“Nothing will work unless you do.”
The Journey
Exactly one year ago I completed a fitness challenge that helped me achieved some of my most amazing fitness results to date. As a matter of fact, you can read about #mylivingspree and my fitness journey HERE. For me, it wasn’t about transforming my body simply for a look, a photo, or finally getting into a bikini for summer. I wanted to transform my life and that’s exactly what I did.
Yes, I am proud to say that I was able to maintain my fit body for an entire year! Of course my fitness journey had its ebbs and flows and I didn’t appear “as lean” as I would like during some seasons. However, what mattered most is the consistency and effort with which I applied the principles I needed to succeed. Trust me, once you fully understand what it takes and commit to you goals day in and out, you will be well on your way to maintaining your fitness goals all year long. You must fall in love with the journey and the results will come.
If you want to become the best version of yourself and maintain your fitness goals, you must develop habits that will eventually lead to lifestyle. Getting and staying fit isn’t about cutting carbs and calories, intense cardio sessions, avoiding restaurants, and drinking nothing but water. It is a lifestyle change that requires you to adopt a new, healthier mentality all around and ways to sustain and maintain in everyday life. I want to give you a few realistic tips on how to maintain and sustain your fit body not just for summer, but all year long. Please note, I am sharing tips that worked for me and my personal journey. It is my hope that they may help you as well, but ultimately always do what feels right for you and why works for you.
1. Establish A Mind and Body Connection
First, you have to commit to your fitness goals in your mind, then your body will follow suit. Therefore, understand that fitness is on a continuum and you are always actively working to maintain that lifestyle. Once your mind understands the importance of the new norm, your body will too! You will develop the desire to eat healthier on a daily basis, exercise more, and learn more about what your body needs and what it likes. This may seem simple, but trust me this is a major key!
2. Eat Clean
Yes, it is true that abs are made in the kitchen! Eating healthy is 75-80% of your overall fitness and it is the key to weight loss. No matter how much you workout in the gym, you likely won’t see much progress in your health and fitness until you learn to eat healthy. Having healthy foods readily available (or “meal prep”) is the easiest way to develop the habit of sticking to a nutritious diet.
Generally, I choose a source of lean protein (chicken, fish, turkey, etc.), a green vegetable, and a “good” carbohydrate (brown rice, sweet potato, etc.) for most of my meals. I plan to go into more details about sample meal plans, quantities and the best foods for maintenance in a future post. But for now, make sure to limit fried, greasy, and high fat foods for a “cheat meal” no more than twice weekly.
3. Cardio Exercise
Cardio is extremely important in maintaining your summer body as this is how you will stay lean. When choosing the most effective cardio for “leaning out,” you want to do something that will burn the most body fat. Examples of fat burning cardio workouts include 20-30 minutes of any of the following: riding the stationary bike, sprinting on the treadmill, climbing the stairmaster, rowing on a row machine, or performing HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workouts. My personal favorite cardio exercises are sprints on the treadmill and the stair master. I usually average 30-45 min of cardio 3-4x per week. This may increase leading up to summer or depending on my personal goals, so that I can burn more calories and combat weight gain.
4. Stay Consistent
If you don’t remember anything else, remember that consistency is key! This means if you fall, get back up! When you mess up, start over! Generally, don’t allow more than 2-3 days go by without working on your fitness goals in some way.
Next, don’t get caught up in what the scales says. Focus on how you feel, how you look, and how your clothes fit. No, I am not saying to never weigh yourself, definitely do so if you would like. But, I am saying that just because you don’t see a certain number on the scale doesn’t mean that you are not achieving results or that you are not healthy. It is only when we give up that we miss the results we desire! DON’T QUIT!
5. Lift weights
If you want to preserve the curves all year long and stay tone, weight lifting is the answer! Lifting heavy weights helps burn fat and calories long after your workout is done. No matter how much cardio you do, toning only comes as a result of lifting weights. Trust me, you will want to continue the toning process at all times because fat and cellulite can easily sneak up on you!
I always thought that weight lifting of any sort would make me look bulky and masculine. If anything, it was the exact opposite—it enhanced my curves! I usually weight lift at least 3-4 times per week with weighted bars, dumb bells, or kettle bells. If you’re not familiar with weight lifting, click HERE for a 20 min Weight Training for Beginners Workout. I also plan to go more in detail and give examples of good weight training workouts in a future post.
6. Drink water
Drinking water has countless benefits for weight loss and overall health. It helps you get rid of bloating and weight gain; especially when you add detox aids such as cucumber, lemon and mint to your water.
I usually drink 1/2 gallon to 1 gallon daily using this super cool gallon water bottle from Amazon as a fun, accountable way to track my daily intake. Check it out HERE! If that seems to be too much for you, aim to drink AT LEAST half of your current body weight in ounces of water.
7. Get adequate rest
Yes, you can maintain those gains in your sleep! Your body repairs and rebuilds itself while you are sleeping, contributing to your overall physical and psychological growth and recovery. Sleeping is one of the best things you can do for your body, so it is important to get more of it if you can! In general, it is good to aim for about 7 to 9 hours per night. Don’t feel like you always have to stay in the gym to get results. Sometimes rest is the best thing we can do for our bodies to achieve and maintain the results we want.
Don’t forget this!
As you can see, maintaining your summer body takes just as much, if not more, hard work and dedication as achieving it in the first place. Trust me, I’ve learned this first hand and I am continuing to learn what my body needs to stay healthy and fit as the seasons change. The major take away here is that you must be committed to making a total lifestyle change. Trust me, it is normal to have some ebbs and flows in your fitness journey. But, the key is establishing a routine, staying consistent, and staying focused on your overall goal–a healthy life, healthy body image and healthy mind.
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Thanks so much for taking the time to read this post! Comment below if you have ever been on a fitness journey or thinking about starting one! I want to hear from you! And don’t forget to share this post on your social media using the share icons below! ?
