You might be one of those people who started on their fitness journey and then…COVID-19 and quarantine happened and threw everything off. Or maybe you’re one of those people who want to get started on your journey NOW since you’re home more and motivated to make a change.

Either way, hear me on this: YOU DON’T HAVE TO MAKE THINGS COMPLICATED TO STILL SEE RESULTS.

You heard me. Meal prepping, buying workout equipment, or even tracking macros isn’t necessary. You can implement these 3 simple strategies today to start seeing improvements and feeling better.

1. MOVE MORE. Studies show that the majority of your calories burned come from your “NEAT”, or non-exercise activity thermogenesis. In other words, all of the movements that you do throughout the day that aren’t actually exercise add up to burn some serious calories. Walking to and from your car, making dinner, putting up laundry, pacing while you’re on the phone, talking with your hands, etc. If you add in a few short, 10-minute walks throughout the day, that’ll add up even more! I personally have a goal of walking 10,000 steps a day. That may seem like a lot, but I actually walk a lot between playing with the kids, prepping content in the kitchen for social media, and standing to type out emails (and this blog post). When I added in taking either a 30-minute walk each day (or 3, 10-minute walks spread out during the day), I have had no problem hitting this goal. I’ve actually been averaging about 13,000 steps per day! My point is, the more we make a conscious effort to get up and just move, the more calories we burn and the closer we get to our goals.

2. PRIORITIZE PROTEIN. Yes, protein is a macro, and I said you don’t have to track macros - and you don’t! But if you focus on getting an adequate about of protein in with each meal, you do a few things. A) You stay more satiated (full longer), because protein is the most satiating food you can eat since it takes longer for the body to digest. This means less cravings, potentially less overall intake, and more results. B) You actually burn calories by eating more protein, since about it takes about 0.2 calories for each 1 calorie of protein consumed just to digest it. How awesome is that?! And C) you will preserve muscle mass and help to build more lean muscle, which in turn burns more fat. Now how much protein do you need? You don’t have to go crazy with this, but I would aim for 20-30g of protein per meal (depending on your size and how many meals you eat in a day). That’s 4oz of most meats/fish and generally 1 serving of protein (most vary between 15-25g/serving). Again, don’t make it complicated - just focus on getting a good amount of protein with each meal.

3. DON’T NEGLECT YOUR SLEEP. People fail to realize just how important sleep in to not just your fitness goals, but your overall health! Studies have shown that just one night of poor sleep (less than 7 hrs) can actually put you in a pre-diabetic the next day since the body is so stressed. No, thank you! Sleep effects our brain function, digestive system, and hormones - specifically cortisol levels, which can cause fat storage and water retention. That’s why it’s crucial that we put ourselves to bed at a decent time and try to minimize interruptions so we can get at least 7-8 hrs. Some of the tricks I like to use is drinking Natural Calm before bed (magnesium can help with our sleep cycles), taking a shower at night instead of the morning, keeping our room dark and cold, and turning off any blue lights (such as on my iPad when I’m reading).

That’s it, my friends. Like I said, starting to see results doesn’t have to be complicated. Try these 3 strategies out for yourself and let me know how they help you on your own journey!

XO