Francesca Fitness: Getting Started

Getting the motivation to get fit and healthy can be the hardest part of your journey because, to put it simply, being unhealthy is easy, buying junk food can be cheaper and easier and being lazy is, well, fun! But, all of this obviously has so many downsides to your healthy both physical and mental. You have to be strict and harsh with yourself to workout (especially in the morning) and when you go grocery shopping. But to make the first step easier for you all, here are some tips and tricks I used to get started.

1. Motivation

For me, seeing how much weight I had put on was honestly enough motivation for me to make a change. If you are unhappy with your body and it's destroying your confidence and your life then you need to make a change in your life because it's unreal how much you miss out on when you say no to going out with friends or when you stay in all day and accomplishing nothing. Even if you just walk around the block once you are well on your way to a healthier lifestyle.

If you're aiming to improve overall health but are content with your body then there are so many small things you can do to find motivation. Personally, I use Pinterest a lot to find inspirational pictures, quotes and tips. If you would like to follow my motivation board click here. But also simply searching hashtags such as fitspo etc. on instagram can be just as good. 

2. Make it Official 

Firstly, clarify what it is that you want to achieve. Do you want to lose a certain amount of weight, be able to run1 mile, run 5K, improve your diet, tone up? Set yourself an achievable goal to complete and make sure that you can maintain it after you've reached it. Now you've confirmed what you want to do, write it down on a large piece of paper, you can decorate it, make it look nice and pin it up on your wall so you will see it every morning. This will remind you every day what you want and make you think the next time you go to get that bar of chocolate. 

Another thing I did was to tell people close to you how you feel and what you want to do. The right people will be supportive and make the first steps so much easier for you. I also felt like I wasn't alone on my journey which is probably the reason why I've given up before because no one felt comfortable talking about the subject when really it helps to talk about your goals.

If you are hoping to improve you fitness levels or are hoping to run 5K, 10K or a half marathon then one of the most motivating thing you can do is to sign up for that run. Whether it be a charity event or just a group run, sign up for it. I was hoping to be able to run 5K so I signed up for a Race for Life charity run in May so I had plenty of time to train for the run but it still really motivates me every morning when I'm preparing for a run.

3.Make a Plan

By figuring out what you want to accomplish by the end of your journey, set an achievable goal for you to accomplish in your first week. This could be to lose a pound, go on 2-3 runs, eat more home cooked meals or to eat more vegetables. Write down what you need to do to accomplish your goal and how you're going to do it. So, to lose a pound you might want to workout 3 times and change your takeaway meals to homemade meals.To improve your diet make a shopping list and meal plan for the week and stick to it.

That's it! You're done and got everything you need to do to take those first few steps to living a healthy lifestyle. Good luck with your first week!

Feel free to leave questions or requests in the comments. 

Francesca Rose x