Health & Fitness have always been a huge part of my adult life, but since I started coaching, it has become my life. These are tips I live by, and share with my challengers daily to stay on track and stay motivated.
1. Drink warm lemon water upon waking up every morning. This helps with firing up your metabolism and detoxing your system, losing fat and improving digestion.
2. Stick to a portion controlled meal plan. Once you learn how much food and the portion of it you should be eating daily, you can learn to fit in your favorite foods and meals without overindulging. (The programs I use have been a lifestyle change for me, you can find the 21 Day Fix & 21 Day Fix Extreme here)
3. Make a weekly menu & stick to buying only what you need for it. This helps you stay on track, without snacking on bad foods, and also helps not to overspend at the grocery store.
4. Prep your food. Wash & cut up fresh fruits & veggies, and make them easily accessible for snacking or to grab & go. Make a big serving of homemade hummus or guac for the week, or brown rice or quinoa to add to your dinners.
5. Drink a protein packed, vitamin filled, superfood shake for breakfast daily. Vegan Chocolate Shakeology keeps me full, nixes any junk food cravings (it tastes just like dessert!) and gives me all of my vitamins, and nutrients for the day.
6. Complete one 30 minute workout per day, from toning, to pilates to yoga. I used to spend two hours at the gym doing cardio, and it never transformed my body like these 30 minute at home workouts have, with minimal cardio.
7. Stay hydrated throughout the day. This is crucial to weight loss and staying healthy. Shoot for drinking half your weight in ounces for the day.
8. Dry brushing before showering. This helps detoxify the body, improves circulation, tightens skin, exfoliates, and reduces the appearance of cellulite.
9. If you get hungry after dinner, drink a cup of decaffeinated tea. Cinnamon, peppermint, rooibos, pick your fave.
10. Never underestimate the power of weights, to tone your body and transform it (not bulk you up.) I’ve had much quicker results with my body becoming smaller and more fit and toned, than with any type of cardio.
11. Throw away the scale. Setting a goal to lose “x” pounds, can be discouraging, because sometimes your body is reaching non-scale victories much quicker. You may be losing inches, or pants sizes and not realize it because you are too stuck on the number on the scale.
12. Take before pictures. This isn’t for sharing, but sometimes you rely on seeing little differences, and you don’t see the big picture until you compare yourself to a picture of when you started. A photo can show a lot more than the scale can.
13. With each food & fitness choice, ask yourself, “Will this choice bring me closer to my goal?” This has been life changing. Results don’t come immediately. Take everything step by step. By making decisions based on your goals, each choice will be one step closer to getting you there.
14. Check in to keep yourself accountable. I encourage my challengers to check in with their workout & meal plan for the day at the end of the day in our online challenge group to keep themselves accountable. If you know you have to share your food and fitness choices with others at the end of the day, it may help you make healthier choices.
If you’re interested in making a change for a healthier lifestyle, and want to learn more about the programs, shakeology or my fitness groups, feel free to contact me fashionmeetsfit@gmail.com or visit my coach site.
