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Staying Fit Beyond February

Staying Fit Beyond February

by: Christie Bartlett, Guest Writer

Keeping up with a fitness and healthy eating routine while keeping a busy lifestyle is definitely hectic. Even if you have fallen off the wagon with your fitness plan, it is never too late to jump back on. If you are like me, a working mom with two kids, you understand how little time there is left for staying fit. To help you utilize the spare time you have for continuing your fitness and nutritional plan, consider the following tips:

 

1. Keep fresh fruit within sight on the countertop or kitchen table and hide sweets, or just don’t buy them at all! Seeing healthy food is a good reminder that you can make a healthy choice when you are craving snacks. Also, keep fresh veggies cut in airtight containers in the fridge for another healthy, quick snack.

2. Make a 12-week fitness and nutritional goal and track your progress week-to-week to staying fit beyond February. It is much more motivational when you actually see yourself making progress! Break this 12-week goal down into 12 weekly goals that include a reward for meeting each goal. For example, if your fitness goal is to increase the intensity of your workout and your nutritional goal is to only eat dessert twice that week, reward yourself with a new book or movie that you have been wanting. It’s the little things that make us happy when we are pushing ourselves very hard.

3. When making plans, plan your fitness and nutritional goals for the week and not just on a day-to-day basis. This way you are not scrounging for a plan when time doesn’t permit for those emergency moments such as “Mom, I’m hungry!” or the baby-needs-a -diaper-change, right when you were ready to plan today’s fitness program or nutritional menu. Use break time at work to create your weekly plan or ask for some help with the kids for half an hour to get your plan laid out.

4. Keepin’ it Cool: If possible, make meals that you can freeze. Having premade meals that you only have to pop in the microwave or stick in a preheated oven will save a lot of meal preparation time throughout the week. It is best to prepare multiple freezer meals at a time, which ultimately makes clean up a onetime event instead of several by preparing separate meals all week. Staying fit can be a little easier with pre-planned meals.

5. Try to work out early in the morning before the kids wake up, or in some cases, after the kids go to bed. It can be stressful having the kids interrupt your workout.

 

For the original post, go here: Staying Fit Beyond February PDF

Join the Vegan Challenge to make sure you are Staying Fit beyond February!  It makes all 5 of these tips perfectly easy to follow!

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    Get Fit For The Holidays

    Get Fit For The Holidays!

    Making Better Choices to Get Fit for our Health

    The first step to eating better is shopping smarter. It starts from the grocery store to your kitchen. Take a look at what you have in your kitchen and re-evaluate your grocery habits. Foods that are easily accessible are the foods you will most likely eat, so get rid of the junk food now and start filling your cabinets with food you know is good for your body. Below are some tips for making small adjustments that will help you get fit and lose weight.

    1. Always make a shopping list. If you don’t plan what to eat, you plan to cheat! The extra effort it takes to plan ahead is well worth your time. Take a few minutes once a week to find healthy recipes that you want to make, and write down the ingredients that you need to buy. Don’t forget to include on-the-go snacks such as nutrition bars and trail mix, plus healthy recipes that are quick to prepare. This will prevent you from going to fast-food restaurants for a quick fix. Instead, save yourself the calories. 2. Look at the ingredients. If you are unsure what an ingredient is, don’t buy it. A lot of the long-winded words in processed foods are chemicals, preservatives, or genetically modified ingredients. Examples include hydrogenated oils, sodium benzoate, and maltodextrin. If your body does not recognize a substance in the body, your immune system will treat it like a toxin and try to fight it off. These added stresses on the body may negatively affect your metabolism, which may lead to weight gain. 3. If you really are craving sweets, eat a piece of fruit. Chances are, your craving will be satisfied. However, if you still can’t get over your craving then limit yourself to an individually packaged item that is one serving size. Don’t buy the whole cake, a dozen cookies, or a liter of soda. It is not worth the discount on bulk items if they will cause you to gain weight. Having these items sitting around in your house will tempt you to consume it! 4. Limit attending events based around eating food. Most events like birthday parties, potlucks, and banquets have an abundance of desserts, burgers, pizza, and/or soda. Those are all the foods you should be avoiding in order to lose weight. If you do attend events, however, bring a healthy dish or eat a meal right before leaving your house. That way, you will not be hungry and are less likely to indulge in junk food.

    Tis the season to be slimming! Don’t use the holidays as an excuse to eat junk. You can still mingle with family and friends without making poor eating decisions. When the holidays roll around, try new healthy recipes and change up the tradition a little. The choices you make will influence those around you – give the gift of positive change this season! Eating healthy doesn’t mean giving up your favorite foods, but changing how you prepare them to get fit. Happy Holidays!

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      Kelly Gibson has certifications from NASM, Precision Nutrition, eCornell, over 3 years experience as a Coach and Trainer, a lifelong athlete, and has earned a Biological Engineering degree from Penn State University.  If you need to calculate your calories, macros, and other weight loss goals, Kelly is your go-to trainer for Plant-Based Nutrition.