6 Diet & Exercise Tips to get you going

I have always fallen on and off my fitness and diet journeys however when I am consistent with it I do notice changes within my body and even within my mind. Right now I am currently back on LOL……and here are some tips from me to help you along the way with your own fitness journeys.

1. Define your goal

Personally, I find it easier to work on something once I know what I would like the end goal to be. I like to write down what I would like my fitness goal to be then figure out a plan on how to get there. For example, if I want to lose weight, what changes am I going to make to get there? If I would like to gain muscle, what exercises shall I do and what food should I eat to do so? I measure my goals with pictures instead of using the scale, which I save to a private folder; I have found this the easiest way to track my progress.

2. Find and adapt a food diet that works for you

Over the years, I have tried many food diets and I have often found that adopting diets verbatim which others have designed, it does not work for me.  I need to either tailor a diet to myself or create my own. Most recently, I have been on the 16:8 intermittent fasting this involves only eating between an 8-hour window and fasting for the rest. To make this diet work for me I pick hours that suit my working day, which is 1pm to 9pm, and substitute out ‘bad’, foods such as chocolate and sweets for a healthier option such as a Nature Valley Bar. As I am now used to the diet, I will reduce my eating window to 7-hours. It is important to listen to your body and how a diet makes you feel. If at any point, I feel as though my body is not nourished by the diet and it is not working for me I will stop.

3. Schedule your exercise and workout  

I plan the days I would like exercise on a Sunday evening before I go back to work.  This includes type of exercise I would like to go do. This tends to vary between the gym, a home workout and a walk. I also like to structure what I would like to work on. If it’s a home workout, I would choose whose YouTube channel I want to use, whereas if it’s a walk, I’d choose a route.

4. Plan your meals which aren’t at home in advance

I try to plan my lunches at work and my dinner in advance of doing my monthly food shop. Although I am on a diet, I still include treats such as a GU Dessert. If I am going to a restaurant, I very rarely go in not knowing what I would like to eat. Planning allows for calorie adjustments. For example, if I want a Nando’s ½ a chicken with fries and broccoli for dinner I know that for lunch I will have something light like a soup or salad.

5. Buy gym clothes that make you feel comfortable

Sprucing up my exercise wardrobe always makes me want to go to the gym that little bit more. I love ASOS 4505 range and tend to buy all of my gym leggings from there. As my waist is smaller than my bum, I need high waist gym leggings with a string inside. ASOS 4505 caters to plus size, petite and tall women, they have a range of fitness clothes from other brands.

6. Be your own motivation

Comparison is the thief of joy! I often scroll through Instagram looking for women with similar body types who create exercises, which I can then steal however; I never compare myself to them. Everybody is unique and many images of women have been altered or some have had surgery to help along the way. I am not against editing pictures or against surgery but I know it is not realistic to compare myself to them. I tend to be motivated the most when I have measured my own progress as I mentioned earlier with pictures. The biggest competitor I have in my life is myself and looking back at pictures helps me see how far I have come.

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