What are your health and fitness tips and tricks?

13 comments

1. Instead of assuming that exercise and fitness is difficult or painful, or that it must involve a gym and reps and sets; instead start by exploring all the activities you already enjoy doing and build your fitness routine from there.

2. strength train/weightlift/build muscle – it will seriously help no matter what age you are. Handful of exercises to hit all the muscle groups, maybe 2-3 specific ones if you want to focus on arms/glutes/etc. Play music or listen to a podcast or audiobook while you work out to pass the time and keep your mind active. it’ll take longer than you think to build muscle but it *will* happen, and there’s no need to constantly change your workout. I am legit bored of my weightlifting routine but I’ve been doing it for 3 months (gradually increasing weight/reps) and my arms are finally showing hints of biceps, lol.

   The muscle you build will help burn calories, which then helps you lose weight, if that’s also your goal.

3. Getting into a new exercise regiment requires discipline but not necessarily motivation. These are two very different things.

4. Walking. I feel like walking is super underrated or not spoken about a lot. Just start walking to places instead of taking cars or public transport. It doesn’t even have to be crazy. Start of with small walks and then keep increasing it. You can make it fun by walking to your favourite place or to a mall to get some shopping. That way you are having fun and getting in the exercise.

5. SLEEP SLEEP SLEEP

   It helps you regulate your willpower😂
   But also, after fat cells are broken down and the energy is used, the remaining elements(?) are exhaled when you are in the deepest part of your sleep cycle. You literally lose the most weight when you are asleep. [sauce](https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/287046)

   In terms of diet, one trick I used was only eating bougie, expensive junk food. Oh, le body wants chocolate? I’m going to have to pay for every damn calorie. Cake, popcorn, butter, WHATEVER. The more “unhealthy” it is, tax yourself for eating it. That will make you hypervigilant about notnovereating, and you’ll get to treat yourself to high-qualoty products along the way.

6. Take sleep seriously! I don’t always imagine sleep in the same category as strength training or eating my vegetables, but I should. It’s so, so critically important to keep the body functioning optimally

7. Consistency is king. 5 or 6 smaller workouts per week is far more effective than 2 or 3 big ones.

8. Getting hungry and snacking between meals means you didn’t eat enough/adequately at your last meal, so incorporate more substantial and satiating foods to provide you with plenty of energy to get you through to your next meal.

   If you’re going to be busy and active and/or there is a long wait until your next meal, you already know you’re going to need more than a salad bowl, piece of toast, or a bit of fruit to recharge you. If you only have something small/light, you’ll be wanting to reach for a bag of chips or chocolates or ‘junk food’ to perk you up where it could have been avoided had you eaten properly earlier.

9. Make sure it’s something you enjoy. If you dread getting up to go to the gym then you’re never going to go. There are often women’s groups for different sports which are very supportive

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11. Hydrate well!
    Make small dietary changes, don’t go bull to a red flag straight off the bat. Small lifestyle changes is the way to go (unless you are trying to get in body-building comps)

    Eg. Brown rice is better than white.
    Wholemeal bread is better than white.
    Pay attention to fats.
    1gr of fat has 9 calories, vs 4 calories for protein and carbs per 1 gr.
    Do the types of exercise you enjoy.
    If you hate running…dont do it.
    If you hate weight training.. dont do it.
    All movement is good movement, no matter how you do it.
    Before beginning any type of exercise, evaluate your posture first. Correcting your posture first will act as injury prevention and proper muscle use.
    The very basics-
    Rounded shoulders typically means you’re chest muscles are tight. Remedy via stretching.
    Heavy arch in lower back/bum sticks out etc…
    Typically quad dominate.. stretch quads and hip flexors. YouTube glute activation and spend 10 mins doing this before exercise.
    Hips tilt under same as above.

    Take pictures and measurements. Brains can sometimes lag in seeing progress and scales are an out dated method (and NORMAL weight fluctuations are real. You dont need to be discouraged by a stupid number)
    Pay attention to how you feel and what your body is telling you.
    Remember that food is fuel for your body. I always use the car analogy (not to say women are cars, absolutely not!).. if you don’t fuel your car..it’ll break down. If you don’t fuel your body, it’s going to let you down.
    Lastly, rest days are important. Your body needs the downtime, so don’t feel guilty for taking a day off.

    (From a Personal trainer)
    Will edit if I can think of anything else.

12. Giving up alcohol 100%…when I started weight training, I didn’t see any results until I ditched the booze for good. Soda water, coconut water with lots of lime and ice etc are all amazing substitutes. Good luck!

13. Really look at what you’re eating. It doesn’t have to be super low carbs etc but see that you eat enough protein especially if you’re watching calories (which has worked the best for me to loose weight). Not only did I loose 30kg in the last two years, I also feel much better since I changed my eating habits. Eat small portions 3-4 times a day instead of one or two big ones. It makes you less hungry and you’re feeling full quicker. In general listen to your body. Don’t eat if you’re not hungry.