We’ve been there before. We’ve been tired, stressed, and frustrated. You just have to take the first step. Then keep taking steps. They add up. These are the 5 things we’ve done to maintain a healthy lifestyle for over 9 years.
You can transform your life. We did. We lost over 30 pounds; Scott went from a waist size of 38″ to 32″ and I went from a size 10 to a size 2/4 (I was a size 2 but am now a size 4 – you can read more about that in my body image post here.).
When we were packing for our trip to Jackson Hole it really hit me…I have ski pants (one pair because I don’t ski often!) that I’ve been able to pack for eight years. I don’t even try them on, I just pack them. They are pants I only wear once a year but they always fit. Always. I don’t worry if they will fit or not. That is an amazing feeling. You can experience this feeling too! Stop yo-yo dieting and starting living a healthy lifestyle all year long!
This post was originally titled 5 Things We Have Done to Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle for 5+ Years but was updated 12/28/2020 to 9+ years instead of 5+. 😉
5 THINGS WE HAVE DONE TO MAINTAIN A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE FOR 9+ YEARS
1. We are consistent, not perfect.
We are always physically active even if our workouts are not always perfect. For example, some days I’ll go in the gym to do an upper body workout from our She Sweats Workout Plan but I’ll end up doing legs. Sometimes I don’t even do anything that I had in mind. Sometimes the gym is just there for us to go to and keep up the habit. I don’t always kill my workouts. I rarely ever walk out dripping in sweat. But we go – to keep the habit – to be consistent.
We also make time for meal prep. Sometimes we make every single thing we need and have a huge spread of food covering our counter and sometimes we only make a few things just to get by for a few days. However, we never skip food prep – even if that means buying a rotisserie chicken and making a big batch of sweet potatoes to go with it for a few meals. Honestly, we feel like making time to prep healthy food is more important than going to the gym.
The habit of the habit is more important than the habit itself.
2. We have hobbies that keep us active.
Our workouts are not always in the gym. Any chance we get we climb mountains. Not only is hiking a good cardio workout but it’s also a much-needed mental break as we prefer places that have no cell service. We also have tennis rackets (notice I didn’t say “play” but we do goof off with it…Scott calls it “Whitness” because I make up my own rules) and Scott skis and plays golf. Find something that you enjoy! Remember, health and fitness is not “one size fits all” – just because your best friend lost 20 pounds and loves to run doesn’t mean that you will have the same success or enjoy it! AND THAT’S OKAY! 🙂 How boring would the world be if we were all the same?!
Learn More About Our Workout Plans Here!
3. We think of this as a lifestyle and not a diet.
This isn’t – and has never been – a diet for us. We live this way because it keeps us healthy and able to do all of the activities we enjoy. We don’t train for competitions or photoshoots. We don’t train for a half marathon and then quit everything. We just live this way to feel our best. There really is no other option.
4. We do not deprive ourselves.
If we want a piece of pizza or ice cream – we eat it. We don’t eat it every day or even every week but we also don’t really have many things that are “off-limits”. We do try to get the best version of whatever we are craving – bakery items made without high fructose corn syrup, food dyes, etc and we make a lot of our own treats (have you tried our cookie dough?!). We know our limits and we don’t keep junk in the house, when we indulge it is outside of the house.
5. We do not follow and/or worship “fitness celebrities”.
We live our own lives. We don’t often scroll through social media to “be inspired” (this usually leads to comparison which isn’t good for body image). Again, this is a habit for us so we just do it. It’s fine to be inspired and motivated by others but you also have to find motivation within. This WILL take time for you to do and there will still be days that you don’t want to do anything but that habit will keep you going. Work on building your good habits!
You may want to try our 7-Day Smartphone Detox Challenge!
Ready to get started?
- Our FREE 13 to Clean Challenge is a great place to start!
- Read our post on Getting Started with Clean Eating!
- Make time to start preparing your food in advance! Use our ultimate step-by-step guide to meal prepping to help you!
- Choose your workout plan! Let us guide you on 4-week, 6-week and/or 12-week strength training and cardio exercise program. Our workout plans 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.
You may also be interested in these articles:
- 5 Reasons Why You Need a Workout Plan
- 3 Ways to Break a Weight Loss Plateau
- 10 Tips to Stay Motivated for Your Workouts
- Stories From My Scale (Why You Need to Ditch Yours For Good!)
- 5 Things I Did to Achieve My Dream Body
Healthy Living Program says
Great information about how to maintain a healthy lifestyle! Keep sharing.