As someone who has gone through varying degrees of working out it’s been difficult to find a balance that works for me as an adult. I tend to be someone who is all in or all out in a somewhat intense way. Growing up, I played a sport every season to try to stay in shape for what I really loved, field hockey. As somewhat of a natural athlete I never really worked that hard to stay in a fair state of shape when it comes to endurance and muscle. I think I took for granted how much constantly playing sports contributed to my health and when I headed off to college I realized that quickly.

I remember coming home to a party with my mom’s friends and one of them saying ‘Oh you got bigger, it looks good’ I wasn’t upset or sad because being called string bean your whole life can get old and I was happy to finally have some curves. I did though become aware at that moment that my body had changed. I worked out occasionally in college but more for intramural sports or fun every now and then. It wasn’t until I got to dental school that it totally shifted.

I was in a structured and stressful class schedule and working out became a great release for me. However, I worked out too much. I remember going after class to grab dinner with girlfriends one night and then hitting the elliptical after because I would feel guilty if I missed one of my workout days. After graduating I didn’t like the way I looked – I was too skinny and I missed my curves despite the abs I liked. I went totally cold turkey and stopped working out and ordered takeout with my new husband all the time. Why does everyone do this after they get married?

After about a year I had gained 10 pounds and none of my clothes were fitting. I also wasn’t happy with the way I was feeling – tired, sleepy & mentally drained. I decided to start on a healthy diet again and joined a gym. I loved the workout classes but then eventually left for Classpass. Although I loved it for a while the ‘no cancellation’ policy was tough with work (I never really know when I get done) and I eventually cancelled that as well.

So, for the last 8 months I haven’t been doing a great job. It’s been cold here so I just went for my first run last week and I haven’t rejoined a gym. Despite the lack of exercise we have been maintaining a healthy diet during the week since Whole 30 and I am excited that I just committed to Kayla Itsines workouts and am loving it! At the start of the program you are encouraged to take a ‘before’ picture and after I had Trevor snap it I remembered I did the same thing last year when I was seeking some motivation as well. After feeling stagnant for a while and thinking my healthy changes hadn’t been helping me I was excited to see the drastic difference in the pictures from October to now. It gave me the encouragement to start again! I feel like getting back into fitness is so intimidating and people (including myself) are always afraid of failure. I thought I would share a few easy fitness tips that have really helped me recently and may help you too!

1. Find An Accountability Partner: Whether it is your girlfriend, partner or your mom find someone who is on the same page as you and can motivate you on those days where you don’t think you can do it. I started the BBG program all because my sweet friend Anar encouraged me too and I can tell you I never would have begun that first day if she hasn’t been texting me. Although they were threatening I still appreciated them and moreover needed them.
2. Start Slow: Whenever I have tried to get back into working out I immediately flash back to what I could do during my peak fitness days. It’s not realistic and then my spirits would be crushed that first day. Set goals like you would for yourself if you had never worked out before and build from there.
3. Document Your Progress: I mentioned those photos earlier because it is so important to motivate and encourage yourself. You have to remember it won’t happen overnight. I realized my pictures we almost 8 months apart but was happy to see changes that I would have never noticed otherwise. Those tiny efforts you put in every day will pay off!
4. Don’t Give Up: I used to structure myself so much that if I missed a day or skipped a workout I had planned I would honestly just give up and fall off the wagon. Life is crazy and you need to allow yourself ‘pass’ days. You can’t always make everything happen so just start fresh the next week.
5. Set realistic goals: Another tough one for me but be honest with yourself. Me convincing myself I had 6 weeks to get abs was not a realistic goal. I like to live life and eat what I want so it will take time to slowly add more healthy changes into my lifestyle and that’s okay!

I hope a couple of these things helped you out and please share your tips and tricks with me. The current workout is going well because she has such an awesome plan and I can do it at home – HUGE plus! I also sometimes will have Trevor set my timer and blast music so I feel like someone is holding me accountable and I’m not cheating hah.

Hope you guys are all having a great week and let’s hope for some dry and sunny days in our near future!