Have you promised yourself to commit to improving your health and fitness? Are you ready to keep this promise, even if you’ve said these words before and fell short on your commitment? If so, here are five helpful tips for getting in shape – and staying there!
1. Drink More Water
Water consumption plays a vital role in maintaining good health. Yet, most people don’t drink the recommended amount, which is 10-12 glasses of water each day! Making sure you consume enough water can be hard to do, but it’s still a worthy goal to achieve. In addition to helping you feel better, function more efficiently, and improve your hydration levels, drinking lots of water helps curb your appetite without any extra calories.
2. Count Calories
It’s a fact: eating fewer calories than you burn is the most effective way to lose weight. Yet, it’s so easy to eat when you’re not hungry! Prime examples include going to parties or sitting in front of the computer while working. It’s easy to underestimate how much you’ve eaten throughout the day. Counting calories, however, including the ones in the beverages you drink, helps to keep you accountable.
3. Improve Diet
Making improvements to your diet is an excellent way to get in shape. Focus on eating more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean protein sources, etc. If you’re unsure how to do this but still want to improve your diet, easy ways to do this are reducing the number of processed foods, sweets, fast food, and other empty calories with little to no nutritional value.
4. Increase Activity Levels
Make getting more exercise a priority. For example, you could consider joining a sports league, running or another sport you enjoy, walking with friends or your partner, or doing anything that gets you moving. It’s crucial to maintain an active lifestyle because being sedentary can lead to health issues, including heart disease and joint problems. Other options include doing on-demand fitness and exercise classes from the privacy of your home or investing in equipment such as a stationary bicycle, elliptical machine, or stair climber.
5. Consider a Smartwatch or Fitness Tracker
These days, people who want to get into shape have more tools at their disposal than ever before to manage their health and well-being. For example, smartwatches and fitness trackers can help you count calories, time your activity and exercise sessions, or even track your sleep duration and quality. Some watches are waterproof so that you can wear them for swimming workouts or other water-based physical activities. As you might imagine, this gives you much greater insights into your progress and helps keep motivation levels higher.
Most importantly, don’t give up on yourself or get discouraged, no matter where you’re at in your fitness journey. As the old saying goes, Rome didn’t get built in a day! Creating a healthy lifestyle takes time, but it’s worth the effort. Once you get started, you’ll find it easier to maintain your commitment and eventually see results that make all of this worthwhile!
