TRAINING, STAYING MOTIVATED AND LIVING A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE
This post is sponsored by Kohl’s. I was paid for this post and received the included Fitbit as compensation.
There’s no just one way to live a healthy and balanced lifestyle… but one thing is for sure, no matter what lifestyle you live, you need to enjoy it and be happy. Living healthy is not the result of crazy diets and spending hours at the gym, Having a healthy lifestyle is taking care of your body, get your sweat in, make healthy choices to fuel your body and take care of yourself.
So here is one of the most common questions I get… How do you stay motivated to keep going every day?
Truth is… I don’t! I don’t wake up every single day full of energy. We all get unmotivated, uninspired or simply things in life don’t go the way we expected… and that’s OK!. We all go through mental highs and lows, we all have personal issues, so if you know what I mean. YOU ARE NOT ALONE!. When I first began my fitness journey, every single ride was a serious ride in the struggle bus, just like it’s been happening lately. And I used to honestly wonder if it was even worth it because how could I make progress if I could barely get through a workout?
⠀⠀I kept going by pushing myself. There’s no other reason. Some days are good and I even have the time to go to the gym, spend some time at the weight room, others simply go for a run at the highschool track meanwhile my kids finish their after class activities, or in those crazy busy days when work didn’t allow me to take some time to workout, and I see myself running in between activities with the kids, I just try to stop by a nearby park, play with them and organize some kind of workout routine I can do with them, trying to make it fun for them and for myself… but I just KEEP MOVING!
Now, something that really had helped me lately to push through the day is the daily use of my Fitness Tracker. With this device, I can track my steps ( even tells me when I need to keep moving), the calories I burn during my day and even tracks my calorie intake so I can know for sure how much calories I’m consuming and how many I’ve burned during the day.
Some of you asked me about advice on finding that great Fitness tracker that will help you stay motivated. No problem! I’ve partnered with Kohl’s and had the chance to try both of their newest FitBit devices they released and I’m totally hooked!
First, Love the looks of the Versa Smartwatch Special Edition that Kohl’s offers, because of its gorgeous color display, stylish design & the cool Ruby band. I’m normally very judgemental when getting a fitness tracker, but Versa really exceeded my expectations. One of the tools I use the most is the personalized on-screen workouts. Both my daughter and I enjoy trying the workouts meanwhile we wait for my son to finish his soccer practices. Contrary as I used to do before, to sit and just watch, now I have another reason to stay active, so I just pick a workout from my watch and have fun while working out with my daughter. I can store songs in it and I even get notifications of keep moving if I want to get my hourly steps goal.
The other great device I had the opportunity to try is the Fitbit Charge 3. This is FitBit’s newest tracker. It has a very sleek look, modern feel, light weight, comfortable & packed full of fitness features like swim tracking, HR, auto exercise recognition, goal based exercise & smart notifications. While the Charge 3 can’t count weight lifting reps, it’s a great device to wear to the gym thanks to the various activities it can track.
If It’s just so happen to be a cardio day for me, so I put the Charge 3 to track my workout on a stair-stepper, an elliptical or an indoor bike. Even when you don’t use the Exercise app, the Charge 3 can record workouts using Fitbit’s SmartTrack technology, which auto-detects and records certain movements after you’ve been doing them for at least 10 to 15 minutes.
When I have no time to go to the gym, I normally try to go for a run (If the weather is on my side that day) at the track of the nearest high school. About 12 laps (about 3 miles) is the usual I can do before I have to pick up the kids from any activity. In this case I like to use my FitBit Versa that helps me track my laps, pace and I can even enjoy my run with music I can play from there. For me it is important to stay active even if it’s for just couple of minutes at the time. I’m used to stay pretty active, but it’s ok if you take things slow, and just don’t get frustrated. Always Work with the time you have, try to keep a healthy diet , and most importantly KEEP MOVING. hey! You had time for just 15 min run or walk today? That’s ok, next time you’ll probably have the chance to work a little harder. Understand that this journey takes time and patience. No matter how slow you go, you are still lapping everyone on the couch, is your life, your pace, your chance to be better than yesterday! NEVER QUIT!!
**Now the other very important part of training for me is weightlifting. **Because you know…The more muscle you build, the more calories you will burn even when you’re sleeping. Weightlifting has been a game changer on my daily training because had helped me not only tone and shape my body, but had helped me a lot with managing anxiety and depression for the amount of endorphins I release during my exhaustive training being a huge stress reliever! The Versa plays a very important role here because it helps me track my calories specifically from the weight training mode.
I normally try to train at least 5 days a week, but some weeks are harder than others to find the time to go to the gym. So if it’s necessary I just use couple of dumbbells at home and get moving! Because honestly if you are committing your time to your workouts, understand that you are killing it!.
It doesn’t matter if you are picking up the 10lbs dumbbells and not able to finish your second set because your arms are giving out. Maybe you take extra breaks and only finish a circuit once… it doesn’t matter! You are still putting the work and all that matters is that you are doing it.
Don’t forget to give your body some rest as well. Exercising is important but taking some time to heal your muscles and relax your mind is very important. Both of my FitBit devices can automatically record time spent in Light, deep and REM sleep stages and even get tips for better sleep. Additionally they have included a personalized guided breathing session based on your heart rate for those moments when you need calm.
So if we know we have the power to start a healthy lifestyle in our hands and even have the amazing technological tools to do it, why so many people fail or can’t seem to lose weight? Just because they set unrealistic goals in an unrealistic timeline and some people want an easy way out.
Believe me, those “easy” short plans will work, cutting bad habits at once, fad diets, juice fast… But they won’t last! And soon you’ll be back to your starting point and sometimes weighting even more than before. You need to STOP doing that to yourself!!! Be smart, start small, write down your goals, and start getting rid of your unhealthy habits one at time if you have to. There’s no magic pill or easy solution. The “SECRET” to lasting weight loss is hard work, dedication and lots of willpower. It all comes down to have a balanced healthy diet, and a daily active life.
Focus on becoming HEALTHY and staying active rather than focusing on how many pounds you have to lose.
At the end of the day, no matter how much time you have, what kind of workouts you can do during your day, be proud of yourself that you are putting the time and the effort to improve your health and take care of your body. Stop thinking about how far you have to go, stop comparing yourself with others, and how fast THEY can get results… work on YOURSELF. Work on what makes YOU happy. Be proud of what you’re doing now, and Keep Going!! It’s time to get out and sweat and give it your best.
Now time to start moving and get your motivation going! First step is to get your Fitbit! And… Where can you buy a Fitbit? Kohl’s has the new Fitbit Charge 3 (at $149.99 everyday) and Fitbit Versa Ruby (Kohl’s exclusive color – $199.99 every day). A great thing about getting your Fitbit at Kohl’s is because You can earn Kohl’s Cash 10/11-10/17 and redeem it 10/18 -10/28 and earn Kohl’s Cash 10/18-10/21 and redeem it 10/22-10/28. That’s a win win, because you will have additional cash and grab some new workout gear as well!!
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