12 Small Tweaks for a Fitter You
12 Small Tweaks for a Fitter You
Did you know that those who fail to plan usually plan to fail? Add these small tweaks into your fitness arsenal for things you can do right away! If you are not so sure about yourself though, then it is time to change tactics. Try making small changes and you will be surprised how big the results can be. The key is to take it one day at a time; one small step each day instead of aiming for a hundred percent just on day one. Besides, you have all year round, so there’s no rush. By making small tweaks, you are making them doable and practical for your current lifestyle and makes it more likely to see it through. Here’s to get you started and keep you going with each small change that you make.
- Eating better carbs
Simply replace your forever favorite refined carbohydrates with its whole-grain versions. You see, whole grains’ got more fiber and protein in them so your body will take longer to digest them. You will easily feel full and not feel hungry for longer. The same goes for white rice – replace them with brown rice. Go for chickpeas or black beans noodles instead of your usual pasta. Zucchini noodles and spaghetti squash are likewise more desirable.
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- Swapping butter for healthy oils
Whether you are dining out or enjoying food at home, make a small but conscious effort to go for oils, specifically olive oil, almond oil, or avocado oil. Skip the pat of butter on your bread and dip it on olive oil instead. Cook with almond oil or avocado oil at home and it won’t only taste better; it will make you feel better and less guilty as well. Flaxseed oil, canola oil, coconut oil, and grapeseed oil are healthy oils that are worth discovering for your cause. Autumn Calabrese has a cooking show called FIXATE that you can check out to learn how to use these healthy oils for cooking. It can be accessed on the Beachbody On Demand App.
- Taking a walk
You hear this all the time but you still use your car to go places nearby. Why not tweak it just a little bit and take a walk for better health this time? Walking isn’t as demanding as going to the gym or going swimming or running 5 miles. You can be anywhere and just choose to walk. If you have been sitting for hours, just get on your butt and walk awhile. It is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that as an adult, you need to have at least 2.5 hours of moderate activity each week if you cannot do 1.25 hours of vigorous exercise. This means that you just need to allot at least 30 minutes in a day to do some walking as you go to and fro the neighborhood, taking the stairs, or going to the grocery – small tweaks that mean a lot.
- Giving HIIT workouts a shot
If there is one exercise that is worth giving a try this year, it would be your HIIT or high intensity interval training. Research have shown how people doing HIIT burn 3-4 more calories each minute than those who did steady state exercises like cycling or running. HIIT only requires you to alternate 20 seconds of all-out maximum effort with 40 seconds of rest-like action for 30 minutes. There are other variations when it comes to the time duration but the idea is to alternate intense action with rest periods to trick the body into believing that you are still making maximum effort even if you are already resting. In fact, as you become fitter, your body will prefer to burn fat as fuel. A study confirms that an individual with high aerobic capacity will continue to burn fat at a much higher rate post workout. HIIT is also best paired with resistance training so you can build muscle mass at the same time.
- Eating more mindfully
Why would you mind eating when it is something that you should be simply enjoying? Eating in itself is an enjoyable activity and if you just tweak it a bit to make it mindful eating, you will not only be enjoying it but also make yourself fitter in the process. Isn’t fitness your goal? Because if it is, you have to stop mindless eating as you chomp, munch, and wipe out anything and everything that’s in front of you. Studies have found how those individuals who do mindful eating lose more weight than those who mindlessly eat. Focus on what you are eating so you can keep it under control and make better choices as you keep going. While eating, just eat – turn off those videos, put your mobile away – and savor what is in front of you. Chew slowly and enjoy every bite.
- Making exercise your most exciting activity ever
Yeah you exercise, but are you having fun while doing it? Here’s a quick tweak: make exercise fun! Go kick butt and do some mixed martial arts action. Go line dancing and enjoy the moment with a bunch of happy people. Go pole dancing and see how high you can climb that pole. Go aerial yoga and enjoy hanging around like a butterfly. Lifting weights and doing the treadmill are not the only exercises that you can do because exercising is not a chore. A little tweak and you will look forward to each workout session. Beachbody has a 4-week YOUv2 dance program that goes along with a nutrition plan, journal, and 30-minute workouts that make you feel that you’re just chilling out in a club. Get creative with you exercise and you will begin to see huge results.
- Tracking your progress
How hard and how much do you exercise? A Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise study has revealed how people often overestimate the calories they burn when they exercise vigorously at 72%. Now, it is important to track your progress but you have to do it right. What you can do is use a fitness tracker, one that can monitor heart rates as it is most accurate in showing you your exercise intensity. This simple tweak will allow you to track your workout duration and caloric burn so you can gauge whether you are hitting your fitness goals or not. It can push you to work harder if you are lagging behind and inspire you to keep going when you are right on track.
- Skipping the soda even if it says diet
Sounds really simple but if you have soda right in front of you, you are definitely going to be tempted to drink the whole glass. Do this little tweak and go for unsweetened tea next time or just drop some lemons and cucumber into your usual drinking water. You won’t die of thirst if you skip that soda even if it’s diet soda but you will never be an ounce healthier when you give in to the temptation.
- Upgrading your workout playlist
There’s nothing like music to spice up your workouts but if you are finding it difficult to keep up to the pace, this could be prompting you to upgrade your favorite playlist. Studies have revealed how the bpm or beats per minute in a song actually has an effect on your workout. Slow tunes calm you while upbeat songs get you all pumped up. What you need to do is to create a playlist that will sync with the type of workout that you are doing – faster dance beats to energize you and slow songs to cool you down.
- Eating to refuel your body
Starving yourself is no way to go. But making eating purposeful will pave the way to your ultimate fitness. If you used to think that you should eat your heart out until you feel stuffed, you need to change that thinking a bit. There is a purpose to eating and one of them is simply to fuel your recovery. You eat to recover from a vigorous workout, a long walk, an evening jog, or whatever it is that you did which made you spend your energy. This further implies that you eat just enough, never too much. The goal is feel light, just right, but not too full. When you feel light, you will see how it becomes easier to execute your exercise and push yourself harder. It’s a very desirable cycle really because after you work hard at the gym, you will tend to eat less so you won’t put your efforts to waste. Needless to say, if you just sat all day doing nothing, you will only eat enough.
- Multitasking exercise with your other activities
This is the digital age and sadly for your body, it means hours online, movie streaming, social media, and all other activities that you do sitting down or lying in bed. Fortunately for you, you can still enjoy all those activities but tweaking it a bit to do some exercise while going online is the best idea ever. It will be like hitting two birds with one stone – you get to do what you love while gradually achieving your fitness goals. So while scrolling down your Facebook Newsfeed or watching your YouTube videos, do some treadmill or simply walk in place. Whatever it is you prefer to do, just make some movements instead of just staying idle.
- Learning to reward yourself other than food
What is the best reward you can give yourself for doing a good job? Food of course – your favorite dessert, dining out, boxes of pizza, ice cream galore, and too many to mention. Well, it’s time to change that a bit and think about other rewards you could give yourself that is not related to fattening food. Surely, there are other things that light up your eyes and it could be a new pair of shoes, weekend spa, movie date with friends, the latest gadget – there is so much more that you can surely think of. Replacing food rewards can really save you a lot of unwanted calories and the guilt that goes with binge eating as it is also a popular reward.
Are you ready to lose weight, build muscle, or feel more fit? Join Beachbody On Demand, and get unlimited access to Beachbody’s world-famous programs, including 80 Day Obsession, 21 Day FIX®, Insanity, P90X® and 100’s more. Don’t miss out on your chance for amazing results. Sign up today!
