I want to start off by saying that I am in no way a fitness specialist or coach, which is why the post is titled “Fitness Tips From A True Beginner”! I simply just wanted to share some things that I have been finding really helpful. I don’t mean that they are helpful as in you will lose weight quickly or become super buff fast, I mean helpful as in they have allowed me to keep pushing forward without the journey feeling like an impossible task. Hopefully, these tips will help someone else that is starting out and is feeling a bit overwhelmed, because I know how overwhelming it has been for me!
Tip #1 – Track What You Eat
I never wanted to be one of those people who is tracking everything and is totally obsessed with their calorie intake. That being said, I have found benefit in tracking my food and calories to start to have a better understanding of what my body needs. This is also a great way to figure out if you are getting the right amount of nutrients. I was so bad at loading up on all the wrong food so keeping track of what I am eating has really helped me focus on eating the right food for me! I currently use MyFitnessPal to track what I am eating.
Tip #2 – Life Long Habit Building Rather Than Short Term Goals
Obviously, I have some shorter term goals, my biggest being the goal to lose 100lbs by the end of the year. What I am saying is that if you make a bunch of steps towards a truly healthier lifestyle that is sustainable you will be able to not only reach your goals but also continue to feel good for your life now! This has been my largest learning curve because I have tried other weight loss methods and they have all failed. I have finally learned that it’s really about changing your whole life to maintain this long term!
Tip #3 – Push Hard But Don’t Kill Yourself
One of the mistakes I have made in the past is I would push really, really hard for a short period and then I would quit. I realized that not only did I need something that was easy to maintain, but I also needed something that was fun! I can still push myself to go hard and enjoy what I am doing, which I didn’t realize before! Currently, I am really enjoying some dance and Zumba videos on youtube as well as a couple of workout apps that you just follow along with the workouts. The three apps that I would recommend would be; Workout Trainer by Skimble, Asana Rebel, and Open Gym.
Tip #4 – Just Get More Active In Life
This one kind of goes hand in hand with tip number two. If you add activity into your day to day life, as something fun that you enjoy, your actual workouts won’t need to be as intense or as long as they would need to be if they were the only activity you are doing. So in other words, your body will do better with light activity throughout the day and a workout then only a workout.
Tip #5 – Get Your Family Involved
Depending on how you are working out you can get your children involved in your workouts! This will make it feel like it’s more of a daily activity rather than something that you dread or have a hard time fitting into your life. If your exercise is just something else on your families daily checklist you will be more likely to keep on top of it!
