It is all too easy to get out of shape. It doesn’t take much to turn to eating foods you know aren’t the best for you and to give up exercising.
You can give up caring about your body and how it looks if perhaps you are experiencing turbulence within your life, such as job loss, or a relationship breakdown. You need to snap out of this rut though as soon as you can, and to do it, you need to focus on yourself.
Focus on things that make you happy, and that stops you from comfort eating. Get back to healthy eating and exercising as soon as you can.
Here’s our very own step-by-step guide to getting your body back in shape after falling off the bandwagon (no. 7 is crucial).
1. Healthy Eating
It is important to eat healthily as you are probably already aware, but sometimes it can be easier said than done, especially if you are working or have a family to look after.
Fitting in time to cook nutritious, balanced, and healthy meals might often fall to the bottom of your list. However, having a list of easy, healthy, quick home-cooked meals in your arsenal is a great start – check out this list of 23 foods everyone should know how to cook.
To make sure you get a balanced diet that’s full of goodness, you could also look at subscribing to food subscription boxes that provide you with the ingredients and recipes needed to cook quick and fabulous meals each and every night of the week. If time is your issue, then look at batch cooking your meals in advance so that all you have to do each evening is warm them up.
2. Cut Down on Portions
An easy way to cut down on what you are eating is to make the portion sizes smaller. Eating little and more often will ensure you are staying full and energised.
Making sure you drink at least eight glasses of water throughout the day will also help flush out any unnecessary toxins which your body doesn’t need, and it will make you feel better too. Cut down on any alcohol you consume, and the same goes for caffeine. If, however, you can’t go without your morning cup of coffee then try to at least reduce the amount of caffeine you drink throughout the day.
3. Exercise
Getting your body back into shape will require you to start exercising again, or to increase the amount of exercise you are currently doing.
To get the most out of exercise, it is best to mix it up where you can and try to do a mix of high intensity and low impact workouts to ensure every area of your body gets a thorough workout. Myprotein’s research shows the benefit of exercise and also the potential benefits of using supplements to aid your health and well-being journey. Taking supplements and tablets may help you achieve the results you desire quicker, so it’s something you may wish to consider.
4. Progress
When embarking on any new fitness journey, it is important to know where you are starting from and where you are looking to finish – what is your end goal?
Keeping a diary, whether this be physical or online, will allow you to monitor and track your progress. It will also allow you to see how far you have come when you reach the end of your journey. If you can, try and track your progress through photos too, as it can be difficult to see how our bodies are changing when we look at them every day.
5. Take Your Time
Results will not happen overnight. There is no miracle weight loss diet – they simply do not exist – so take your time losing weight and getting your body back in shape.
Focus on creating and sticking to a cleaner lifestyle. It is easier to keep excess weight off if you are eating and drinking well. After a period of maintaining weight loss, it is then time to start toning up your body and building muscles.
6. Tone and Build
When it comes to toning, you could start with gentler strength-building exercises like yoga and Pilates and then progress to more intense muscle-building exercises. It is important to not overdo it – take things steady and work on gradually building up your strength and muscles over time.
To build lean muscle, you may have to alter your diet and look at taking the relevant supplements. If you are unsure as to how you can start building muscle or you haven’t done it before, then it is probably wise to consult a personal trainer first who can help guide you along the way. They can discuss your options with you and possibly show you exercises you may not have even thought about.
7. Consistency
Consistency is just as important when it comes to building and maintaining muscle as it is when you are losing weight. Results will not come overnight, so you have to be prepared to put in the work and be dedicated to achieving your goals.
With time, hard work, and dedication, your muscles will appear.
8. Praise and Self Care
If you go slightly off track, or things take a little longer to achieve, it’s important not to be hard on yourself.
You are, unfortunately, your own worst critic, so it may be tempting to punish yourself for any mistakes you make, but this can lower your self-confidence and motivation over time. Being hard on yourself will not achieve anything. You need to practice self-care and self-appreciation in that you put yourself first, and make yourself a priority.
During the journey of weight loss and muscle building, it is also essential that you praise yourself regularly. There will be times when you feel like giving up, but if you keep pushing on and pushing forwards you will reach your end goal.
9. Enjoying your Body
Once your body is in a shape that you are happy with and proud of, it is now time to show off those results. Wear those clothes that you want to wear and show off your body with pride.
After all – it has been a long and hard journey to get to this point, so don’t feel ashamed to show off what hard work can do.
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