Some thoughts and discussions from me.
Some thoughts and discussions from me.
[Tweet “5 Everyday Health Hacks to Stay On Track via @TrainerPaige”]
This post is sponsored by Stayfree via Mode Media. All opinions and text are my own.
This can be said about working out consistently, reaching your health and fitness goals, eating right, and just about every aspiration when it comes to health and fitness. Agreed?
Even as a personal trainer, I find it can be tough to workout every day, cook my meals, incorporate plenty of proteins and veggies, and so on. After a day of teaching and training, I sometimes want to “leave the office” just like everyone else. Additionally, after a day of writing nutrition plans and adjustments, I just want to order a dang pizza.
But I don’t (well, yes, sometimes I do, but I mostly don’t.) And it’s not because I have an infinite amount of willpower. It’s because I do my best to not make a healthy lifestyle any harder than it needs to be.
It can even be fun!
<I’m going to pause for a second here to remind everyone that eating healthy and working out SHOULD NOT be miserable, nor should it feel next to impossible. If it does, change what you’re doing, or find a new trainer/coach. It will be hard, but NOT impossible.>
The truth is, healthy living shouldn’t feel like a huge battle day after day. It’s basically a series of small, consistent, and persistent efforts repeated over and over again. That gets you the results and healthy life you’re after. And there are things you can do to make those efforts easier on yourself:
5 Every Day Health Hacks to Use to Stay on Track
1. Keep bags of frozen veggies on hand
I’ve mentioned this in previous posts, but I cook with frozen veggies all. the. time – probably 3-4 out of the 6 nights a week I cook dinner. They’re pretty cheap – even organic – and are typically picked and flash frozen at peak ripeness. Plus, it only takes a few minutes to cook them. I love adding frozen veggies to crock pot dinners, stirfrys, and tacos!
2. Bulk cooking proteins
Once a month, I’ll go to Costco and stock up on my “Big 3” proteins – organic chicken, ground beef, and ground bison.
(and eggwhites, bananas, avocados, and Dr. Pepper for my addicted husband ;))
I immediately cook one package of each to have in the fridge for grab and go lunches. I like to chop up the chicken into chunks for salads and wraps, and cook the ground beef and bison either with a seasoning to add to veggies, as well as patties for sandwiches or lettuce wraps!
I also keep cans of salmon and tuna in the fridge for easy salads.
3. Keep yoga mats and fitness equipment handy
In my living room, I have stashed 5 resistance bands, a small foam roller, The Stick, and a yoga mat for impromptu workouts, ab work, mobility work, and yoga sessions.
(Don’t forget, you can get a FREE 30 day subscription to free yoga classes via Gaiam TV and Stayfree with any Stayfree purchase, including Stayfree ultra thin liners, which are perfect to use for yoga during TTOTM.)
4. Workout in the morning if possible
I know this isn’t ideal for everyone, and I’m a huge advocate of sleep taking precedence over a tough workout, but if it’s possible, working out in the morning can streamline your day. I love AM workouts for a few different reasons:
5. Pre-chopped/prepared veggies
This one is along the same lines as the frozen veggies point, but having chopped, prepared veggies on hand is HUGE. I love Costco’s bags of mixed veggies, as well as Trader Joe’s prepared mixes. I also love to quickly chop up a cucumber or bell pepper, and use the shaker method that I showed here to get an extra pop of flavor.
There are lots of other ways to make eating right and maintaining a consistent exercise program a little bit easier, but these 5 tips are what I find to help the most. I’d love your input! Share below how you make nutrition and fitness fit into your life a little easier.
Have a lovely Wednesday, friends!
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What Health Hacks do you have to add to the list?
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Between getting enough sleep and morning exercise, which one do you think will help weight loss more? And how intense are your workouts Paige?
Linda@ TheFitty recently posted…5 Eats + I Watched Gone Girl {WIAW #12} {#LIPlinkup #18} {Friday 5 #5}
That’s a tough one, but ultimately, I’d say adequate sleep. Even if you burn extra calories with your workout, if you’re running on low sleep, your hormones will be thrown off (including hunger hormones) so your metabolism will likely decrease, in addition to you likely being more hungry throughout the day.
Right now I do 2 20 minute HIIT workouts a week (with 5 min warm up/cool down) and 3 strength workouts a week – one of them including a finisher. I also try to walk 30-45 min daily, and I ski once a week. It changes every few months though 🙂
For me, it’s really important to plan out my workouts. I know that if I need a rest day, I can and will take one, but it’s better for me to plan them out than waking up and being like “okay, what should my workout be today?” because then it likely never happens because I just think way too much about it.
Katie @ Talk Less, Say More recently posted…Meeting Myself Where I’m At
Totally agree, Katie!
So true about having bags of frozen veggies on hand, they are a life saver! Meal prepping for the week (or at least a few days) is super helpful for me. And always leaving a spare sports bra, pair of socks, and hair ties in my gym bag (because I often forget to put in one of those 3).
Emma @ Em-powered Wellness recently posted…Superfood Sunday: Cinnamon Spice Psyllium Cookies