I thought I would share something a bit more personal today. Fitness has always been something that has been incredibly important to me, and always a main priority. I believe good health emcompasses a positive mind and a strong body. I have struggled in the past with accepting my body for what it is. I have allowed society’s constant appraisal for super skinny bodies to warp my mind of understanding that every body is beautiful. It has taken me years to come to the realization that a curvy lean body is the most desirable body for myself. I use to wish upon every star that I would be super tiny and have thighs half the size I currently have. This is absolutely unrealistic for my body type and I can confidently say I no longer want that. Instead of me wishing of having a different body, I started to redirect my focus on feeling grateful for the body God has given me. One that is strong, one that is physically able to move about this world as I please. I started looking at myself in the mirror and telling myself what I like about my body versus what I wanted to change. I decided that while I have always worked out, I needed to really change up my gym routine and my diet and begin there.
I have lost a healthy ten pounds in the past three months and although it has not been easy, I feel amazing! I thought I would share 5 tips that helped me start my new workout & diet regimen!
1.) Research. Research. Research.
I am really lucky to have Pat who is equally into fitness as I am. I can’t tell you how many hours we have spent reading science journals online, how many books we have purchased and read about our bodies’ genetic make up and how many people we talked to at our gym to gain as much knowledge as possible. We wanted to have some sort of a foundation so we could determine what we could reasonably target as our fitness goals. It’s a continuous learning process from day one on, but I found it to be insightful to have a basic understanding of how my body works. I also knew I wanted to have a generic understanding of what my body’s needs are as I ask it to work harder and harder. What are the basic targets for my diet/workout: how many calories should I aim to burn each day and how many grams of fat, carbs and protein should I intake to fuel my body for healthy and effective results? I 1000% did not have all of the answers, but I knew I needed to begin somewhere.
2.) Consult a nutritionist
I know me saying this could discourage a lot of you in persuing your fitness goals. Consulting an expert comes at an expense and while I struggled with shifting some of my finances around to be able to feel comfortable with adding this on, I can say without hesitation that this was one of the smartest moves I could have made. I was in a rut with trying to lose weight by doing the same thing month after month. I was restricting what I ate by so much that I wasn’t giving my body enough nutrients to create energy for me to build muscle and lose fat. I first worked with a certified nutritionist and personal trainer for my first two months and when I felt comfortable with my diet plan and work out plan that she had created for me, I parted ways and continued with the same regimen that had proven itself. I look at it as a one time cost for bettering myself and having the foundation to build upon. You can’t put a price on that!
3.) Set your Goals & Track Progress
I believe goal setting in all aspects of life are incredibly important. Pat and I have some friends who have laughed at us because we have a goal board in which we write out our goals for the next six months. Once we achieve them we check them off. It hangs in the bathroom to make sure we see and read them every day:-) I also printed out a blank monthly calendar and every morning I weighed myself and wrote down my weight. Some people do well with weighing themselves while others do not. For me, getting on the scale every morning was a way for me to visually see the progress I was making. Some days the number increased, some days it stayed the same but I like to feel I am making progress towards achieving my goals and writing down my weight was one way I felt progression. Write down your goals and keep track of them. Write down your successes so you have motivation to propel you forward!
4.) Have Accountability
I said before that Pat and I share fitness as a focus. We love going to the gym together. We love asking what each other did in the gym, how much did Pat lift on a machine and so on. While you may not have this in a partner or a best friend to share in this with, I highly suggest you share with your family members and friends your goals. You are more likely to stick with a routine if you outwardly express it as something that is important to you. If you share with your friends you are trying to make healthier choices then they can help keep you in check and perhaps you’ll inspire them to do the same!
5.) Start today!
The most common reason for failure is because one puts it off each day. You plan to start tomorrow, to start on a Sunday, to start after a vacation. There isn’t a better day to make a positive change in your life than today. Your health should always be your number one priority! I am a HUGE believer that there are two kinds of people in this world. Those who talk about doing something and those who simply do it. Do it. Start making changes that will allow your body to be successful. Do what you say you are going to do. BE SUCCESSFUL!
I hope you find this post to be inspiring and helpful. Fitness is so important to me and I feel so grateful I have this little space to be able to share these different parts of my life with you. I hope you enjoyed reading this and if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me at BrittanyAnnCourtney@gmail.com. I want to give a shout out to my new friend, Monika Paez who sent me this cute little crop top and who has been helpful in switching up my nutrition plan! She is former beauty pageant queen turned fitness guru! A certified personal trainer and an NPC athlete, Monika has recently sent me a new diet plan to switch up my former one. She is offering 10% off her work out plans and nutrition plans with code ‘BrittanyAnnCourtney. I will be sure to update all of you with my new progress!
Whew! That was a long one. Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your weekend!
xx, Brittany Ann Courtney
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You look amazing in that crop top…show off your hard work!
I can relate to every single word you are saying! I used to always want to be super skinny, before realizing that that is a goal I will not be able to achieve. It took me a long time to figure out how to be positive about it.Thank you <3 I really enjoyed the post.