Fitness Goals

It's that time of year when everyone is making fitness goals, most of which will fizzle out in a month or so, and I'm doing my best to keep these goals. The difference is, my goals don't include a certain weight or measurements. I'm doing this simply for my health.

I'm not the athletic type at all, never have been. I hated PE in school, never was too interested in sports, and see working out as more of a chore. And on top of all of that, I've never had much motivation since I actually like having curves and don't really care to be stick thin or really built. So working out has always taken the back seat. But as I get a little older, I'm starting to realize I can't just eat or drink whatever I want and not have it effect me at all like when I was younger. More and more, the food I eat is starting to become a bigger priority; too much dairy upsets my stomach, I can't have more than one serving of caffeine a day, eating fruits and veggies really do make me feel better, etc. This is all somewhat new to me since I remember in high school and into college living off of Dr. Pepper and microwave meals and maintaining a low weight and always feeling great. Now I'm starting to learn that the nutrition I get from food is really important, and my body is making that very clear.

So as I'm starting to develop healthier eating habits, I'm realizing that I could have potential to be so much healthier if I just work out more. Joe and I always take our dogs on hour-long walks, and I go to the gym and take spin classes once in a while, but I want to make exercise a bigger priority. Lucky for me, my older sister is really into fitness and has agreed to help me out. She had me look into Kayla Itsines and we're using her methods as a guide for me. I'm using her advise loosely since like I said I'm not trying to lose weight or look a certain way, but so far I'm really loving her workouts and feel really great after a good session.

So that's where I'm currently at, working out with my sister four times a week using Kayla Itsines workouts and cooking a lot of healthy dinners at home. For me, it's a really great feeling lifestyle and because I'm taking it slowly and not being too hard on myself, it doesn't feel like hard work, just maintaining a healthy life. Just as long as you don't tell me to count calories or cut out sweets, that's not gonna happen ;)

A few tips that work for me for getting into shape are:

-Don't completely cut out things you love. I love soda and pasta a lot, but instead of telling myself I can't ever have them again, I'm limiting myself to one soda a day (I'm addicted) and pasta dinners once in a while that include lots of veggies.

-Invest in things that will make working out more fun. When I buy myself a cute new workout outfit or shoes, I can't wait to put it on and try it out! Looking good makes you feel good!

-Always have your favorite music ready to go. Working out with music you love makes the time go so much faster. I even like to make my own workout playlists on Spotify,  always adding new songs and excited to "try them out."

-Don't be too hard on yourself and know your limits. If you're a beginner like me, don't try to be as good as an expert, that will come in time.

-Try to think of your goal as getting healthy with looking better as a bonus, and not the other way around.

Do you have any tricks you like to use for being healthier?