1. Set your goals.
There’s nothing more important than motivation – it’s what gets you out of bed in the morning and through your day. Setting personal goals helps you realize why you want to get healthy in the first place! I know it’s so cliché to set huge New Year’s resolutions, but I challenge you to set specific, timely, and REALISTIC goals for yourself! A few of my goals for the new year are to drink only water (no more soda or juice), work out for 30 minutes at least four times a week, and only eat out once a week. For me, these are realistic and definitely achievable. This helps me to have a clear vision going into the new year about what I want to accomplish. I also advise you to write your goals down! It helps seeing them every day as a reminder of that end goal.
2. Get more sleep.
Eight hours a night!!! I repeat: eight. My goal for the New Year is to go to bed every night before 11 pm during the week. Lack of sleep can affect your energy throughout the day and your metabolism. It also increases your stress hormone levels.
3. Drink water.
Water is the holy grail. Staying hydrated has so many benefits including aiding in digestion, clearing out toxins, clearing up skin, and increasing energy. The recommended amount varies from person to person; however, the average woman should be drinking about 9 cups of water a day.
4. Sweat & move.
Try to find a realistic time each day where you can go for a run, attend a yoga class, or use the elliptical at the gym! Get moving until you’re at the point of sweating for at least 30 minutes each day. Just exercising 30 minutes can boost your mood, help you lose stubborn weight, improve your memory, increase overall energy, and improve your self confidence. Days that I am busier I go to the gym at night after a day full of classes, but when I have more time I try to do it in the middle of the day between classes for the energy burst!
5. Cook at home.
Cooking at home allows you to use fresh ingredients, save money, and try out new recipes. I try to cook all meals at home and allow myself one meal a week where I can eat out or grab Panda Express on campus. Maybe for you it’s two meals or three meals! I know this isn’t always achievable especially if you’re living in the dorms, but as an alternative you could try to eat healthier options in the cafe.
6. Schedule your workouts and hold yourself accountable.
On Sunday evening before your busy week, try to schedule each day that week you want to work out. This helps you get set into a routine. A tip to make your workouts fun is to invite a friend along to do them with you! By having a friend there, it also holds you accountable to that workout. Having my best friend to work out with also helps me keep motivated.
7. At-home workouts.
For days that you can’t make it to the gym, try at-home workouts! They’re usually really effective and can help keep your fitness routine fun. Below are a few videos of my favorite at-home workouts I’ve tried!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWy_aOlB45Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZqtZSuh5Rk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbBnm2gv31U
8. Track your steps.
The average sedentary person walks 1,000 to 3,000 steps each day. Personal trainers and physicians rave about the benefits of getting 10,000 steps a day. Lately 10,000 steps isn’t very achievable for me just because I am busy with classes, so my goal for 2018 is to walk more steps than I did the day before. Yesterday I walked 5,993 steps, so today I will try to get over 6,000. I track my steps using my Health app on my iPhone. I know a lot of people use Fitbits, however, which are awesome as well! By tracking my steps, I am more aware of how much walking I am doing a day, which motivates me to do more and more!
9. Cut out excuses.
It’s so easy to make excuses! My goal in 2018 is no matter how I’m feeling that day, push myself to do some sort of work out even if it’s just going for a walk. Even simple progress is still progress in the right direction.
“On good days, work out. On bad days, work out harder.”
10. Get motivating workout music.
Some of my favorite workout music is premade Spotify playlists! Spotify offers a bunch of different popular playlists under their Workout section. Otherwise, make your own playlist for the gym composed of your favorite upbeat songs! Music always makes my workouts go by much quicker!
“This is the year I will be stronger, braver, kinder, and unstoppable. This year I will be fierce.”