You got through the hardest part: you worked hard and managed to get fit. Congratulations! Be proud of yourself. Now comes the worst: keeping fit when circumstances or life events prevent you from sticking to your physical activity schedule. You must continue to follow a healthy diet and an active lifestyle, but you must also become more dynamic every day so as not to compromise the results you have achieved. Make sure you are eating correctly in relation to your new activity level and adjust the exercises to the time you have available.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Maintain the New Lifestyle
Step 1. Set yourself goals
In this way, you will not lose sight of the intention to keep your body weight in the norm, limit the fat mass, tone the muscles and increase the intensity of the training. Ask yourself what your goals are. Maybe you want to maintain your current fitness or improve in a certain way.
- For example, if you're happy with your current weight, you might start looking for a way to keep it. In other words, you should be taking in the same number of calories that you burn in a day.
- Alternatively, if you've just lost weight, you might start toning muscles.
- Once you're back in shape, you may want to set yourself the goal of running your first 5km marathon or starting a new sporting activity, such as climbing.
Step 2. Keep going to the gym
As soon as you shed the pounds you wanted, you may be tempted to leave the gym, but you need to keep exercising to stay fit and healthy. If you stop, you risk regaining the weight you shed after numerous sacrifices.
Step 3. Remember that maintaining physical fitness is a lifelong process
If you've just finished a diet or are trying not to get fat, realize that you can't stay fit by correcting yourself once in a while. You need to play sports constantly and maintain healthy eating habits if you don't want to invalidate all your efforts.
- Exercising and eating right is a priority. Plan your workouts and don't let work or other commitments overlap.
- You can give yourself a little break from the rule, but you need to continue to eat healthily most days.
- Always look for the healthiest option when you go to a restaurant. When you go out with friends, don't raise your elbow too high and go to parties with a full stomach.
Part 2 of 4: Be Active Every Day
Step 1. Walk more
Walks are very useful and serve to keep fit, feel more energetic and feel good. Not all exercises involve muscle aches and sweat! You can easily incorporate a few walks into your daily routine as a simple way to keep your weight under control.
- To walk more, try parking away from your destination. Find a seat farthest from the entrance when you go to the mall, supermarket or work. You can go further by parking a block or two away.
- Secondly, always make sure you take the stairs. Avoid the elevator and escalators as often as you can.
- A more demanding, albeit acceptable, challenge is getting around by public transport. Not only will you save fuel, but you will have to walk more than when traveling by car. Google Maps has an excellent public transport planning system (just select the bus icon when you want to plan your route) that will help you understand when to leave, which lines to take and how long you will need to walk.
Step 2. Change desk
Working standing can cause you to do more activities than sitting down. Spend part of your working day standing up instead of sitting in a chair to promote blood circulation and maintain muscle tone.
- If you fear the boss's opinion, present your idea intelligently: "If you help us make this change, we will all be healthier and happier, we will probably get sick less."
- There are many desks that can be adjusted to the height of a normal table or transformed into a "standing desk". They allow you to take a break and sit down when standing work becomes tiring.
Step 3. Use the exercise ball
You may also decide to change sessions. A fitness ball in place of a regular chair will help you activate your core muscles and maintain focus.
If you find it too difficult to balance on the gym ball, get a special one with an anchor capsule. This model also offers some benefits, albeit less than normal fitness balls
Step 4. Hold meetings while walking
If you have a business meeting where all you need to do is talk and take notes, try asking your colleagues to walk the corridors of the office or around the building instead of sitting in the conference room. This exercise will help everyone stay more alert, active and energetic.
You can take notes on your phone or even record the meeting if you are concerned about forgetting the details discussed
Step 5. Do household cleaning more often
Many household chores require movement and exercise, so you can integrate them into daily physical activity. Take care of the more challenging ones and leave the rest to your family.
The most strenuous tasks include mowing the lawn with the push mower, making the bed, doing the laundry and cleaning the bathtub
Step 6. Walk during breaks
Instead of sitting and staring at the wall when you're on a break, try walking the hallways. It will help you stay awake, regain energy and keep you active.
Part 3 of 4: Incorporate Physical Activity into Your Routine
Step 1. Divide the exercises
It may happen that you lack the time or the desire to go to the gym, but it is not a mandatory commitment. While you shouldn't stop going to the gym, look for other ways to work out during the day. You can do this by dividing your workout into shorter sessions throughout the day.
- The time you need depends on your fitness. Think about how many hours a day it took you to get in shape and spread it throughout the day.
- For example, you can break an hour of training into two or three times a day. Train this way at least 5-6 days a week.
Step 2. Choose effective exercises
Some exercises are more effective than others and allow you to make the most of the little time you spend on physical activity. Choose a workout that works your core muscles, as your arms and legs are always used during daily activities, such as lifting grocery bags and walking to the parking lot. Trial:
- Squat. Squats work your core and leg muscles and can become a complete exercise if you use weights to train your arms as well. To perform them, spread your feet shoulder-width apart and keep your back straight, bend your knees to lower your body as if you wanted to sit down.
- Plank. You can perform the plank in a position similar to a push-up position. However, instead of putting your weight on your hands, put your entire forearm on the ground and stay in this position for as long as possible. The tension created in the arms and toes, due to the effort of keeping the body straight, allows you to train the muscles of the core, legs, shoulders, neck and arms.
- Burpees. Burpees are great exercises because they involve the whole body with a few movements. You can do them starting from a standing position, lowering yourself to a crouch, throwing your legs back into a push-up position (you can add a real push-up if you want), get back into a squatting position, and finally jump as high as you can (with your arms pointing upwards). 'tall).
Step 3. Train between the various commitments of the day
You can fit a lot of gymnastic exercises between your normal daily activities and while doing something. If you can, it will be easier to stay fit. By organizing yourself this way, you can get to practicing 60 minutes of physical activity per day (not including the extra walks or other exercises to include):
- Try doing squats while making dinner. Hold a heavy can of tomato sauce in each hand and perform squats in front of the stove as you cook the pasta. For example, the 10 minutes it takes to cook spaghetti can help you time yourself.
- Do a few planks before bed. Hold the position for 1-2 minutes. If you want, you can add pushups or lunges between planks. You can also do this workout when you wake up, but remember to warm up your muscles and stretch them first to prevent tearing and strains.
- Do burpees during commercials. Commercial breaks can total 13-16 minutes per hour, so they give you plenty of time to perform a few burpees. If you continue even when the show restarts, you can fit two 10-minute series into one hour of television.
Step 4. Turn commuting to work into a workout
Avoid using the car and take alternative means of transport. You can manage in various ways, depending on your time, your fitness and other factors. Consider:
- Use the bicycle. Take it to go to work. This is great advice if you live 10-12km away and have the option to use a bathroom to wash yourself once you arrive. Carry your work clothes in a backpack along with everything you need to fix your hair and face.
- Combine bicycle and bus. In large cities, many buses offer space for bicycles, so you can get to work by public transport and return by bicycle. You can also do the reverse or even divide the journey between the two vehicles.
- If you live 3 to 5km from work and have access to the bathroom, consider jogging or running to get to your destination. It's a great exercise that wakes you up more than coffee.
Step 5. Exercise with your children
If you have children, think about training with them. Using the time you spend playing with your children to also take care of the body can be a smart move that allows you to combine both activities. Also, you will set a good example because your children will understand how important it is to play sports. For example, you might:
- Swim in the pool, sea or lake;
- Take a walk;
- Playing Frisbee or football in a park;
- Enroll in an indoor rock climbing course;
- Running on dirt paths;
- Playing catch.
Step 6. Make training a social activity
If you don't have children or a lot of time, you can train and cultivate your social relationships at the same time. Gather a group of friends and take a Pilates class once a week. In this way, you will find the right motivation to continue because you will make physical activity more exciting and have someone who will motivate you to move on, as well as gain more time for other commitments.
Step 7. Multitask at the gym
You can save even more time by combining your exercise routine with other things. For example, take your work with you and get on an easy machine, like the elliptical or the treadmill, as long as it has space to put a book or document on.
- Bring homework, some work reports to read or some paper to sign and endorse, as long as you need minimal movement.
- Bring an audiobook or listen to podcasts on your iPod while exercising. Even in this way you can make the most of your time, relaxing during physical activity.
Part 4 of 4: Eat Well
Step 1. Make lifestyle changes
We tend to believe that diets (like Atkins or South Beach) are the right way to avoid gaining weight again, but they don't work in the long run. They help you lose a few extra pounds if you're short on time, but over time what makes the difference are lifestyle changes. You will be able to stay fit with little physical activity if you eat healthy and balanced. By doing this, you have the energy you need and you will avoid the accumulation of fat, but you will remain healthy and fit.
Step 2. Cut down on trans fats and simple carbohydrates
Foods that contain trans fats and simple carbohydrates, such as sugar and white flours, do not allow us to maintain a healthy weight. They are often found in baked goods, processed foods and fried foods. Limit their consumption or allow them very rarely.
- You can find trans fats in margarine, microwaved popcorn, some frozen foods, fried foods, and commercial baked goods (cookies, frozen pizza, cakes, pastries, etc.).
- Simple carbohydrates are found in white flour-based foods, such as bread, pasta, crackers, and white rice, as well as in sugar-rich products, such as breakfast cereals, sugar, sodas, and pastries.
Step 3. Add the healthy fats
They are essential for keeping the body healthy and taking care of the health of the most important muscle: the heart! You can spot polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats by considering that they are often liquid at room temperature.
Healthy fats are contained in nuts, olive oil, avocado and fatty fish, such as salmon and anchovies
Step 4. Get plenty of protein
Protein helps you maintain lean mass and gives you that feeling of energy that you lack when you decrease the frequency and intensity of your workout. When choosing your protein sources, opt for lean ones (protein with minimal amounts of harmful fat), but make sure they are complete. Protein is made up of amino acid chains found in different foods, so you will need to consume sufficient amounts of various foods to assimilate them.
- The best protein sources include skinless chicken, turkey, eggs, salmon, anchovies, sardines, oysters, almonds, walnuts, peanuts, peas, and quinoa.
- Nuts, legumes and quinoa do not contain complete proteins. Usually, you need to eat meat or soy products to get them (soy is the only plant-based source of complete protein). If you are a vegetarian, be sure to consume plenty of legumes and nuts and vary your protein sources to make sure your body receives this nutrient in full form.
Step 5. Increase your intake of other nutrients
If you don't want to gain weight, you need to eat fewer calories than when you were exercising more. It means that the calories you consume should contain the highest possible concentration of nutrients. Opt for low-calorie, low-fat foods that are high in various nutrients.
Foods rich in nutrients include kale, spinach, broccoli, citrus fruits, apples, quinoa, rolled oats, barley, lentils, white beans, and fish
Step 6. Eat proportionate and balanced meals
When you needed to get in shape, your meals were probably large and high in protein. Even if you have to keep taking them in large quantities, balance your diet with other nutrients. Also, you need to cut down on portions to make sure you're getting the right calorie intake based on your physical activity level.
- Generally, one third of the plate should be fruit and vegetables (with a preference for vegetables as fruit contains a lot of sugar), another third should be cereal-based, while the last third should be a mixture. of proteins and low-fat dairy products (cottage cheese, eggs, skimmed milk, etc.).
- To eat in the right quantities, you will need to do some calculations and choose a diet tailored to the number of calories recommended by your doctor. However, a simple rule is to eat on the side dish (small dish), not the flat one, and wait 15 minutes before taking any more food.
Step 7. Drink water
The body needs water. While you'll need less than what you consumed when sweating all day to get back into shape, you need to keep hydrating, so don't break this habit. Plus, water allows you to feel fuller and lower your calorie intake once you reduce your level of physical activity.
In general, if your urine is clear, it means you are drinking enough
Advice
- If you can't stick to your training schedule, try combining exercises with more enjoyable activities. For example, if you enjoy watching TV, do a series of crunches or push-ups during commercials.
- If you are very busy and have a hard time finding time to train, do something to be more active throughout the day. For example, try walking or biking short distances instead of driving (it's good for both the environment and your health).
- Do not give up! It is a slow and difficult process. For this reason there are so many books and videos. Everyone tries, but few reach the goal.
- To stick to your training schedule, try setting days and times for playing sports. It is a bad idea to train only when you feel like it. That way, you won't be able to be consistent (while regularity is the key to success).
- Running helps, but you should try other sports! By running, you mostly strengthen your leg muscles, but if you are not trained or do not have good shoes, you can get hurt. Try swimming so that your whole body works! You can go to the pool every morning before you go to work or college and swim 500 meters (or more if you're fit enough) or take a course (three times a week is fine).
- Allow yourself a few exceptions to the rule only rarely. If you like going to McDonald's or similar places, limit yourself to 2-3 times a month. Don't become a fast food junkie! Okay every now and then, but try to contain yourself!
- Basketball is a great sport for keeping fit and increasing endurance. It can be much more than just a form of gymnastics: it can become an activity that attracts the sympathy of others.
- Go for healthy foods.
- Drink 8 glasses of water a day to keep yourself healthy and keep your skin looking youthful.
Warnings
- If you start feeling lightheaded, dizzy or nauseous, you are pulling too hard! If you are in good health, that's good (just as muscle fatigue allows lean mass to rebuild in the following days, increasing in volume!). However, if you have a chronic condition or take regular medications, consult your doctor before starting an exercise program. While some recommend that you try hard and keep working despite the pain, the pain can indicate some problem. If you are fit, some discomfort is plausible, but stop immediately if the pain gets worse, otherwise you endanger your health. Consult the doctor first and then you can destroy yourself however you want!
- If you feel dizzy or sick, stop, rest and drink water. Don't force yourself.
- Watch out for fatty foods, especially those containing trans fat or high in saturated fat. Opt for turkey, chicken, and fish as main meats. Eat red meat (beef) every now and then, but not too often as it is full of saturated fat. Limit pork as it contains a lot of sodium.
- Watch out for McDonalds! If you can't do without them, have children's meals (you can even play, thus losing more calories while having fun) and be wary of salads, as they seem healthy, but sometimes they contain the same calories as a Big Mac.
And know you can do it !!!
