New Years Resolution...Let's Try Again, Together.

Last December, I told myself that starting January 1st, I would renew my gym membership, change my eating habits and increase my water intake. Honestly, up until last week, I had done nothing but drive past the gym every day on my way home, without any remorse. The only thing I've changed about my eating habits is that I stopped eating fast food for breakfast (for the love of Chick-Fil- A hash browns) only because I've woken up late every single day since the start of the year and just haven't had the time to stop. My water intake has increase very minimally; meaning I put a water bottle in my purse and barely finish half the bottle the whole day. As you can see I obviously spent the first month of the year procrastinating and not even putting in any effort to work towards my New Year's resolution.

Finally I decided enough was enough and it was time to get myself back on track and start working towards my New Years resolution, which is getting my self back in shape. It took a couple of tries, but I told myself, that 2016 really started on February 1st instead of January 1st ( I guess telling yourself whatever it takes works a bit). Here are a few tips to kick start yourself back into gear and get yourself on the road to a healthier lifestyle.

Turn Negative into Positive 
The first time I ever step foot into a gym as an adult was about 3 years ago after a really bad break-up. I spent days running through scenarios through my head trying to figure out what went wrong, you know, the usual post break up routine. After a while I felt like I was literally driving myself crazy and enough was enough; I got up put on my workout clothes (because I wore sneakers and yoga pants consistently but never would work out... I don't know what sense that makes, but moving on) and headed to the gym and hopped on the treadmill. For an hour I felt completely free, and received some stress and then it became a habit and I couldn't get enough of it. Now, I'm not saying that the only thing that can motivate you is a break-up (don't waste all your energy on someone who doesn't deserve it, but we'll talk about that in another post) but something has to push you to get moving. Whether it's a health scare, a bad breakup or just not liking what you see in the mirror, turn that negative feeling into something positive.

Create a Goal
Whether it's losing a few pounds to fit into your bikini for your summer vacation or just to feel better internally, choose a goal, but one that's attainable. For example, don't say, "I want to lose 20 pounds in 2 weeks". This is A. unhealthy and B. unhealthy. Try, "I would like to lose 20 pounds by the end of a 5 month period, by losing the recommended 1 pound a week". When you set unrealistic goals and don't reach them, you discourage yourself and don't want to continue on, which is what you DON'T want (learned this from personal experience).

FITSPIRATION
As addicting (some may even say toxic) social media may be, in this case use it to your advantage. Instagram, Pinterest and even Snap Chat are crawling with fitness accounts. Ever heard the saying, "what you surround yourself with is what you become"? Well it's true! Surround yourself with fitness accounts. BEFORE I CONTINUE, I am in no way saying follow a million girls or guys with really nice bods and sit around comparing yourself to someone else, but if you see someone working out, especially those who relate to you, it motivates you. Following Pinterest accounts that pin healthy foods consistently will motivate you to try it out... trust me (cauliflower pizza crust isn't that bad).

Find a Forum
There is so much information out there about losing weight and getting healthy. So much that its a bit overwhelming. Get online and find a forum full of people who are trying to achieve the same or similar goals as you. Online help, is out there you just have to find the type of online community you prefer. My personal favorite forum to visit is bodybuilding.com. Bodybuilding.com has an variety of people; some who have been working out for a while and some who are completely new to working out. It's nice to see the different routines that people have used to see results. They even feature a new person every week and interview them on their progress, which I have found to be quite motivating and useful when I'm creating my own workout routine.

Track Your Progress
When trying to reach any goal, you should track yourself, whether it's through a journal or pictures, you have to remind yourself of how far you've come. In my case, I like keeping pictures in a folder on my iPhone and I've also added a new tab at the top of this blog called "Get Fit" mainly to share my tips and tricks and share my progress with you all (this also keeps me working towards my goal).

Reward Yourself
All this hard work is going to deserve a prize! I found this wonderful idea on Pinterest (see step 2 comes in handy) to create goal jars. Each time I reach a milestone you can pull a sticky out with your prize. Not only is this fun and exciting but you get something out of it. :)

I hope that at least one of the tips provided above gives you the motivation you need to get up and get healthy or get back on track to work towards any New Year's resolution you may have made for yourself.

What is the best tip you've ever received that encouraged you to get back on track towards a goal? Let me know in the comments below.