Who else found it hard to be back at work this week?
Adopting a healthier and more active lifestyle is one of the most popular new year's resolutions every year. While we start with the best intentions, we often find ourselves back to our old habits when work or life gets hectic. This was also my goal last year, but once I really committed to this lifestyle change, I lost almost 10 lbs!
Today, I'm sharing with you 10 tips that really helped me start and maintain a healthier lifestyle and kept the weight off last year ;). I'll cover how to stay healthy on the road in a separate post, since I also traveled a ton last year. So without further ado, let's get started!
Whatever your health and fitness goals (no matter how small) are this year, be as specific as you can. Your annual health screening results can be a good place to start, if there's something specific you need to work on this year. Better yet, write down all your goals and keep them accessible. This will help hold you accountable.
Breaking up end goals/results into smaller ones can make them more manageable. I know wanted to lose at least 5 lbs last year (end goal) and I put it into smaller goals such as exercising 15 - 20 min every day, only allowing one fast food per week etc, which ultimately gave me the results I wanted. Your goals don't have to stay the same throughout the year, so keep tweaking them to make it challenging and fun for you!
I like visuals, so I put healthy food and the flexed emoji on my vision board last year, as shown in the Mid-year Update on my 2017 Goals. I also started following Tone It Up and Katie Austin on Instagram, whose workouts I already follow on YouTube. Seeing their feed every day makes me excited for my workout and what to eat after. The shopaholic side of me certainly gets motivated by cute workout clothes, haha! I love Zella from Nordstrom, which makes such cute and comfortable workout clothes. You can also find them on sale at Nordstrom Rack sometimes!
Btw, have you seen the new Tone It Up workout gear at Target? I love the rose color of this water bottle! You can't have too many water bottles, right?!
For me, the easiest way to stop eating unhealthy food is to stop buying them in the first place. Although Costco (where I do most of my grocery shopping) expanded their healthier options last year, there's still a lot of processed and packaged food. And the free samples! How can I pass them up? They are so good that I feel like I have to buy them. But take a minute to pause and read the labels - Often times, they taste good simply because they have too much sodium, sugar or fat than you should have! So I've adopted the "Try, try again (I can't be the only one going back for second's?!), but don't buy" attitude. Don't worry, I still buy plenty of healthier snacks at Costco.
My father is the kind of person who enjoys a beer or two with dinner every night after a long day of work. So the thought of having a drink with dinner every day seems totally normal to me, until I realized how much extra calories it adds! I started to limit my alcohol to one weekday (#WineNotWednesday, but sometimes just kombucha in a wine glass) and the weekends. Instead of feeling deprived, I felt more in control and less bloated (yay for that waistline!). In addition to wine and Frosé, I also like to make skinny drinks at home, such as these skinny margaritas. Don't feel bad asking the bartender to remove or substitute certain things when you are out. You are the one paying after all!
Another way to treat yourself, but smarter is to find healthier alternatives for your favorite snacks. Now, I feed my chocolate cravings with more dark chocolate, cacao powder in smoothies, and cacao nibs as toppings. I still enjoy a bag of chips from Panera Bread whenever I go, but it's much better than Lay's Barbecue, which used to be my favorite flavor.
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| Credit: Left, Right |
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| Credit: Left, Middle, Right |
Discovering this Organic No Salt Seasoning has been a game changer for me last year in terms of eating more veggies. Now I actually look forward to eating them! It's a combination of 21 different spices (minus salt). I used to season with just salt and (lots of) pepper, but this adds more flavor and you can control how much salt you want to add!
Whether it's planning your workout for the week or researching the menu before eating out, planning ahead helps you stick to your goals. Think about not only what workout to do, but also when. Allocate a time slot in your schedule, set an alarm if necessary! The Tone it Up girls have weekly workout schedules and I do them as soon as I get back from work. Going out with friends? If you are a picky eater like me, research the menu beforehand so that you won't be that awkward person who orders last and still has tons of questions for the server. That's me, but now I can prepare my questions beforehand.
Always bring some water and healthy snacks (Tone It Up protein bars for me), if you are going to be out for a while. This will not only save you money, but also unnecessary calories. Trust me, if I see a KFC when I'm hungry, I'll be doing a drive-through for some hot wings.
All roads lead to Rome. You don't have to do what everyone else does to get the same results. For example, although I agree meal prepping sets you up for dietary success during the week, I hate eating the same thing and it still takes a long time! Instead, I only meal prep two (different) lunches on Sunday, which takes me less time and I look forward to eating them! And by Wednesday, I usually have a better idea which day I want to eat out and if there are meetings/training that order lunch in (Hey, free lunch! They always have extras.). Based on that, I'll make another one or two lunches for the rest of the week.
Another example is I hate dead lifts and squads! 15 and I'm done... They are certainly great moves for toning your tush, but there are so many more ways! I also can't hold a plank more than 10s, but adding shoulder taps or knee taps makes it much more doable for me.
Starting a new diet or fitness challenge? Ask a friend to join you. See a co-worker taking an afternoon walk? Ask to join her! It's a lot easier to stick to you goals when someone else also holds you accountable (#AccountabilityPartner). Even if you just work out at home like me, seeing other's Instagram feed (Tip #2) can motivate you to get off your bum and get moving!
Take the time to celebrate small milestones, especially when you start from zero. Treat yourself to a new mani, a spa day (complete with some wine), cute workout clothes (what I do!), or something special that your little heart desires. Reflect on how far you've come, lessons learned and continue pushing for that big goal!
Life happens and we all make mistakes sometimes, but the most important thing is how you bounce back. I definitely had more chocolate and wine than I should during the holiday season. And sometimes I still end up with a hangover, even though I do drink plenty of water and take my vitamin B's. Instead of just lying in bed all day, I find that taking a shower, making a detox smoothie (lots of greens!) and doing some light exercises really help me recover faster. Maybe time for an alcohol detox after that, but you get my point.
So that wraps up 10 tips that really helped me start and maintain a healthier lifestyle last year. I hope you find it helpful for your health and fitness journey this year.
Next week, I'm so excited to bring you something I've been dying to write about - Beauty/Skincare Lessons I've Learned in My Late 20's! Hope to see you back here next Tuesday and have a wonderful weekend! :)
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