Bucket List #4 Start a healthier lifestyle
I hate the gym. I hate working out. I especially hate cardio.
I've never understood runners. Runs before 6 a.m., 5K marathons for fun, and I really don't get the runners who are out in 10 degree weather like it's nothing. The worst part is they actually look like they're enjoying themselves.
"You're not going to be able to eat like that forever," my mother would say.
I would laugh at her as I scarfed down my fifth piece of pizza.
I'm not laughing now. It's more of a slight, guilty whimper as I still decide to eat my fifth piece of pizza. It's not that I don't enjoy healthy food as well, I absolutely love it. But that doesn't mean I don't also love bread and pasta and basically any carb that I could possibly put in my mouth.
So I decided that I better start working out and at least attempting to make better choices with what I eat. So I joined a gym and started double-thinking what I was eating.
I've always been in pretty good shape since I was fairly active most of my life from cheerleading and walking everywhere I went at college. So I never really had to go to the gym, as I was there most of the time for practices anyways. Things are easier when you're actually held accountable to be working out. But college has come and gone, and my bad habits have remained.
And while I still have a long way to go before it becomes a lifestyle, and not just something I'm attempting to do, here is what I have learned so far.
Pick the best time for you
As someone who likes a set schedule and routine, picking a time was extremely difficult. At first, I was going after work. This was good for about four days in a row and then I realized that was never going to stick. First, after working all day the last thing I want to do is work out. I would much rather go home and binge watch Netflix until I go blind. I found myself getting in the car at the end of the day and justifying (out loud) why it was okay that I didn't go that day. The other problem is that plans come up and the gym becomes a second priority. The other option was going in the morning before work, but that would mean waking up at 5 a.m., and even if I could force myself to do that, I would be asleep under my desk by 10.
So I discovered lunch time is my best option. Now this isn't the most convenient for people because you have clean yourself back up to go into work, but for me it's easier to get myself to actually go in the middle of the work day than it is any other time. I find that I have more motivation at noon and on a time limit to get in a workout than I had before.
Don't limit yourself on food
The worst thing you can do is deprive yourself from what you want, because chances are you are going to give in eventually and you'll way over indulge. If you want a cookie, have one cookie. Don't wait until Saturday and then eat an entire box in bed.
Pick out what you're going to eat before you get hungry
Whether this means buying groceries or looking at menus beforehand, think about what you want before you're on the brink of starving and will eat just about anything. That is when you give into the worst foods. People will tell you that the only way to be healthy is to cook for yourself. Coming from someone who eats out a majority of their week, this isn't 100 percent true. Yes, if you're eating fast food cheeseburgers and fries every day then of course that is going to end badly. But there are a lot of healthy choices on menus now, mostly thanks to the hipsters and their love for grass and hummus, so just look before you order. There's always the option of customizing your meal without the bad ingredients. Just because every salad in your city comes smothered in fries, doesn't mean you have to get them.
Get sleep
Studies have proven you eat more and gain more weight when you're tired. Now as much as my boyfriend may tease me about my 9:30PM bedtime, it's nice not to feel like I want to crawl under my desk and sleep for 4 hours at work. Pick a time to try and go to bed each night and the same time to wake up, being on a schedule makes it a lot easier to get that beauty rest.
Find something you enjoy
I found that I absolutely have to work out to music, and that makes Zumba my favorite fitness class ever. This is something I look forward to doing and it is a change up from my usual cardio then toning workouts. Find the thing you love to do and look forward to it. It can be yoga, pilates, or that weird one where you're suspended in ropes. (Real thing, look it up.) Either way, it never seems like a workout when you're having fun.