Avocado Ranch Fajita salad

If you’ve been reading for awhile, you already know I had a 4 year struggle with my health that got better enough for me to care for my family, but still left me in unexplained states of exhaustion for days and an extra 30 lbs of stubborn belly weight. Doctors kept telling me I was fine, when I was obviously not fine. Last January I finally got so frustrated with the situation that I signed up for Personal Training school. I hoped along the journey to finally figure out why I was exercise intolerant and fix it forever.

School is the main reason my blog has been so hit or miss lately.  Juggling the 3 side hustles while keeping up with my studies was a challenge for sure. 

I passed my exam last Thursday and am an official personal trainer! While I don’t have all the answers I was hoping for, I worked closely with doctors through the process and have enough to safely pursue my own fitness while supporting others in their goals.  I am finally able to exercise without crashing.

Part of me feels ashamed to admit that I’m a personal trainer, because I don’t look like a fitness model. The other part of me recognizes that we all have our journeys in fitness. Just because I don’t look like a fitness model, doesn’t me I don’t know my stuff. A national certification board just gave me their stamp of approval and that’s something to celebrate no matter what my waist measurement is at this exact moment. I’m much further in my health than I was just a year ago and for that I’m grateful!

The hardest part for anyone on a fitness journey is consistency.  Showing up day in and day out with proper nutrition and physical activity is not easy.  Here are 10 things I’ve learned in my own journey that have helped me stay consistent.

1. Have a plan.  Know what your workout is going to be ahead of time.  It’s hard to get started if you don’t know what to do.

2. Set out your workout clothes and pack your gym bag the night before.  Make it easy for the alarm to go off, dress, grab your water bottle and get busy.

3. Have a fitness buddy.  This is easier said than done, I know.  But people who have someone else in their life to work out with and share nutrition goals with are far more likely to stick to them.  It’s even more helpful if your workout buddy lives in the same house.

4. Keep progress reports. Take those before photos and measurements and repeat them every 2-4 weeks.  Collage them side-by-side so you can prove to yourself it’s working.  It’s no fun to take those before pictures.  I get it!  But one day you’ll be so happy you did.

5. Know yourself.  Are you an all or nothing person?  Perfectionists have the hardest time sticking to a fitness routine, because one slip up makes us want to quit altogether.  Let it be ok to make mistakes and get right back on track. On the other hand this type of personality also struggles with one taste of brownie leading to scarfing the whole pan.  In those cases, learn to be ok with not having a taste.  Then find treat recipes that are still supportive of your goals.

6. Schedule your workouts. Figure out the routine that works best with your schedule and personality.  While it’s totally ok to work out every other day by fitting both weight training and cardio into the same session, some people have to workout every day to stay consistent.  The first missed day, even when it’s scheduled will most likely become 2 missed days and pretty soon we aren’t going at all.  Others prefer every other day off to fit in their responsibilities. They are both perfectly fine ways to get fit, but make a decision about what’s best for you and then schedule it in.

7. Reward your hard work with rewards that support your goals.  It might be a new outfit , a pair of earrings, or an outing with your family. Whatever you decide write it down as a “When I…..I can…..” statement.  One of my favorite reward systems is participating in DietBet. I love that I can earn a little bit of cash by making healthy choices.

8. Focus on what you can control. You can control if you do a workout and how much effort you give.  You can control what you put in your mouth. You cannot control the scale.  It’s so freeing to stop worrying about the things we can’t control and taking action on what we can control. When everything else is in place, the scale will take care of itself.

9. Don’t self sabotage. Our will-power has limits.  We might be able to turn down a sugary treat once, but if it’s offered a 2nd or 3rd time chances are we’ll take a taste and then scarf the whole tray.  Don’t keep foods in the house that don’t support your goals. I get it that most of us live with people…and children….and there’s going to be stuff in the house we can’t always control. I ask my older kids to keep their fun foods hidden in their bedrooms and my husband locks his in the hunting safe. Find something that works for you.

10.  Meal Prep. People who plan their healthy food in advance and make it easy to grab instead of a unhealthy convenience item are way more successful in reaching their goals.  This is so true for me that I spend a lot of time each week putting together prep ahead meal plans and shopping lists for my own use and let members of Groceryshrinkplus have a copy to adapt or use as they see fit .

Please, leave a comment and let me know what you think. Which of these tips is the most important to you? Where are you on your health journey? How can I help?