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As we roll into summer this year many of us have had some major setbacks with our health and fitness goals due to quarantine. Whether you plan on going to the beach, laying out by the pool, or just want to lose a few pounds while you social distance at home getting back into a routine will be the most important thing you can do. Here are the 5 habits we are helping our Beach Body Challenge members to set that, if you can start doing daily, will get you where you want to be as quickly as possible.
1. Track your food intake
It is incredibly important to track your food every day. If you don’t know how much food you are eating daily then you will never have an idea of what you need to change. By becoming aware of how much and what you are eating each day you will be able to see what changes you need to make to get to where you want to be. Food recollection is notoriously bad and most people drastically underestimate the amount of calories they take in week over week. Developing a consistent habit of tracking your food will be a tremendous first step in changing your body. Whether you want to write it down in a food journal or track it in an app (MyFitnessPal is our go to) the knowledge of what you are eating every day will help you get control of your diet.
2. Eat high quality foods
Eating high quality foods is something that can be very hard to do in modern society. By eating high quality foods we can ensure we are getting our required micronutrients every day, help us feel fuller (keeping us from overeating), cut down on inflammation (it is harder for our body to digest low quality processed foods), and overall keep our body operating at a higher level. By cutting down on processed foods, sugars, low quality meats, foods that we don’t digest well, and foods with tons of ingredients we can keep our metabolism and other body processes operating at a high level. Our Beach Body Challenge members have a shopping list of foods to choose from every day. Do some research and find what high quality foods are good for you to be eating. A good general rule of thumb is to shop around the perimeter of the grocery store, eat local foods when possible, avoid foods with lots of ingredients, and limit sugar and alcohol as best as you can.
3. Drink 100 ounces of water a day
Water is crucial for our bodies day to day functioning and most people are walking around in some form of dehydration. The amount of water each person needs can vary but we have found that 100 ounces is a good starting point, especially when most people are drinking less than half of that a day. By drinking enough water every day your body will start to operate better, you will have more energy, your metabolism will work better, and your skin will be healthier, along with many other benefits. Either fill up a gallon jug, count how many times you drink a cup of a certain size, or track your water intake in MyFitnessPal. Your body will thank you.
4. Get 8 hours of sleep a night
Sleep is when our body repairs itself after a long day. We don’t get fitter, stronger, or healthier when we are working out, we actually get worse when we are doing so. We get better when we are sleeping and our body can recover. If we do not get enough sleep we will not be able to recover as well and our body will not reach it’s full potential. You are seriously sabotaging your training if you do not get enough sleep at night. 8 hours is a good starting point for most people, especially when many people do not get but 6 or less. If 8 hours is absolutely impossible with your current situation then adding a few short naps throughout the day can make a world of difference. We are having our Beach Body members get in bed for 8 and a half hours a night (to account for time to fall asleep and waking up in the night). Start getting adequate sleep each night and you will notice a big difference in your daily energy levels, how you are recovering, and how your body starts to change.
5. Get 30 minutes of exercise a day
Our bodies were meant to move. If we can get in a consistent routine of moving every day our bodies will start to respond and adapt quickly. This can mean coming to the gym for a class or it can mean going for a 30 minute walk or bike ride. The most important thing is to do it every day. You will be amazed at how much your body will change if you do this for a month.
These are the five most important things that we have found to make body composition changes. If you get one or two of these things dialed in then you will definitely see some changes. If you get them all dialed in, however, your body will change faster than you have ever seen before. A good trick to develop these habits is to keep score. Create a calendar and give yourself a point for every day that you do one of these things, with a perfect score being 5. If you look back over your calendar at the end of a month and it is full of 5s then I guarantee you your will look and feel like a different person. Give it a shot and let us know how it goes. You can do this!
