New Year Fitness Traps – Don’t Fall For Them

   

What Fitness??? I’ve been off for a few days from work and when this happens I’m usually eating more junk food than I’d like. Also, I’m hardly working out. I ate EVERYTHING – cakes, cookies, danishes, chips, chocolate, pies, etc. etc. etc. Actually, after a while, I got sick of eating these types of food because I wasn’t used to so much in such a short period of time. I guess I overindulged….just a little bit.

 

Now that I’m back at work, I can restart my routine of eating better and exercising and I’m truly excited about that! Well kinda sorta, the truth is I’m scared to fall off the cliff and start over again, so I might as well quit the sugar and carbs now 🙂

 

Getting Fit – Commercials & Gadgets

 

You may have seen commercials to get fit with deals at gyms to join for less as an incentive to shed those holidays’ pounds. You also may find deals on gadgets to wear that track calories burned, distance ran, heart rate, etc. They cost anywhere from $50 to $100+, but please do yourself a favor and don’t buy these things. They are a waste of money. When you’re on a treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike, it’ll give you these statistics anyway. And when you’re running outside, just get lost in the views of nature and let that motivate you to run more and more……..and more. The best satisfaction you can have is working your butt off at the gym and looking at yourself in the mirror and seeing an improvement little by little to reach your ultimate fitness goals.

 

What To Buy

 

Good food. This means fruit, veg, unprocessed carbs (think brown bread and rice) and even supplements if you think you need them (take a look at steelsupplements.com if you need an extra protein kick). After an intense workout, it is important to make it worthwhile by eating the right foods to attain your workout goals, whether it is weight loss, mass gain, or sculpting. Shawn M. Talbott, Ph.D., nutritional biochemist and former director of the University of Utah Nutrition Clinic says that for weight loss, the general rule of thumb is “75 percent diet and 25 percent exercise”.

 

He further says that “You can’t out-exercise a bad diet” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/30/exercise-vs-diet-for-weight-loss_n_5207271.html). I usually have a protein shake after my workout because I can’t pack all the protein I’m getting from a shake into my lunch. I mix my chocolate protein powder with milk and a little coffee to give it a mocha milkshake type flavor and it’s pretty good.

 

Another tip I read somewhere many months ago (sorry don’t have a link for that) is to buy things that make the cashier at the grocery store work harder. What does that mean? Try to buy products that don’t come in boxes and don’t have a barcode the cashier that quickly swipe (i.e., fruits and vegetables).

 

Where to Save on Fitness

 

Cut down on outside dining. This means breakfast,

, and dinner. Brown bag more when you go to work. For one thing, you could save serious $$$; about $1,200 per year if you have lunch out 3 of 5 days a week (3 X $8 lunch X 50 weeks per year not counting vacation = $1,200). Forbes said back in 2013, the average was $1,000 (per the pic below) so I’m pretty close at $1,200:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, packing lunch is healthier too. According to Best Health Magazine, restaurants add items like oil, cream, and types of fat to make those dishes delicious………..AND unhealthy (Best Health )! If you don’t have a gym or don’t have the time to go to one during the workday, there are a few desk exercises you can do to get some quick reps in. See this chart below and link (Chart Link):

Desk exercises

Now you have zero excuses for not getting fit after the New Year and doing it in a SMM cost-efficient way. Best of luck this year!