Healthy Living Motivation + A Challenge with a Great Reward #LTADARESU

Healthy Living Motivation + A Challenge with a Great Reward #LTADARESU

For those of you who are still convinced that minimising their food intake + skipping workouts is the way forward ? I?d hate to disappoint you but you?re anything but on the right track to attaining a positive state of mind + healthy & glowing skin and body.

To reach the latter conclusion, I had to lose a lot of weight when I was 15 to only then realise that all that I had managed to achieve was harm my body and my mental wellbeing. I clearly remember the day a classmate of mine mockingly remarked ?Ah! You have such wide hips? which somehow got stuck in my head, triggering me to immediately work in the direction of ?shrinking? them (here).
Yes, I was way too young to comprehend that I was on the road of becoming a woman, and that developing ?hips? was something that was inevitably going to happen. Well, at a certain point I got so skinny that today I can hardly even remember how my body looked (yes, my mind has repressed that scary image). The only thing I can vividly recall are my parents’ petrified faces when they first saw me after I’d come home from a 4-week long summer school in Bournemouth. And how not being alarmed? Their teenage daughter had been slowly disappearing in front of their loving eyes, and only after not seeing her for a while they could clearly notice the massive + destructive change that had taken place. Then, thanks to my dad, who had started maintaining a healthy living lifestyle I was introduced to dishes and foods that while healthy were also incredibly tasty; I was introduced to a regular exercise routine.

Rather than skipping meals I started jumping on a rope. Rather than saving calories to indulge in one petite meal a day, I started eating regularly and hitting the gym instead.

If your incentive to lead a healthy lifestyle is to lose weight/feel better/gain weight, for me it was to survive and enjoy life again. Over the years I?ve tried it all - going to the gym, attending most of the fitness classes that have ever been invented (zumba, aerobics, body combat, step aerobics, Pilates, yoga, spinning, circuit training, kangoo jumps,? etc, etc) to be able to finally unveil what my real ?workout passion? is, the one that works BEST for me (a post about my Zumba experience is also coming up soon).
So my first advice for you is: ?EXPERIMENT!?
There are millions of options for you out there to exercise and improve your body depending on the healthy living goals you set for yourself. However, there are probably only a few that will make you forget that you ?HAVE? to exercise, that you ?HAVE? to go to the gym. Yes, once you find your ?workout? you?ll notice how excuses such as ?I?m so tired, I should probably skip exercising today? are slowly melting away.
You?ll start being excited to attend the next class and learn the new steps that the instructor will be introducing you to. You?d be delighted that you have a tennis session booked for later on today.
But how would you be ever able to discover which is the perfect sport for you if you keep on repeating that you ?DON?T? have enough time.
And believe me YOU DO!
Rather than indulging in French fries during your lunch break ? GO TO A CLASS!
Rather than taking the elevator ? TAKE THE STAIRS!
Rather than taking the bus for only 2 stops ? WALK!
Rather than sleeping in until 10 ? wake up at 9:30, click on YouTube, find a HIIT (high intensity interval training) and do a workout at home!
I even invested in a few pairs of comfy everyday Nike trainers to be able to walk around the city rather than always take the subway.

When I have the chance to ?MOVE? I?d always embrace it.
When I have to choose between ?fried? and steamed? I?d always ALWAYS go for the latter.
And believe me, when you get into the habit of regularly exercising you?ll notice that eating ?junk? will no longer a legitimate option. When you see your body gradually toning you?ll simply KEEP ON GOING! And honestly, would you really have a burger after you have sweated your butt off during the cardio training you?ve just completed?
Life is too short to make excuses and POSTPONE LIVING BETTER!
Invest in a high-quality pair of trainers.
Download the tracks that will motivate you.
Check out the fitness classes/sports that exist and contact the closest gym to your home and work.
Find a friend who is willing to join you in this ‘healthy’ adventure.
Go on Pinterest/Instagram and find some photos for inspiration + motivation.

Yes, I do think what I put in my stomach.
Yes, I do fill most of my spare time with working out.
Yes, a huge part of leading a healthy lifestyle should be dedicated to exercising regularly (and/or walking) and making healthy food choices. Actually, E. loves to remark that I’m like ?a soldier? as I can never be lured by the smell of McDonald?s or KFC; as I?d never feel the urge to have a Coke. NEVER. Probably it doesn’t sound easy to you but, please, every time you attempt to have a packaged GMO Candy full of sugar and preservatives ask yourself ?If this is going to expire in more than a year from today, how is my BODY supposed to properly digest it NOW? To get vitamins from it?? Well, frankly, it’s not supposed to.
Try and eat more raw foods, try to drink freshly-squeezed juices. It won’t take too long until you start noticing the ?artificial? taste of all unhealthy ?soft? drinks and ‘snacks’ that exist out there.

And I get it - It’s damn hard to actually force yourself to START. Surely it’s much easier to close this tab and forget about this post, and precisely because I DO GET THIS, I DO UNDERSTAND I?ve decided TO DARE YOU myself. Yes, to dare YOU!

#LTADARESU CHALLENGE: 
Though I?ve gone through a lot of stages since I started regularly exercising, right now my body, though quite toned, lacks well-defined abdominal muscles. And, to be honest, I?ve always wanted to have a six-pack instead of a flat belly. For this reason I dare myself to get a Six-pack until August.

Until 1st of August.

P.S. A few hours are left until the end of LTA’s 500 Followers Jo Malone Giveaway here. What are you waiting for? Enter and win a scented Jo Malone Candle ‘Sweet Almond & Macaroon’. Good Luck!

Love,

A.