Most of us will spend a significant amount of time THINKING about starting a fitness plan before actually jumping in. There are a lot of steps that you can take to just get STARTED on a new program or to work on behavior changes. Remember that change takes time and starting with BABY steps that focus on establishing healthy habits will earn you big rewards in the future. Try to think more about ADDING in positive changes vs TAKING things away from yourself. Your mind is a powerful muscle, keep it thinking positive to increase the likelihood of LONGTERM success.
Tip 1: Maximize the amount of meals you eat/prepare at home - aim for no more than 3 meals per week eaten out. You will be able to control a lot of calories by knowing WHAT is going into your food prep, even if you don’t start a specific “diet.” And give yourself time to ease into a meal prepping and planning routine. Don’t try to change everything all at once. Start with 1 or 2 meals per day that are the easiest for you to prepare and work your way up to a full day of meals once you get the hang of it.
Tip 2: Pick a realistic number of workouts you can accomplish in 1 week, maybe it’s 2, maybe it’s 4, this will depend on what you’re already accomplishing. Work on hitting that initial goal for 2-3 weeks. Then, start to build a routine that will take that number up to a minimum of 5 scheduled workouts per week. Bonus tip - make 3 of these strength training based to increase your lean muscle mass for maximum health benefits.
Tip 3: Increase your water intake - focus on hitting 1 gallon of water per day. And like the above tips, work your way into this. It may take a few days to get used to drinking this much water. Also, start to minimize the amount of calories you consume from other liquid beverages which often come with added sugars and calories. Bonus tip - get yourself a 1/4 or 1/2 gallon water bottle to help you stay on track. This one is my personal favorite: 1/2 gallon water jug