I’m a firm believer that incorporating health & fitness into your life is one of the best things you can do for yourself (your body, mental health, confidence, etc.) But not all health & fitness routines are created equal. There are fad diets, detox teas/pills, magical weight loss solutions, etc., being thrown in our faces 24/7 on the internet. And while seeing fit, “perfect looking” women on your Instagram feed may inspire some people, for others it just makes you feel like sh** about where you’re at. Everyone is different and you have to dig deeper to figure out what motivates and inspires you. Finding a way to create a realistic health & fitness routine (that actually works for you) will change your life for the better.
How to Create a Realistic Health & Fitness Routine that Works for You
I’m going to dive into the 6 steps to create a health & fitness routine that works for you. If you’re reading this, I’m guessing that what you’ve been doing either 1. isn’t working anymore, 2. you’re sick of your current routine, or 3. you just want to be happier with your health & fitness. Whatever the reason is, I got you!
Don’t worry about completing these steps in order. Just focus on one step per week to truly dig deep and find what works for you vs. what you think you should be doing.
1. Reflect on What Types of Workouts You Genuinely Enjoy
This one is pretty obvious in a post like this, but it’s so important! If you’re trying to commit to a workout routine that you saw someone else doing (to get certain aesthetic results), you’re probably not going to stick with it. At least not for long.
Every time in my life that I’ve tried out a workout routine simply because some attractive/fit influencer was doing it… It’s lasted about a week before my motivation disappeared completely.
This isn’t to say that you should never follow workout routines from influencers. But first, take the time to figure out what type of workouts you actually enjoy (and will stick to week after week.)
If you are a huge cardio fanatic, but you see everyone online doing strength workouts, you may think, “I should start doing more strength workouts…” Or vice versa.
After a few weeks of sticking to a workout routine that you don’t love, you’ll more than likely give up. By choosing to do a workout just because you saw someone else doing it, you’re not focusing on what makes you happy. It’s hard to stick to something when your primary reason for doing it is “everyone else is doing it.”
Take a few minutes to sit down and reflect.
Write out the following:
- What workouts have I done recently that leave me feeling terrible afterward?
- What workouts leave me feeling my best? (Energized, happy, strong)
- How can I incorporate more of #2 into my weekly routine?
Now, act on these revelations! Take your answers to #2 & #3 and find a way to include more of these workouts in your weekly schedule.
If you plan out your workouts ahead of time, be sure to incorporate a few of these. If you’re more of a go-with-the-flow gal, set a reminder on your phone to do these types of workouts when you hit the gym.
2. Stop Eating Foods You Hate Just Because They’re “Healthy”
When you’re at the grocery store or a restaurant, have you ever thought to yourself, “I should get _____ because it’s the healthiest option”?
I’m a huge advocate for healthy eating and fueling your body with what makes it feel great, but there are SO many healthy foods. Just because a food is healthy does not mean you need to eat it.
If you absolutely hate strawberries, but have heard that they’re a “superfood”/chock full of vitamins and minerals… Should you force yourself to eat them?
NO.
Because guess what? Raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, etc., are also berries with very similar nutritional profiles to strawberries. You’ll get the same nutritional benefits by eating these other fruits while avoiding force-feeding yourself something you hate.
That applies to all other healthy foods as well. Now I’m not telling you that if vegetables aren’t your favorite thing in the world to cut them out of your diet completely… That’s just silly. But try to incorporate more veggies that you actually like into your diet instead of forcing yourself to eat cauliflower every dang day.
This also applies to finding different ways to cook foods that aren’t your favorite but make you feel really good.
For example, I used to hate Brussels sprouts (as a lot of people do), but then I found out I wasn’t cooking them well. I tried roasting instead of sauteeing them and threw on some balsamic, salt & pepper, etc., and BOOM, they were suddenly delicious.
Figure out what foods work for you (or foods you can cook differently to make them work for you) vs. which foods will just always be a no, thank you. Stop eating the latter and stick to foods that you genuinely enjoy eating.
3. Create a Workout Routine That’s Realistic For Your Schedule (or don’t!)
Stop trying to workout every single day (or 6 days a week with one rest day) if that’s not realistic for your schedule.
If this type of workout routine is important to you, makes you genuinely happy, and doesn’t add stress to your life – great! Keep at it girl, that’s freaking amazing.
But if you’re like a lot of people who feel that this type of commitment takes too much time and ends up stressing them out more… Stop trying to do more than you can realistically do.
There’s nothing wrong with working out 4 times a week.
There’s nothing wrong with working out 3 times a week.
There’s nothing wrong with working out whenever you can and other days just trying to go on a 30-minute walk, do a stretch session, or move your body in a that works for you.
Working out every day (or even 4-5x a week) isn’t realistic for many people.
If you have a full-time job, have kids, go to school, or have other time-consuming responsibilities, working out every day can be a huge stressor.
Working out is supposed to be fun, help you de-stress, and feel good in your skin. If it’s stressing you out more or feels like an obligation that you HAVE TO get done – it’s time to rethink your workout schedule.
If you’ve been stressing out about your fitness routine, take small steps to change it. Start working out one day less a week and see how that feels. If that’s still too much, knock off another day.
Switch around your days and workouts until you find a routine that works for you. (Aka makes you feel good and doesn’t add stress to your life.)
This will be the workout routine that you can actually stick to. You’ll look forward to putting on your workout clothes instead of dreading it.
4. Figure Out the Unhealthy Habits You’re Only Doing Because “It’s What You’ve Always Done”
Do you find yourself reaching for a frozen pizza every Friday for dinner because “that’s what you’ve always done”? Or doing only cardio (when you really want to do more strength workouts) because you’ve “always been a cardio gal.”
If either of these things make you truly happy – there’s nothing unhealthy about them.
All of the “not so healthy” foods are great in moderation/ when you’re craving them. Just like any form of exercise is great if it’s something that you genuinely enjoy doing.
However, if you’re sticking to certain habits simply because you’ve always done them, they may be holding you back.
Before you habitually eat certain foods, do certain exercises, etc., take a step back and think about why you’re doing it:
- Is it because you genuinely enjoy it and it’s contributing to your health & wellbeing?
- Or is it something that you grew up doing and mindlessly continued because you’re used to it? Or a habit you picked up in college that’s just stuck with you?
If it’s either of the latter – try to remove it from your life for a week. If you feel better, maybe that habit really isn’t as great as you once thought it was…
5. Only Follow People On Instagram That Truly Inspire You
I know, I know. Everyone and their mom has already given you this tip. But it’s truly so important.
Related: Thoughts on Social Media & Digital Minimalism
Instead of going into all the reasons that you should do an Instagram following audit (I’m sure you already know them…) I’m going to list a few amazing ladies on Instagram/YouTube that inspire me. (And add to my life & happiness instead of causing me to feel worse about myself.)
- Natacha Oceane
- Keltie O’Connor
- Taralynn McNitt
- Linda Sun
- Stephanie Buttermore
- Aubrie Bromlow
- Whitney Simmons
- Renee Amberg
If you’re looking for some new people to follow on social media, definitely check a few of these lovely ladies out! They’re inspiring me and leave me feeling better after seeing their content, instead of more insecure.
If you have other incredible empowering women (or men!) that you follow on social media – drop them in the comments! I’m always looking to expand my horizons and find new positive influences.
Also, if you’re not following our social media accounts – what are you even doing?!? JK, but if you feel like our Instagram/YouTube leaves you feeling inspired/positive, we would love to interact with you on there as well. 🤗
6. Learn To Say No When It’s Not Something You Truly Want To Do
If you’re always saying “yes” to things that you don’t want to do (either to people please or because you feel it’s something you “should” be doing…) You’re not going to have time in your life to do the things you truly want to be doing.
Let’s say your friend asks you to go to a 1-hour cycling class 3x a week. You say yes, reluctantly, because you enjoy spending time with your friend and know it will make her happy. However, deep down, you despise cycling and dread going when it’s time to head to class.
The Fix: Instead of committing 3 hours every week to a class you dread going to… Ask your friend if she’d be willing to try out a different class with you.
If you don’t want to completely cut it out of your life, try to replace 1-2 of the cycling classes with a different sort of exercise. That way, your friend still gets to do cycling with you, but you’ve cut it down to only once a week instead of 3 times.
Final Thoughts
All in all, finding a realistic health & fitness routine that’s right for you takes time. It’s not going to magically appear out of thin air or pop up on your Instagram feed. You have to be willing to dig a little deeper into how you feel about your current routine, with an openness to make changes wherever necessary.
If you’re already 100% happy with your routine – that’s amazing! But, I’m assuming you’re not since you’re still reading this article…
Related: How to Get Back Into a Fitness Routine (After a Hiatus)
Try to pick out one of the above steps and implement it into your life this week.
You may not see life-changing results immediately. But I promise if you commit to these steps and take them seriously, you’ll come out on the other end with a routine that is more suited to you & your goals.
Drop any questions you have (or other ideas to add to the ones I shared) in the comments! TTYL 💛
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