I started on my health and fitness journey in January of this year. I know, how cliché. There are a few reasons I decided to start this journey. Number 1: I got MARRIED in September! So, naturally I wanted to be in the best shape possible. Number 2: I wanted to prove that I could do it. I wanted to show myself that if I stuck to a routine, I would see results. It wasn’t that I needed to lose weight (although I did lose nearly 10 lbs.!). I just wanted to be healthier, be more active, and overall feel better.
The past 9 months have been awesome, exhausting, motivating, and discouraging all at the same time. My husband and I (wow, so weird to call him that!) did it together, which made it SO much more attainable. Believe me, if it weren’t for him, it would have been much more difficult to get out of bed at 5:30 every morning to work out. Which leads me to my first tip…
Buddy Up!
It’s so much easier to stay on track when you have someone holding you accountable. As I mentioned before, my husband and I work out together almost every day. We also go to a friend’s home gym on the weekends from time to time and workout with a group of 4 or 5 people. When you have other people surrounding you with similar goals, it motivates you to keep going. If one of you is feeling down, the other one is there to pick you right back up! It’s been a real game changer for me. It’s also just a lot more fun to work out with a buddy.
Be Realistic
When it comes to eating healthy and working out, there’s a fine line between being obsessive and being realistic. A diet that is too strict is just not sustainable. There’s no way you can eat grilled chicken and veggies at every meal every single day. And when you try to follow these crazy strict diets, you begin to feel guilty when you eat something that’s not “compliant.” And that’s just not a healthy state of mind to be in. You need to find balance. I typically try to follow the 80/20 rule. 80% of the time (give or take) I try to eat healthy, and 20% of the time (give or take) I allow myself to eat the foods I really enjoy.
Reward Yourself
Working out can be exhausting (obviously). If you’re starting to feel a little burnt out, take some time to reward yourself outside of the gym! For me personally, there’s nothing better than a massage. Unfortunately, I don’t get them very often because they’re a little pricey, however, I do treat myself from time to time. It’s a great way to recharge and get excited for your next workout. If massages aren’t your thing, you can treat yourself to some new workout gear (it’s always motivating to work out in a cute fit!)
Track Your Progress
Another great way to stay motivated is to track your progress along the way. Regularly weighing yourself to see trends in weight loss, muscle gain, etc. can be incredibly motivating. We have a scale that’s able to measure weight, body fat percentage, muscle mass, and a few other things. There’s also an app that goes with it. I’m able to look in my app and see the progress I’ve made since I started. Sometimes it’s hard for you to see your body change because you see it everyday. Tracking your progress is a concrete way to show that you’re improving!
Your health and fitness journey is just that, a journey. Results aren’t going to happen over night. It takes a lot of patience, hard work and perseverance to lead a healthy lifestyle. But I can promise you that it’s worth it! Just remember to have fun. And don’t kill yourself over eating that chocolate chip cookie or slice of pizza. Just try not to eat the whole pie, okay? 🙂
Best of luck, friends!
xo, Jess
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