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!

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!

Clean Eating Back to School Resources

School is already back in session here in Georgia and the schools that haven't started yet are starting soon. As they say, the days are long but the years are short! Everyone can benefit from this round-up of resources, not just parents, students, and teachers. Use these resources to save some time in the kitchen while still maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Now is also a great time to start a new workout routine! Give one of our workout plans a try. We have 4, 6, and 12-weeks plans to choose from. We also have plans geared specifically towards runners!

RELATED: 5 Reasons Why You Need A Fitness Plan

Clean Breakfast Ideas for Back to School

Clean Snacks for Back to School

Eat Clean Meal Ideas That Are Good Cold

Quick & Easy Eat Clean Dinner Ideas (30 minutes or less)

Eat Clean Quick and Easy Breakfast Ideas

I hope these resources make your transition to a new school year a little bit easier!