5 Tips For Keeping Fit and Healthy
Any amount of exercise is better than nothing at all.
“I have no time so I may as well wait until the weekend”… Try getting out the mindset that you need to do an hour or so of exercise in order to make it worthwhile. Also, you don’t need to be in a gym or outside running to make a workout count. Stick to a realistic plan and squeeze in any exercise whenever you can, even if it’s a few jumping jacks, a little stretch in the garden with your kids or a quick ten minute routine on YouTube. It’s all about getting your heart rate up, endorphins going and feeling good about yourself. Feeling free and energised. Here are my fave fitness workouts that I do at home with my little ones when I can’t get out for a run. You really notice the difference afterwards, they are seriously effective.
Know what motivates you. Visualise it. Do more of what makes you happy.
My biggest motivator is the feeling you have after you've been exercising and how proud you feel for accomplishing something so try to focus on this and visualise how you will feel afterwards. Surround yourself with people who you want to become / who you admire / respect / look up to and they’ll rub off on you. You need to make time for what’s important to you and do more of what makes you happy, as you’re more likely to do more of it. Think about what you love the most and start doing more of it. Incorporate it into your everyday routine.
Don’t have anything you don’t want to eat in your house (so make your own healthy treats).
For an after-you-eat treat, try a homemade energy/protein ball or one of my fave brekkie biccies. The healthier you can be the majority of the time, the more you want to be but also I think it means you can have more treats. You don't want to ever feel as thought you’re deprived of anything you love as that may make you angry and you’ll eat more out of anger. So treat yourself but with things that will make you feel good that also taste delicious. When you start noticing a difference and feeling great, it's the most incredible motivator ever so you need to be patient and have a little willpower to start with. Changing a few small habits slowly can make healthy eating a way of life more quickly and you’re more likely to stick to it forever.
What you don’t like is often what you need the most.
So if you hate running up hills (like me), do more of it. It makes you so much stronger when run on the flat. If you hate stretching, do more of it as it’ll be you so much more flexible and feel amazing. I couldn’t touch my toes before I started doing Barre. I was so bad at yoga and wasn’t interested in it whatsoever but I’ve practised now (on my own at home) and have taught myself to become way more flexible and it’s so liberating and makes me feel happier.
Book your workouts in your diary (as though they are meetings) so you’re forced to do them.
Make it part of your everyday life. Making time for exercise is crucial for your mental health and everyday happiness. It’ll help you to get your anger out and to feel yourself more of the time. If you want to be better at something, you need to do it all the time in order for it to feel as though it’s the most natural thing in the world. Practice makes perfect and consistency is key. You should definitely get your workout clothes (and an energising snack) ready the night before so you’re rearing to go and you’re less likely to wriggle out of going to that class ;)
