I’m not exactly a fitness guru, but being healthy is definitely easier than you think.
In January 2017, I decided to be healthier. This decision came after the realisation that I was making the wrong choices when it came to my lifestyle: before then, I had stopped working out, didn’t do any exercise at all since I went to work by car, I ate whatever I wanted without being sensible, I went to bed really late and was dead tired by 3pm the next day – not to mention the number of hours I wasted on the weekends by waking up at 11am. One could say I was losing control, and that reflected a lot on my general health and the way I saw myself.
Came the New Year, I decided to make improvements, step by step, and thanks to motivation and the positive effects I started seeing, I have turned these improvements into habits and I can happily say more than one year later that I feel healthier than ever and would never go back.
There are so many positive outcomes in embracing a healthier lifestyle in an easy, achievable way – I’m not advising you to lift weights every day and live on coconut water and avocado, far from it! I just thought I would share with you the tips and tricks that work for me and make me feel the difference.
GET YOUR BODY MOVING AND EXERCISE
On this one, I will be very blunt: when I say exercise, I don’t mean take the stairs instead of the lift or go for a twenty-minute walk every day. I mean put some music on, find some fitness exercises that are achievable at your own level and put the effort in. If you want to feel the change, you have to sweat it out. I used to hate sports and avoided PE at school at all costs, but I find that fitness has really made my mindset improve and I have become much stronger physically as well as mentally. It’s one of those things that shows that making effort and pushing yourself really does make a difference and changes you for the better.
I would advise to work out three times a week – cardio, yoga, weights, pilates, kickboxing, dance classes… do what you feel the most comfortable with. However stick to a routine, add your workouts to your to-do list, and you’ll quickly form a habit that you’ll look forward to every time. Fitness is also such a stress-reliever, and you can see the progress on your body as well – I have never felt stronger, and I feel it doing simple things like lifting heavy bags or walking up a hill. Every physical effort has become much easier, and all thanks to working out. I couldn’t recommend it more.
BE MINDFUL OF WHAT YOU EAT
I do really believe that we are what we eat. The better our diet, the better our health becomes. Make easy changes like limiting fried and processed food, but also snacks that have no nutritional value (as much as I love crisps, they really don’t fuel the body!) as well as fizzy/sugary drinks and alcohol. Easy changes, and again once you create a habit, you will never look back.
My favourite tip would be to think about macros when you cook or plan meals. In short, macros are how much carbs, protein and fats there are in what you eat. Also have a look at the amount of sugar you are consuming. You don’t need to measure these macros, nor do you need to count the calories or look at the scale; just think about whether a dish balances out all these elements to figure if it’s healthy or not. Of course always go for lots of fruit and vegetables, but make sure you get enough protein too – especially if you work out.
Some of my favourite foods to have as part of my diet are: peanut butter (don’t be afraid of healthy fats), broccoli, grapes, nuts, wholemeal bread, eggs, tomatoes, rice, chicken and turkey… Whole, natural products are the best but you can also find some helpful alternatives like frozen veggies or ready-made vegetarian burgers and so on. Mindful eating does not equal restriction – I eat peanut butter every single day and will never feel guilty for it! It has just become a healthier, more natural swap for plain, dairy butter. Also, always look at the ingredients list when you buy something. You never know what crap industrials can put in what seems like the most inoffensive foods!
LOOK FOR INSPIRATION BUT REMEMBER TO KEEP IT REAL
There are hundreds of fitness/healthy lifestyle inspiration accounts on all platforms: YouTube, blogs, Instagram and so on. I find that finding inspiration in other people’s journeys and mindsets is important, because it shows you that you are not alone and other people are doing the same thing, going through the same thought process and they will maybe give you ideas for recipes, workouts and tips. I mainly go on Instagram to find women who promote healthy lifestyles, my favourite is Louise from My Better Self – she posts in English (and French!) to motivate you to make changes and embrace the lifestyle that will make you feel healthier and happier. However, and this ties in with my next point: she keeps it real and speaks up about issues that you might encounter in the world of healthy living: body image, the pressure of social media, being too hard on yourself, and so on. She also gives yummy meal ideas and shows that healthy living doesn’t mean eating salad all day every day.
Keeping it real is very important: the pictures you see online are made to fool you. Even the healthiest person on earth can have cellulite, looks bloated after a meal, has dark circles and eats fast food once in a while. I feel like there is an “all or nothing” mindset online that always pushes you to be perfect in all you do. Truth is, nobody is perfect and no matter how perfect people look on their pictures, their stomach’s aren’t flat all the time, and they probably have a few stretch marks. Their thighs do the annoying spread thing just like all of us random people, and when they’re in a hurry mid-week their plates look like they’ve just thrown a bunch of veggies and chicken together. Because real life is not what you see on Instagram. But finding like-minded people can definitely help and motivate you.
ENJOY EACH STEP OF THE JOURNEY
Making these changes shouldn’t be a chore. If you dread the thought of working out at the end of the day, then this workout is not for you – try out something else and see what works. If you hate carrots, don’t force yourself to eat carrots. Have something else instead. If you’re not ready to wake up earlier on the weekends because having a lie-in is your favourite thing to do, then it’s okay to stay in bed until 10am. Find your rhythm, turn my advice into your own thing so maybe you can share about your experience too. And bear in mind that changes in health can take time – every little step you make now will be rewarding as you go, and you will probably notice it only when you look back.
Is there a trend at the moment about being healthy and working out? Yes. But does healthy living have benefits? Also yes. Sometimes, trends can actually be meaningful if you take them to your advantage and use them to grow as a person. A healthy mind and a healthy body can never be out of style, right?
Are there any healthy tips or advice that you apply to your everyday life?
Lots of love,
Julia x
