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Motivate yourself to good health

“How do you get the motivation to begin your journey to complete fitness and to achieve your fitness goals?” Look no further, I am here to help you. Follow these tips and you’ll be on your way to good health in no time.

1)   1) Set clear, realistic and achievable goals and make a plan to accomplish them.

    Too often people make resolutions and they are far-fetched and idealistic. There is nothing magical about the New Year that makes someone change years of  bad habits or a behavioural trait in one day. Not only that, when resolutions are made there is never a plan of action on how to achieve your goals. Make a clear step-by-step plan (from your beginning to the end of your fitness goal), that way you can track your progress.

2)   2)  Reset your mind

As I said earlier, change does not happen overnight. In order to achieve your goals, you may need to make sacrifices, starting with a change in attitude. Change your view towards certain aspects of life, including eating and food intake, exercise and lifestyle practices. A little trick is to visualize your fitness goal, (e.g. see yourself in that swimsuit you have been eyeing) and count down from ten slowly, breathing slowly as you count. This will give you the momentum you need to continue your path.

3) Eat breakfast

 Now it may sound weird, but research has shown that persons, who eat breakfast, tend to eat less throughout the rest of the day than persons who don’t eat breakfast. Breakfast becomes even better for you when a part of your meal is nutritious, whole grain.

4)  Incorporate walking into your life

 The age of technology has made many of us lazy. We can’t turn on the television if we can’t find the remote (just a hint: push the big button). We no longer take stairs; we wait on the elevator, even if it takes longer. We have truly become masters and puppeteers of technology. Well that’s about to change. Did you know that walking 10,000 steps a day adds up to five miles? Now you don’t have to walk five miles every day but by adding walking into your regular routine in small ways, you are bound to see improvements in your fitness.

5)   Have a healthier treat

  Have the munchies or have a craving for something sweet? Stop! Step away from   the Doritos and the chocolate chip cookies. Instead try a healthier snack, like a fruit, toasted chips or unsalted popcorn. An example of a healthy treat is having some blueberries. Blueberries have the most antioxidants of any fruit. But for those of us who can’t afford these tasty treats, just try an have a fruit that you can get your hands on like an orange or an apple.

6)    Dress for success

 You know that you need to workout, but you just don’t have the will power to do it. Stop procrastinating and get dressed for your workout! Once you’ve got your workout shoes and gear on, you will feel more compelled to work out and as a result, will be more likely to get yourself moving.

(Just a tip: Workouts can get boring if you keep sticking to the same thing everyday. Try mixing it up and making your workouts more interesting. The key thing is for you to break a sweat, while having fun).

7)    Go 50/50

In Jamaica, we tend to eat large portions when we have meals. Also, a new trend has been adopted from out North American counterparts where we are consuming fast foods and processed foods, in addition to our home-grown products. These meals tend to be high in carbohydrates and fats, especially saturated fats, and low in other nutrients. While, we do require carbohydrates and fats in our body, our lack of other nutrients is detrimental to our health. Now no one is saying you should starve and we know it can be hard to resist those cravings, so what is recommended is for you to try cutting your serving of those foods in half. Give yourself ultimatums and treat yourself for good behaviour over a prolonged period of time, say one week of abstaining from unhealthy food and you treat yourself with a small chocolate bar. DON’T overdo it!!! You might find that you don't need the junk food as much as you thought you did, but you'll still have "permission" to have that Snickers when nothing else will do.

(Just a tip: Water is the best beverage there is. With zero calories and zero grams of fat, you never have to worry about cheating on your diet when you have this refreshing beverage.)

And so it begins..........

Greetings to the interweb,

This is my first post and declaration of my newly decided dedication to health and fitness. For years I struggled with weight loss and it just seems like I just can't get the formula right. I've tried a million and one diets and done all kind of crazy fitness and exercise challenges. TRUST ME things have gone done with this weight loss thing. But I think it's time I realize I suck at losing weight because I'm only trying to be superficial and lose weight but once it's off pop goes the Nella and back goes up my weight. 

No darlings it is time for a lifestyle change and it is going to be hard I know this and that is exactly why I need some support and rally an awesome squad of supporters, motivators, challengers, reality checkers, fitness coaches and all around inspirations. And that is where you lovelies come in.

I invite you all on this journey with me. Let's do this together and form an amazing community that supports each others' goals and finally learn how to healthily enjoy this fitness ride.

Slow and Steady.

Nella