Back To Basics Tips To Get Your Fitness Journey Started
It can be easy to get swept up in all kinds of fitness and health trends while trying to get in shape. From fad diets to new and exciting workouts, it’s hard to know what’s truly effective and what’s just a passing trend. Of course, the best thing to do would be to consult with your doctor or a licensed dietitian and personal trainer to get the best plan for you. However, if you’re looking to start your health journey and don’t know where to start, we’ve gathered a few basic tips to get you on the right path without too much of a fuss.
Drink Water
The first and most important thing is to drink enough water. Not doing so leads to dehydration which can cause all sorts of bad effects on the body and mind. From fatigue to digestive trouble, drinking water is essential for just about, well, everything.
Exercise More
Once you’re motivated to start working out, you might be tempted to go all out – don’t. Pace yourself. Don’t overdo it and risk burnout. Work your way up gradually to get your body and mind used to exercise again. This goes for the difficulty of the exercise as well; you don’t want to do a high-level workout at first since you risk injury. Not to mention, you might get so sore that you can’t workout for days afterward! Start out slow and gradually increase the difficulty of your workouts.
Eat Well
Of course, exercising without good eating isn’t all that useful. If you’re looking to lose weight, you especially need to clean up your diet since it makes a huge difference. Eating clean is vital for living a healthy life in general. Add more fresh fruits and veggies to your diet and cut down on processed foods.
Portion Control
Even while eating well, you still need to have some portion control. Eating too many calories a day will result in you gaining weight – even if you exercise. Pay more attention to the amounts of food that you eat on a regular basis and work from there.
Sleep
Sleep is just as essential as healthy food and drinking water. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep every night to allow your body to recover properly. Not sleeping enough (7-9 hours a night) can lead to you getting sick more often, fatigue, and overeating. When you’re lacking sleep, your body craves more food in order to use the extra calories for the energy it’s missing.
Consistency Is Key
One thing is for sure: there will be setbacks. And that’s okay. We’re all human. Just don’t get discouraged and keep going. Don’t make yourself feel guilty if you slip up. Just pick up right where you left off and continue. Feeling guilty or upset with yourself will only lead you to binge eating or getting off track. So, don’t get discouraged, just know that there will be bumps in the road!