Monday Motivation Series: How to Start a Health and Fitness Journey

I’m always on my journey to being the healthiest version of myself.  Since moving from NJ to FL, it has been a little harder.  There are a lot of adjustments when moving 1200 miles away from where you have lived for 99% of your life (minus Texas obviously).  The adjustments range from finding new grocery stores, finding out where to shop for the best food with the best prices, to being able to find the time and energy to put aside.

I fell off the healthy train the two weeks leading up to the move all the way until now.  Bouncing back and forth between trying to be healthier, to eating whatever I want, while also working out has been a cluster.  I’ve been really adamant on at least exercising.  Food intake and how I fuel my body has been a little harder.  However, I wanted to share my tips on how to start your health and fitness journey.

Side Note:  Ignore all of the dirty mirror selfies haha!  Also, I was in a rush to take pictures, so most of these except two are from the same day, SORRY!

WHAT KIND OF PERSON ARE YOU?

We all know what kind of person we are when it comes to our health.  Do you like to eat sweets, carbs, meat, veggies, etc.?  I have a HUGE sweet tooth, I also love carbs, eggs, cheese, and meat.  Veggies are not my favorite, and I can get creative, but I’d prefer to eat a steak over eating a plate of veggies.  However, I know some people who have told me they prefer veggies over meat.  Some people are vegetarian or even vegan.  That’s why you need to sit down and think about who you are, what you prefer, and work around that.  If you love to eat carbs, no matter what diet you try, you are going to have to eat the bad carbs in moderation.  There are really good substitutes for bad carbs though.

CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR

Anyone who has ever read any of my health and fitness posts knows that I have wrote a disclaimer EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.  The reason being is because I’m not an expert.  What is a good diet might be extremely bad for someone else.  One of my fitness friends was told by her doctor that she has a sodium deficiency.  In my case, my doctor told me I have to fuel my body with the least amount of sodium possible.  I cannot eat too many carbs or sweets because I gain weight faster than the average person.

However, someone else might need more carbs in their system.  Every single one of us is different from the person we are standing next to.  That’s why I always say, if you are planning on changing your lifestyle when it comes to diet and exercise you should speak with your doctor so that you don’t do more harm than good.  If you don’t decide to go this route, well then that’s on you.

DIET

What kind of diet do you think is most obtainable for you?  What kind of diet is the healthiest for you?  I had the most success on the 21 Day Fix and Keto.  However, keto should not be a long term diet, and it should be monitored by your doctor no matter how long you do it for because this can be so damaging to some people’s health.  I couldn’t maintain keto because of how particular of a diet this was.  The 21 Day Fix was the best long term diet I’ve ever tried.  I know that in the past I’ve talked about not calling it a diet and calling it a lifestyle instead.  However, I will say, let’s not fool ourselves.

At the end of the day, it is a diet.  Yes, it does turn into a lifestyle because a lot of things will change in your life.  You are more conscious of what you put in your body, you are more sensitive to certain foods.  When a body is fueled properly it works to it’s maximum potential.  You have to find a diet that makes you feel great.  A diet should become second nature.  Of course in the beginning of any diet it’s confusing and frustrating, but it gets easier!

EXERCISE

This is something that I have been truly dedicated to after moving.  Knowing that diet would not be feasible, making the conscious decision to stay exercising was the best option.  Of course diet and exercise should go hand in hand!  Abs are definitely made in the kitchen.  However, because I knew a diet was too much for me to handle, exercising at least a half hour a day whether it be Tabata or Yoga was working for me.  Because of injuries that I have, I cannot do certain workouts.  Whether your doctor tells you or not, your body will tell you what it is not capable of doing.  There is a difference between feeling sore and feeling pain.

STAY CONSISTENT

This is the hardest and most crucial part of a health and fitness journey.  Staying consistent is key!  Whether it’s meal prepping every Sunday, or working out at least a half hour each day (with rest days).  Of course there are days that will be harder than others, but staying consistent will help you stay on track.

TOMORROW IS NOT AN OPTION

Let’s face it, we’ve all said “I’ll start my diet tomorrow.”  How many times have you actually started tomorrow?  Saying I’ll start my diet tomorrow has only been successful a total of 3 times in the last several years.  That is how I ballooned up to almost 200lbs.  Every day I kept saying I’ll start my diet and exercise tomorrow, and I never did.  Then when I finally got to a scary weight and deteriorated health, I knew that tomorrow was no longer an option.  Searching for different diets and workouts was really discouraging.  There was just so much information out there.  Then I saw a friend post about the 21 Day Fix.  I have talked about my feeling of MLM’s multiple times (long post about MLM’s here).  I do not agree with them, and as a former Beachbody Coach, there is a lot more that goes into it that meets the eye.  However, I will always stand by their programs.  The 21 Day Fix helped me lose almost 50 lbs, gain muscle, tone up, and feel like one of the best versions of myself.  The coaches and support groups are amazing!  It’s other aspects of the Beachbody business model that I do not agree with.

xoxo Monica

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