5 Fitness Tips to Starting and Sticking With It

Making the decision to become fit is a hard one to make and an even harder one to stick to. Sometimes, it seems impossible to get on track and just stay there. Well, I've compiled a few of my most effective tips for the journey. These are tips I frequently fall back on and they keep me afloat. I hope they can be your life boat too.

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1. Clean out yo fridge!
The death of any healthy eating plan is the forgotten package of cookies and the stash of Halloween candy found deep in a pantry when a sweet craving hits. The ideal solution? Don't even have these killers in the house. But situations are rarely ideal, and so I suggest cleaning out your fridge and pantry and only leaving a few goodies behind. I know it's not realistic to have a refrigerator full of nothing but fruits and vegetables, but having plenty of them on hand gives you an alternative healthier snack for those late night cravings. The less of the sugary stuff around, the less you'll eat. And if suddenly you have to have that cupcake, you'll just have to walk out to your local coffee shop to get it (bonus points for extra cardio!). If you live with others and can't just toss those goodies, reorganize your cupboards, putting them in a place that's too high to reach easily or that you normally wouldn't look for them. Out of sight, out of mind, right?  
You know what they say. If it tastes too good to be true, it probably is. Well, that's not exactly the saying but you get the point.    

2. Water, water everywhere & every drop to drink. 

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My excuse for not drinking water use to be because I hate tap water (Seriously, I can taste the difference) and bottled water is too expensive. I now purchase my bottled water by the liter from Trader Joe's at $0.69 per bottle. And the aversion to tap water isn't a reason anymore either as Brita filters convert yucky sewer water (Ok, I'm overdoing it) into crystal clear drinking water. Drinking water may possibly be the tip on this list that is the simplest and yields the most benefits. Other tips may keep you motivated and help you avoid the occasional slip up, but water can make or break your fitness journey. I kid you not. Not only are you not "drinking your calories" and suppressing your appetite, but you are also supplying your body with the nutrients it needs as 70% of your body mass is made up of H20.    
Click here to read about some major results of simply drinking water daily.    





3. Become a bag lady. Carrying little snacks with you is doing yourself a huge favor. Sure, you risk looking like a crazy bag lady, pulling things out of your purse that don't seem to belong. But ultimately, walking around with that extra large bottle of water or random fruits can be a lifesaver. Instead of buying a quick and usually unhealthy snack from the bodega on your afternoon break, pull out that emergency orange and relish in the fact that you've made a much better decision. One of the best snacks to carry along is a bag of almonds as almonds do an excellent job of curbing your appetite (Read more about the benefits of almonds here).

4. Be a regular. Choose something active to do and attend it weekly. Every Saturday morning, I rush off to a Zumba class at my local gym. Dancing around to salsa music for nearly an hour doesn't seem like a dread-worthy activity, does it? That's because it's not! I look forward to it every week and so I rarely miss the class. And it can burn upwards of 600 calories in a 50-minute session! What are you waiting for? Find a Zumba class in your neighborhood or seek out a weekly, calming yoga class. Alternatively, your regular activity doesn't have to be something in a gym. Going for a walk one night a week, bike riding through the park on Sunday afternoons or taking a hike counts too.

5. Reward yourself, but not with food - you're not a dog. 

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While I was active in the fitness tumblr community (by active, I mean posting multiple times a day as opposed to my lurking and sporadic posting these days), this was a quote that popped up frequently. Only dogs get treats for tricks. As women (or men!), we deserve something for a "job well done", but when your goal is fitness, there are better options than a pint of chocolate chip cookie dough. Because my fitness goals are based on actual numbers on the scale as I am aiming to shed the extra weight, I gift myself a little something for every few pounds lost. Here are some wonderful ideas for rewards: go shopping for a new pair of heels, take a long luxurious bubble bath, pick up a calorie counter watch, splurge on that LORAC blusher you've been eyeing, treat yourself to a massage or a spa day, foot the expense of a teeth whitening session  - hell, even a brave the pain of a commemorative tattoo if you're daring enough!

Got any tips? Leave them below!