Tuesday, August 2, 2016

5 Beginner Fitness Tips

Two years ago I was a tired mom of 4 who couldn't keep up with my kids. Over my 15 years as a parents so far I had started and stopped workout programs more times than I could count. Exercise just wouldn't become a habit and I never ever had success. I was carrying around the weight of 4 pregnancies and had lost all motivation. Something changed for me in 2014, and I'm SO glad it did! 

Counting the minutes I walked turned into completing an entire fitness program and the realization that regular people like me could lose weight and healthy set in. 

Today I'm sharing with you 5 beginner tips for starting your own journey to losing weight and feeling better.





1. Don’t just talk about it, start now!

We all talk about the need to get healthy and lose weight. It’s good for us, right? I’m the best at getting big ideas and saying I’m going to start something. But unless I make that first move? Reality is I’ll never get started. Whether it’s talking about weeding the garden or starting an exercise program, I’ve just got to make it happen. Don’t say you’ll start tomorrow, next week, or even at the beginning of a new month. Make a plan and start TODAY!

2.  Schedule fitness it into your day and put it on your calendar!

Let’s be honest. We’re ALL busy. I could list all the things I have to do in a day and you could too. We’re so busy, the days fly by, and if you’re like me you get to the end of the day and all you want to do is sit and do nothing. With school about to start up again, the routines will be getting even more busy running here and there. If I don’t have a set in stone plan as to when my workout is going to happen each day, it’s typically the first thing to get ignored. 

I challenge you to sit down with your calendar and block out your exercise time. We’re currently working through a program called T25 that takes literally only 25 minutes to complete. Even with my crazy schedule filled with caring for Zachary and all of his therapy and doctor appointments, I can carve out 25 minutes. 

For Peter and I, our time to work out is every evening after dinner and the dishes are done. It’s so routine now that our kids even know when it's workout time and they ask us if for some reason we don’t start our workout right away!

Grab that calendar and plan out your workouts for the rest of the week! Do it!

3. Pick a program and stick with it to the end!

How many exercise DVDs are sitting on your bookshelves? Especially after I started having babies I bought several. And by several I mean SEVERAL. They all come with a plan, right? Most fitness programs come with a calendar to follow laying out which workout to do when. I can honestly say that it wasn’t until my oldest kiddo was 15 years old that I completed an entire workout program. SHAME ON ME! No wonder I kept all that weight on me. 

Don’t start and stop. Pick a program, print off the calendar, and commit to finish it to the end! 

My first program I ever finished was Slim in 6. And I did it! I completed the full 6 weeks. And because I did, I had AMAZING results.

4. Find an accountability partner!

If it weren’t for my husband, I would have quit this whole losing weight goal 2 years ago. I’d probably still be in my extra large jeans and have no energy. Every day I push myself harder knowing Peter is watching and working out with me. On evenings I don’t want to work out, Peter drags me to the living room. And on days he’d rather take a nap on the couch I’m getting real loud, waking him up, and saying “lets get started!” 

I also have a friend that I text with to stay accountable. She texts and checks in on me to see if I’m working out and how my nutrition is, and I do the same for her. Knowing there’s someone who’s keeping an eye on you and checking up on you makes it that much more motivating to keep going!


5. Plan your meals ahead of time

Oh the nutrition battle. Here’s the truth. I started working out consistently 2 years ago and ate right. Within the first year I’d lost 40 pounds and 4 pant sizes. Serious. But here’s the deal. I  gained 10 pounds back. Did I quit working out? Not at all! 

Why then did I gain back 10? I slowly became lazy with my eating. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t eat bark and beans. Even on our nutrition plan I eat delicious food. But one donut can lead to two, and one latte can lead to another. I can’t stress enough how eating right is the key to ALL of this. When I started eating right again in addition to my exercise? The weight started falling off once again. It’s SO important.

Here’s my tip: plan your meals out down to even your snacks. Plan a week at a time and stick with it. Save your plans and once you have 4? You have a whole month’s worth of healthy eating plans and you’re on the right track!

For me a healthy lifestyle take constant effort. Now that I know it’s possible to lose weight and regain energy I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve still got lots of work ahead of me - I’m working on the next 30 pounds I need to lose and I’m daily fighting the nutrition battle. 

Need help reaching your health and fitness goals? Fill out this simple questionnaire and I'll contact you to help you get started making your own awesome progress!

Let’s do this!

-Jessica


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