Getting Back To Healthy

I know we’ve all been there and have gotten off track at some point with our exercise, eating healthy, or both. I have been there many times myself. There are some things that have personally worked for me to get back to where I want to be with my health & fitness, I’d love to share.

First off, set a date you want to get started within that week and stick to it. I always find that starting on a Monday helps me have time to prepare over the weekend with planning meals, grocery shopping, & prepping meals for the week ahead of time, as well as plan out any fitness goals for the upcoming weeks.

I like to start with writing down my goals I would like to achieve, whether it is weight loss, flushing out the bloat, eating clean, starting a favorite diet, eliminating sugar & processed foods, cutting carbs, or just being able to gain back lean muscle. This will help you by seeing your overall goals when it comes time to planning your meals or workouts.

Next, according to your goals, plan your meals for the week, along with which nights you will cook that particular meal. Make sure you plan your breakfasts, lunches, & snacks too. I like to plan for 5 meals a week and do at least two or three bigger meals for dinner so I can plan to have leftovers on those busier nights or to take for lunch’s, so make sure you plan correctly for those busy nights VS. nights you will be home right after work. I also plan a crockpot meal for at least one night a week so it’s all ready to go at the end of the day. After you have your meals planned out, start your shopping list. I like to start my shopping for the week on Saturday or Sunday morning if I’m starting on a Monday. This gives you plenty of time to meal prep if needed on Sunday. Once you are done planning your meals & shopping list, plan your workouts for the week. Plan which days & hours for your workouts, whether you will go to the gym or workout at home and write out your workout plan for each day you will be working out.

Once you have everything planned out & written down, it’s time to go grocery shopping! I always try to plan a time of day it’s not overly busy at the store so I can take my time shopping and not feel rushed. Most importantly, stick to your shopping list!

Lastly, now you are ready to start your food prep for the week. For dinners, you could do one of two things, by either cooking up all or some of your hot food for the week & freeze it or simply cut up any, fruits, vegetables or salad fixings, and put them in separate containers, or you could do both. Breakfast you could also make up ahead of time and put in a container or have everything ready to grab & make that morning. Lunches, since this will most likely be something you will take with you to work, always make ahead of time or use any leftovers from the night before. Depending on your lunches you could either make up for the whole work week or make up the night before. I find it easier to at least cut up any fruits or vegetables ahead of time and put in containers to grab & go with a meal. Most importantly, prep your snacks ahead of time! You don’t want to get hungry between meals and end up grabbing snacks at the gas station or vending machine that won’t end up satisfying your hunger for long term & putting you back in that cycle you are trying to get out of. All in all, do what works best for your schedule. The busier or rushed you are in the mornings or evenings, it’s probably better to prep everything ahead for the week. If you have that extra time in the mornings or evenings, you can prep the night before or morning of for that one day or the next.

Keep this schedule up each week to make eating & exercising a breeze to continue forward. You may find that adjustments need to be made along the way, so adjust where needed until you find what works best for you. You’ve got this, this keep moving forward!