Whether it was part of your New Year’s resolution or simply your constant efforts to be your best self, getting fit or staying in shape is not always the easiest to do! It’s especially difficult to undertake your fitness journey during the coldest time of the year when we are all cooped up inside with a full pantry. That’s why we’d like to offer some helpful tips and support to keep you motivated!
Dress For Success
We all know what it’s like dressing for that new job to help you feel like your best self and the same can be said when trying to get fit. Putting on your workout clothes will not only help you feel comfortable while working out but also has a positive affect on your mental drive. Whether we realize it or not, people from a very young age use transition periods to move from one task to another and it helps to form a routine, for example taking a shower or brushing your teeth can help you transition from work to going to bed. Changing into workout clothes can work as a great transition when switching between tasks, making it easier to get into the right headspace.
Meal Prep
It’s been said many times before that fitness does not only depend on being active on a regular basis but it’s also critical to have healthy eating habits. Unfortunately, with busy schedules keeping everyone in a constant state of feeling rushed, one of the first areas to suffer are mealtimes. We often opt for fast food options and it’s easy to pick fries over salad when feeling stressed and by all means there is a time and place to treat yourself! However, fast food options are not only working against your fitness goals with high calories but also don’t offer your body proper nutrients. Taking time to do meal prep ahead of time can help you stay on task by creating a more balanced diet with foods that are more filling and healthy. It also helps take out the most stressful and frustrating part about home cooked meals, which is simply deciding what to make every day!
Celebrate Milestones
We all might have a main goal in mind when it comes to our ideal fitness level but it’s important to have smaller milestones along the way to help keep you motivated and moving forward! The journey can be long and frustrating at times and sometimes it might even feel like there’s no progress at all but by celebrating the slow and steady steps you’ve been taking can make the process and not just the end goal so much more rewarding. Remember that it should be a marathon and not a sprint in order for the changes you’re making to be healthier and more long term.
Re-evaluate Goals
It can be easy to have an end goal based on a specific number that is influenced by outer expectations but that might not be the best fit for you as an individual. We are all unique and the ideal weight for some people might not be the best fit for you. It’s important to take into consideration your own body type and height when deciding on an end goal weight. That’s why it could be beneficial to re-evaluate your goals as you progress and decide what’s best for you and how you feel. This could require having a lot of self-awareness and honesty with yourself to determine when you might have surpassed your ideal weight. It’s easy for us to get so caught up in being a certain size when instead the focus should always be on being healthy.
Find Your Rhythm
They say it takes 21 days to create a habit and 90 days to create a lifestyle and this is true when taking on your fitness journey! It might be challenging at first to get into a routine of working out while trying to juggle your career, family and friends and some days might just feel too short to find time for everything. It’s important to remember that in will take time for it to become a part of your regular routine and to stay motivated in your efforts. Just because you were unable to find the time the previous day, does not mean it’s hopeless and you shouldn’t try again the next day.
