Now that you have the key information you need, it's time to figure out how to put your new healthy & active lifestyle into action. The trick to it is, don't overthink it & don't beat yourself up if you mess up! Remember one cookie won't kill you, and one day off from the gym isn't going to make you gain weight. A healthy lifestyle is a learning process, and you can't learn if you don't mess up.
To help you bring everything together and kick start your healthy lifestyle here are a few workouts and meal examples to use as a template:
Workouts -Monday - 40 minutes of biking
20 minutes of upper body strength
Tuesday - 45 (or more) minutes of eliptical
Wendesday- 40 minutes of walking & running mixed
20 minutes of abs & body weight exercises
Thursday- 45 (or more) minutes of biking
Friday- 40 minutes of eliptical
20-30 minutes of lower body strenth
Saturday- Take your dog on a walk, go on a long stroll with a friend, or take a walk to clear your head! If you feel up for it go for a run outside, but don't push yourself too much!
Sunday- Relax! It's sunday and you have well deserved your rest day!
Breakfast- we all have heard it's supposed to be the most important meal of the day, and it is, but that doesn't mean to over eat! A good mix of protein (around 20 grams), carbs (no more than 20 grams), and fiber (3-6 grams) will give you energy for the entire day - My personal favorite: Ezekial bread toasted with half an avacado smeared on, with a side of scrambled eggs with swiss cheese
Lunch - this meal is definitely more of a personal preference based on if you had already worked out before breakfast, if you're about to workout, or if you're planning on working out later in the night. Personally, I like to keep my lunch light because I had breakfast as my post workout meal. Last chance of the day to get in a decent amount of carbs - but not too many! I like to mix my lunch with a main protein (around 15-20 grams), carbs (no more than 30 grams), fiber (3-8 grams). My personal favorite: Two slices of Ezekial bread with mustard, lettuce, tomato, and sliced turkey breast, and a side of blueberries
Dinner- for a lot of people this meal is so difficult because our culture makes dinner such a big social gathering, the trick with dinner as well is not to over eat and to eat early enough so you're not still super full when you go to bed later on. An ideal dinner in my mind would be protein (around 30 grams), carbs (no more than 15 grams), and fiber (4-10 grams). I like to think of dinner as the meat/polutry and veggie meal, any combination of the two makes for a delicious and filling meal. If you are a person who really loves carbs youll love My Personal Favorite: Sphaghetti squash (tastes just like pasta if you do it right) with homemade red sauce and ground turkey
Great tips the past few weeks. I hope that people don't find going to the gym as intimidating as you describe. That may be the case at some gyms, but I enjoy the gym as a hub of social activity. One helpful hint may be to find out when people like you are most likely to work out at the gym and go at that time. For instance, I like to go after I drop my son off at preschool and there are tons of other moms at the gym with the same plan!
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