Sometimes just making a few simple changes can go a long way towards getting you to your fitness goals. This list is in no way intended to be comprehensive, just a few suggestions off the top of my head to get started in the right direction:
1. Drink water! Water makes up about 60% of your body. Every system of your body depends upon water. Even mild dehydration (only 2% deficit) can drain your energy and make you feel lethargic. Hydrate before your workout with at least 8oz, hydrate during your workout (at least 1.1L for every 1kg of bodyweight you lose through perspiration), and stay hydrated throughout your day by sipping on water constantly.
2. Change your paradigm! Super thin models and actresses look ill and more importantly they probably feel ill. Don’t let them be your role models. Make sure your fitness goals revolve around feeling good, feeling flexible, and feeling strong, not about how you look. Positive aesthetics are just a happy side effect of taking care of yourself mentally and physically.
3. Plan ahead! Plan and prepare your pre and post workout nutrition the night before your class. Plan your meals in the morning or the night before your day begins. Don’t leave fueling your body to chance, that’s when you end up starving and in line at the Wendy’s drive thru. Once you get in a habit of planning ahead it gets easy.
4. Shop on the perimeter of the grocery store. This is where dairy, meat & poultry, seafood, and fresh fruits and vegetables are located. If you are truly eating clean you shouldn’t need much more than that besides whole grain pastas, breads, and cereals. Everything else in those middles aisles is junk! Many people claim eating healthy is more expensive but I disagree. Avoid the junk and watch your grocery bill and waistline get smaller.
5. Try hard! That’s all there is to it. That’s the big secret to getting in shape. Don’t think you can stay in your comfort zone, casually walk on the treadmill while chatting with a friend, or get caught up on the latest Hollywood gossip on the stationary bike. That’s not going to work. You have to put in the effort and push yourself. You have to constantly try to do more. No one said it was going to be easy, but then again, anything truly worth having is hard to get.