3 Simple Fitness Habits That Changed Our Life

Did you catch our post on 3 Simple Eating Habits That Changed Our Life? Not only did we change our eating habits but we also started our fitness journey. Below are a few of the fitness habits we adopted that changed our life.

RELATED: 5 Things We Have Done to Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle 5+ Years

3 Simple Fitness Habits That Changed Our Life

1. Focus on weight training first.

• Most people think that they need to start running or doing some other form of cardio when they start their fitness journey. While you can definitely have running and/or cardio goals, you will do yourself a huge favor by focusing on weight training first and early! Don't wait until you lose XX number of pounds to start lifting.
• The more muscle your body has the more calories it burns, even at rest.
• Our workout plans lay out which exercises you should do, including sets and reps along with recommended intensity levels. The workout plans also include HIIT routines, training logs, our popular grocery lists, a sample daily meal timing schedule and tips for what to eat before and after a workout.

RELATED: 5 Reasons Why You Need A Fitness Plan

2. Find a cardio activity that you enjoy.

• When you do introduce cardio, don't force yourself to do one activity. You can take a cardio based class, incline walk, run, swim, bike, etc. Switch it up so you don't get bored.
• We typically hike on the weekends as our cardio. If we are doing cardio in the gym we stick with sprints on the treadmill or incline walk/running. Scott also loves to use the rowing machine. I enjoy running short distances when the weather is nice. I call myself a "fair weather runner". ;-) Walking is a great form of exercise too!
• You don't need to spend hours upon hours on a piece of cardio equipment. Don't overdo your cardio sessions.

RELATED: 30-Day Walking Challenge

3. Take rest days seriously.

• You NEED at least 1-2 rest days per week. Your body needs time to rest, recover, and grow. When people start on a fitness plan and they are actually excited about working out (maybe for the first time in their life) they start to think that "more is better" and that is definitely not the case here. Stick with your routine/plan and see it through until the end. Read: 5 Reasons Why You Need A Fitness Plan
• This might be the most important reason: You don't need to spend your whole life in the gym/working out.

Don't get overwhelmed. So many people come to us overwhelmed that we even did an entire podcast on the topic! You can find that here. Listen to that and just get started. Don't over-complicate things...Just start moving!

Non-Scale Victories: Ways to Measure Your Progress

I hear from so many people who get so discouraged with the scale. Normally I send them a link to the scale project that I did a few years ago. If you haven't read it yet, please do (here's a link)! I've never really been a scale person, I just never cared. Before I went to the doctor a few weeks ago, I hadn't known my weight in TWO years! Weight is just a guide and you should not weigh yourself more than weekly, and I really suggest monthly.

So, if you don't weigh yourself, how are you supposed to measure your progress? Well, you can look at yourself and possibly see changes (but even then it's hard for us to see changes ourselves) or you can think about how you feel now compared to when you started. I've come up with a list of my favorite non-scale victories so that next time you are discouraged you can take a look at this list and check them off as victories!

• Loose Rings - This is one that I noticed right away. My wedding ring would start sliding off my finger and I finally had to get it re-sized!
   
• Better Sleep - If you are eating healthier and working out, chances are that you are sleeping better. Sleep is VERY important, just as important as eating healthy and exercising (maybe even more).
   
• Clearer Skin - At first your skin might do the opposite of clearing up but after your body adjusts to the changes to your diet and lifestyle your skin should start to clear up. It's a win-win!
   
• More Energy - Fueling your body with healthy food, quality sleep, and exercise will do wonders for your energy levels. I'm not saying that you won't need the occasional caffeine but overall you should feel more energy.
   
• Loose Clothing - Do your pants seem to be getting longer? It's probably because they are getting too loose in the waist! This means that you are losing inches but it might not translate with a lower number on the scale.
   
• Lift Heavier, Run Longer and/or Faster - When you go to the gym if you can lift heavier weights (with proper form) or run longer and/or faster than when you started, you should be proud of yourself!

One last bonus NSV (non-scale victory) is that you may find that you actually start enjoying exercising and eating healthy!

Now, if you aren't seeing any of these NSV's or scale victories maybe it's time to be honest with yourself. How hard are you working? Have you really changed or have you just been thinking about it? If you are confused about where to start, check out our workout plans (RELATED: 5 Reasons Why You Need A Fitness Plan).

3 Simple Eating Habits That Changed Our Life

We have made many changes over the years to the way we eat and even view food. However, these three simple changes/habits below definitely made the greatest impact. You have probably heard these over and over again but that's because they work! They will look different for every person but I've explained what they mean to us.

RELATED: 3 Simple Fitness Habits That Changed Our Life

3 Simple Eating Habits That Changed Our Life

1. Drink water instead of soda, fruit juices (normally loaded with sugar), or other sugary drinks.
   • We weren't huge soda drinkers although Scott would have to order a large sweet tea (that's big down here in the south!) every single time we left the house. Scott eliminated the sweet tea and we started making our own sweet tea at home using stevia or drinking it unsweetened. If you are a sweet tea lover start off by mixing half sweet and half unsweet.
   • Remember that small steps are better than no steps so even if you can't think about getting rid of soda altogether try reducing how much you drink each week until you no longer drink it. Try replacing your soda with flavored water or try an alternative beverage. We love Zevia!
   • Fruit juices are typically loaded with sugar and other unnecessary ingredients. Try making your own flavored water and eat your fruit. ;-)
   • Try to also limit your alcohol consumption and/or change the type of alcohol you consume. Stay away from the margaritas and high calorie/carb drinks, try wine or use different types of mixers (again, we love Zevia!). 
     
     RELATED: Flavored Water Recipes
      
2. Avoid added sugar.
   • Added sugar is EVERYWHERE! Places that you would never think sugar is "hiding" it is! I'm not asking you to count every gram of sugar but once you are aware of what you are eating you will realize that things like peanut butter and yogurt are typically loaded with sugar. Look at the ingredients in your nut butter and avoid sugar. The only ingredients should be the nut (and probably salt). For yogurt, try Greek yogurt and mix in your own fruit instead of buying the yogurt with the fruit already mixed in.
      
3. Eat proper portions, this includes not UNDER-eating.
   • Eat less, move more. Sounds good, right? That's usually the advice you hear or read and it's true, to a certain extent. However, you must fuel your body. You are not smarter than your body, it knows what it needs and that is fuel! I would say that out of all of the people that I have coached and the people that I hear from on a daily basis most are under-eating as opposed to over-eating. I guess this is because they are already reaching out for help so they are under the impression they need to eat less. You don't necessarily need to eat less, you need to eat the right foods. People are amazed when they found out exactly how much I eat. This doesn't mean to go out and eat 5,000 calories a day but if you are working out, you must fuel your body. If you limit your calories your body will start to hold onto whatever you give it and store it as fat...which is the exact opposite of what we want it to do! If you are confused about where to start, check out our FREE 13 to Clean Challenge that includes meal ideas and a workout plan!

Remember, all of these small changes really add up. You can - but you don't have to - change everything all at once. Just get started!