some absolute ground rules for yourself. These are the things you know will throw your progress off course. These are those treacherous little bad habits that take you back to square one if you’re not careful…
These are also the things that will accelerate your weight loss journey.
Start with just a few things: for example, you could cut out soda from your diet, limit your sugar intake, commit to eating no later than 9, stop eating fast food, or even just ordering your sandwiches protein style (minus the bread).
Once you cut the bad stuff out of your life, it’s much easier to focus on the good stuff—your “to do list”—that will change your life for the better.
Choose Your Workout Style
The importance of finding the right workout style to meet your fitness goals is often overlooked. Many people are told to “just go to the gym” because that’s how you lose weight.
Here’s the issue with that…
Those big box gyms are only ideal for a certain crowd. I’m talking about people who are self-starters, people that don’t need guidance from a trainer to reach their goals. Big Box gyms
But Jessica, she gets lost in the gym. She works out on a variety of different machines, but there’s never any focus to her workouts.
What she needs is some professional guidance, namely, a trainer who knows a thing or two about delivering the results people want. That trainer can tweak workouts to best suit Jessica’s fitness needs.
But Jessica might not want to dish out a ton of money for personal training. What is she to do then?
She can always check out local gyms, as many specialize in different types of fitness. Fit Body Boot Camp, for instance, specializes in 30-minute HIIT workouts that are perfect for the busy mother with little time on her hands.
It’s all about knowing what you need, then figuring out the best way to reach your goals!
