Starting a health and fitness journey can increase your energy, strengthen your muscles, improve your mood, enhance your productivity, and prevent chronic diseases. Truly achieving your wellness goals is one of the best-earned feelings.

Start somewhere. Start to change one thing weekly that will help you live a more balanced and healthy life. This could be anything from committing to an hour of cardio to eliminating sugar or taking the time to prep your meals. I try to maintain a balanced lifestyle with an understanding that you must work hard with a level of consistency and determination to get what you want.

Make your initial goal to maintain a healthy lifestyle not just to lose weight. Instead of starving yourself and following strict dietary limitations, focus on how to feel great, how to have more energy, and how to improve your mood and your outlook. There is no magic pill or quick fix to having a toned body and being fit. It takes commitment, willpower, and consistency. 

10 Tips That Will Kick-Off Your Health & Fitness Journey:

1. Small Changes

Making small health and fitness changes in your daily routine will end up guiding you to your goals. If you’re consistent in applying all the basic knowledge that you already know by default, you will achieve a sustainable healthy lifestyle. Examples of changes you can make are to snack healthily, to cut fried food from your diet, or to incorporate an hour jog into your daily routine. 

2. Regular Exercise

It is essential to put strength, aerobic, and flexibility training in your weekly routine. 

Aerobic Exercise

Any exercise that elevates your heart rates such as running, cycling, swimming, and tennis is considered an aerobic exercise. Try to include 30 minutes per day to start seeing improvements in your fitness. 

Strength Training

Incorporating weights in your workouts for toning and shaping up is strength training. It is not only for bodybuilders or advanced athletes; it’s for anyone working out with goals to keep their muscles, joints, and bones active and strong. The World Health Organization suggests that strength training should be practiced two days per week. Whether it’s weight training, circuit training, gymnastics, dancing, or martial arts—Incorporate the type of strength training that is most enjoyable for you! 

Flexibility Training

After you finish your workout, include 10-15 minutes to do some yoga, stretching, or foam rolling. By incorporating flexibility exercises, you’ll feel more relaxed mentally and physically, and you will reduce risk of injury to your joints and muscles. 

3. Be Active 

Be active on your own terms and on your own schedule. We all lead very busy lives but try to keep your body moving whatever you do. Have a jog whenever you can, use the stairs, or even walk when you’re on the phone.  

4. Nutrition is Key

We exercise five hours a week on average, but what do we do for the other 163 hours of the week? Make a conscious effort to cut out processed, sugary, fatty, and fried foods from your diet. Be aware of what goes into your system and always try to find healthy alternative options you can still enjoy. The number one rule is to enjoy the food you’re eating as this is the only way it will be sustainable. 

Apply the basics and never starve yourself. Eat for fuel and cut low quality, processed fuel into your body. Instead, always choose high quality, natural, whole foods to provide your body with the right nutrients and vitamins.

Eliminating the below foods from your daily diet is essential to leading a healthy lifestyle. Including it on occasion or as a cheat meal is a valid option but cannot be part of our daily nutrition. 

• Fried food
• White bread
• Processed food
• Fast food
• Sugar (glucose)
• Soda (diet and full sugar)
• Milky coffees
• Sugary smoothies
• Chocolates and biscuits 
• Chips and crackers 
• Sugary cereals 
• Mayonnaise and ketchup 
• Low fat food alternatives
• Dairy should be consumed in small quantities if it doesn’t irritate your digestive system

5. Portion Control Method

Counting calories is an efficient method to reach your specific body goals, but it is not the only method that can used and isn’t a sustainable one either. It can lead to eating disorders as it becomes obsessive at a certain and does not promote good nutrition. To maintain healthy nutrition put into practice the below:

¼ plate protein

¼ plate carbs

½ plate veggies 

6. Managing Time

We all lead very busy lives and we have a lot of obligations towards family, friends, work, and physical and mental health. It’s not easy to make time every day for all our commitments but every day we make a choice to prioritize. Ask yourself what is your priority? If your physical and mental health are your last priority, you will most likely be stressed all the time and unhappy about your physique. This might lead to negative effects regarding your overall mood, your relationships, and your work which will cause demotivation. Dedicate one hour a day and prioritize your health.

7. Water Consumption

Try to have a glass of water every hour to not get dehydrated and aim for a minimum of two liters a day. Don’t mistake thirst for hunger—sometimes you’re just dehydrated, so when you’re not sure if this is genuine hunger that you’re feeling, drink some water first then listen to your body. The benefits of water consumption are endless from promoting better metabolism and decreasing cravings to flushing toxins out of the body and providing energy! Add cucumber, lemon, and peppermint leaves in your water for more cleansing, hydration, and flavor. 

8. Sleep 

Depriving our bodies of adequate sleep can speed up the aging process and deter our weight-loss goals. Aim for seven to nine hours of sleep a day to allow your body to restore organ functions. Working out three to five times a week and drinking chamomile tea can aid better sleep. 

9. Goal Committing

How bad do you want it? How hard are you willing to work for it? What’s your motivation? If you talk to yourself and listen to your body, your goals will be clearer. No matter how unattainable you think they might be, set goals. Take baby steps towards your goals, change one thing a week that will make you closer to your goals, do one thing a day that makes you closer. This week I will eliminate fried food—today I will be thankful for my body. 

10.  Reward Yourself 

Reward yourself because you won’t feel motivated every day but every day you can do your best. Plan your next adventurous trip, buy those running shoes you’ve been wanting for the past month, or try a motorcycle test-drive! Don’t get caught up in perfection, it doesn’t exist and isn’t sustainable. Do your best with the resources you have. 

By: Amira Azmi