All The Frugal Ladies Personal finance with a feminine touch
Oh no! ‘Not another one of these types of articles’ I hear you cry! But relax ladies – this isn’t going to be another crazy article telling you to eat 5 carrots a day and work your butt off (literally!) It’s simply a pretty easy guide to follow if you want to actually follow through with your new year’s resolution this year… To get in shape and get healthy in 2014 (whilst not breaking the bank!) So without further ado, here are the tips ladies!
Get up and move
Many people associate ‘exercise’ with gym, therefore when someone tells them to exercise, you can watch the colour slowly drain from their face! They’re right – gym isn’t for everyone, it can also be extremely expensive, boring and intimidating. Giving up my gym membership was the best thing I ever did! I stopped feeling guilty for spending all that money every month and never actually making use of it. Instead, I decided to walk. I walked everywhere – I walked to work, I walked to friends houses, I walked to doctors appointments, I walked around parks – basically I just walked and walked and walked! It was something I really enjoyed – I made a great playlist and it was the perfect way to relax and de-stress while building up a sweat. I found I had so much more energy, and I just felt refreshed. Slowly I could see my body start to tone up as well – more than it did when I had a gym membership for a year! The main point is to find a form of exercise you enjoy, and do it as much as you can – for your happiness and of course your health. Whether it’s dancing, cleaning the house or running – as long as you build up a sweat, it’s working in my books!
Eat healthier
Nothing makes me more angry than reading those magazines that tell you to eat a few nuts and yoghurt for dinner – those extreme diets never work and frankly are just plain ridiculous. Instead of taking things out of your diet, why not add healthy food in? I decided that no matter what I was eating, half the plate would be filled with vegetables. I was shocked to see how much more satisfied I felt after my meals – I never felt like second helpings, and didn’t have cravings like I usually did. Of course I enjoyed a glass of red wine (or three) occasionally, as well as some chocolate so I certainly was no saint, but not restricting these things worked out to be much more beneficial for me. Add in an abundance of fruits and vegetables to your diet, and you’ll be surprised to see how everything else works itself out. My skin became clearer, and I just felt healthier in general. I still felt like unhealthy foods sometimes, but it was much less than before. Moral of the story? Add in instead of taking away – our brains don’t react well to having things taken away from us!
How do you plan to get in shape in 2014?
