Hey y’all! Welcome back to my blog! Today I wanted to share with y’all how I stay healthy, active, and motivated. Summer is coming and most people are trying to get “beach body ready.” While I truly believe beauty comes in all shapes and sizes and everyone should feel confident in their looks, I do realize sometimes we want to better ourselves. I personally strive to stay active because my family has a history of obesity, diabetes, and heart attacks. Long story short, I want to live a long and happy life and I’ll do whatever I can to make that happen. I also want to disclaim that I am not a certified trainer, dietician, nutritionist, or doctor and all opinions are my own and based on my experience.
I want to thank Island Time Palm Beach for sponsoring today’s post! I was supplied with the activewear pictured and I am a huge fan of their colors and the patterns they use in the clothing and home goods they offer. Make sure you check out their website HERE and follow them on Instagram @IslandTime_PB.
Without further delay, let’s get into the 5 ways I stay active, healthy, and motivated!
1. Stay Motivated By Getting Some Cute Workout Clothes
This is no joke y’all lol. I promise if you get a cute workout outfit you feel confident in, it will motivate you to exercise! If the outfit alone doesn’t, the money spent definitely will lol. Island Time offers amazing tights, shorts, and workout tops! I’m wearing the Palm Beach UPF 40 Tights in a size medium; I wear a size small in Nike for reference. For my top I am wearing the Turquoise No Worries Tank in a size small. The entire outfit is super comfortable and moisture wicking! And bonus points for tights you can’t see through!
2. Make an Effort to Make Good Food Choices
I will be honest with y’all. I am not by any means this 24/7 clean eater. Throughout the years my diet has gotten better after making different lifestyle changes that I now don’t think twice about. But, I still love my McDonalds, Taco Bell, and of course Disney food! However, if you’re looking to lose weight, and keep it off, more likely than not changing your diet won’t help forever. You often see this with yo-yo dieters who think the keto diet is changing their life, but they quickly gain their weight back. It’s the combination of diet and exercise that will help you succeed in the long run. Changes you make in your diet will depend on you and what you know does or does not work with your body. Everyone’s body chemistry is different – what works for me may not work for you. I don’t eat red meat at home because it makes my stomach hurt so we use ground turkey and turkey bacon. It’s also a bonus since there is less fat in turkey than beef and pork. We also only drink almond milk because Grant and I are both lactose intolerant. For carbs we use whole grain bread and pasta, and we serve our pasta with eggplant instead of meatballs. They may have been hard changes at first, but now when we have what’s “normal” to most people, it doesn’t taste right. When I’m traveling, I let myself have one meal a day that has fried food in it. When traveling and working it can be difficult to keep on track 100%, but the important thing is that you cut yourself some slack at times. You can always hop back on the horse when you can and one week of bad eating doesn’t mean you’ll “get fat” or be off the routine forever!
3. Mix Up Your Workouts
Most of y’all are probably aware that I love participating in RunDisney races! However, running isn’t the only way I stay active. I tend to mix up my workout routines in order to get a better full body workout and to keep myself entertained. I’ve done yoga, barre classes, running, Beach Body (yes, it does work), as well as weight lifting, and other forms of cardio. When I first started working out at age 15 I used Pop Pilates videos on YouTube (YouTube can be an amazing tool to try out different workouts). I then started going to the gym where my mom worked, then eventually got my own gym membership when a Planet Fitness (can’t recommend them enough) opened in my town. There are also still workouts out there I still want to try like Orange Theory and maybe a CrossFit class or two. So try new things and find out what works for you and your lifestyle!
4. Find a Workout Buddy
This tip may not be for everyone, both for some people it may be helpful, especially in the beginning. When I first started exercising regularly I would do YouTube workout videos with my mom or my sister-in-law. That Summer I got involved in a workout program at my school and my friends and I would all go together. My later years of high school I went to the gym alone most of the time, but once I started dating Grant we always went together. You don’t necessarily need to do the same workouts or be attached at the hip, you just may need someone to hold you accountable and make sure you’re going and making an effort. Make a group message with a few friends and have friendly challenges of how many steps you each take a day, how many calories you burned in your workout, etc. Then maybe at the end of the month you all go out to dinner or a movie and you collectively cover the winner! Go to a spin class or yoga class together, or just go for a walk. Make it fun!
5. Trust the Process
This is SO IMPORTANT. What some people don’t know about me is that I have lost a good amount of weight over the past 6 years or so. People would never guess now that I used to be a size 12 when I was in 8th grade. I wasn’t proud of my body, and I just felt uncomfortable, so I decided to make a change. Nothing happened overnight, and some days I felt like I’d always be uncomfortable with my body and I’d never be happy. But I just kept pushing, kept trying, and mixed things up until I made a change. Today I’m a size 4, I’m strong, and happy. Also, I use pant size over number on the scale because a long time ago I realized weighing myself did me no good. I would rather use my feelings as my measure of happiness with myself than a number on the scale, or even the number on my pants. While neither the number on the scale nor your pant size should determine your happiness, IT IS OKAY to want to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle. It’s okay to want to better yourself. And it is okay to put time and money into your health and your looks.
I know this blog got a tad personal, and not everyone will agree with everything I have to say. But I just wanted to put all of that out there for whoever may need something like this right now. If y’all have any questions about my fitness journey, or if you want to share yours, feel free to leave a comment below, shoot me an email, or get in touch with me on Instagram (@thenorthernprepster). Don’t forget to check out Island Time’s website as well as follow them on Instagram @IslandTime_PB!
Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Jayme
Disclaimer: I am not a certified trainer, dietician, nutritionist, or doctor and all opinions are my own and based on my experience and do not reflect the views of Island Time Palm Beach. Photos by @AshlynSanchezPhoto.
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