● Laura Thornberry ● Lifestyle Blogger ● London Based ●: February 2014

I am going to be sharing 5 simple tips, that you can incorporate into your everyday life, that can get you on your journey to leading a healthier and fitter lifestyle! I am no way an expert in this field, but what I have learnt in the past, is what I shall be sharing with you!

1. Walk, Jog, Run, Cycle (if you have a bike), Its Free!

A great way to keep fit and healthy, is to do exercises such as walking, jogging, running and cycling, which can all cost nothing and can be done any time and anywhere. This is perfect for those who don't have time to use the gym, have a small living area or have lots of commitments, which means they just don't simply have the time. Even taking the stairs instead of the lift/escalator, getting off the bus a stop early or walking to the shops etc, can all add up to your daily exercise and help you to become that little bit fitter and healthier.

2. Plan Your Food Shop and Weekly Meals

I'm sure we all know how stressful and time consuming weekly shop can be sometimes, but writing a list and making a plan is an easy way to make this chore more enjoyable. Planning a weekly menu can help reduce food waste in your home, as well as keep you on a diet plan/healthy eating schedule, as well as helping you to avoid distractions and purchasing anything that you don't actually need. You may even save yourself a little bit of money by planning your shop!

3. Use YouTube/Blogs For Inspiration

If you aren't feeling motivated or inspired by doing the same workouts each time or using the gym all the day, taking time to browse through YouTube videos or fitness blogs can help you gain some new ideas and new inspiration of things to add into your everyday life. I recently posted about using YouTube as a workout inspiration guide, and shared some exercise videos that can be done in the comfort of your own home.

4. Boost Your Metabolism

There are many different ways to boost your metabolism, which helps to burn calories and help with weight loss. Eating more protein is the simplest way of increasing your metabolic rate. Food such as eggs are a great source of protein and beneficial saturated fats, as well as salmon which is highly enriched with Omega 3. Another idea is to replace your snacks with small handfuls of nuts, which makes your digestive system work harder throughout the day and therefore use more calories. By seasoning our food with spices such as chilli, ginger and turmeric, these are great metabolism boosters that aid to burning calories and aids weight loss. Also, eating little-and-often is a beneficial in the role of helping to maintain a healthy weight and keeping hunger/snacking at bay.

5. Use Home Furniture For Workout Equipment

Working out at home doesn't have to cost a fortune, and neither does your equipment. If you're on a tight budget, don't have time to hit the gym or just find exercising hard to fit into your schedule, using home furniture/interiors/objects can help you with your workouts. You could use tins and cans as weights, use your stairs as a step up, use chairs or tables for exercising, as well as spacious floor space.

If you missed part one, you can view that post here.

How do you get fit and healthy at home? What tips and tricks do you have?

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1.Healthy Eating and Balanced Diet

One of the most important, influential and easiest ways to have good health is through having a healthy, balanced diet. Eating well and drinking plenty of water also prevents any future disease/illness and helps to remove any toxins/waste from the body, as well as maintaining a healthy body weight.

Making sure you have a balanced diet allows you to get all the nutrients your body needs to functions, and there are 5 main groups that you should focus on; Carbohydrates, Vitamins and Minerals, Fats, Fibre and Proteins. These are all essential for providing energy, growth, repair, bodily functions and keeping your cholesterol levels controlled.

Tips for a healthy, balanced diet...

- Eat lots of fruit and vegetables

- Cut down on saturated fats, salt and sugars

- Don't skip breakfast

- Eat the correct amount of calories your body needs to function

- Eat a wide range of foods to make sure you are getting all nutrients

2. Follow A Routine or Schedule
I spoke a little about this in a previous post, so I wont go heavily into detail here, but sticking to a routine/schedule is a great way to start a fitness/health plan, that you can follow and modify as you progress. By sticking to your schedule, this gives you something to stick to, be committed to and doesn't allow you to "cheat".

3. Avoid Any Distractions
Distractions - this is what would stop us from achieving our goals, reaching our targets and following our schedules.

Technology can be one of the biggest distractions, whether its your mobile phone, your laptop, your favourite TV show etc. These make us lose our concentration and will make us feel less motivated to workout, as something else you would prefer to do/watch is there. Even your friends and family can be a distraction to you, if the pop over your house without you know, invite you out for a meal/night out etc, this can put you off your routine and stop your progress.

Its always important to stay focused, stay motivated, stay determined and forget those distractions!

4. Have A Comfortable and Spacious Workout Environment
If the gym is a no-go place for you, whether it be dues to lack of confidence or just lack of funds, working out at home can be free and easy - as long as you have the environment for it. Having a large, spacious room, gives you a lot of room to workout in, where you have the space to do various exercises and activities.

5. Make It Fun!
I think its definitely important to make exercise and healthy eating fun, we don't all want to feel stressed and depressed, and just generally lazy and lethargic!

Exercise can be fun right? Maybe get a group of your friends round and do a workout or dance DVD, go running with your partner or go over the park with your family for a game of football or whatever sport you like to play, just make sure its something you like and you know you will enjoy!

Having a healthy diet doesn't always have to be unappealing or boring, in fact it can be delicious and tasty! Now having a healthy diet doesn't mean you just have to eat vegetables and fruit everyday, you can make near enough any of your favourite meals, but with healthier ingredients, that taste amazing are are better for you!

How do you get fit and healthy at home? What tips and tricks do you have?

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Getting motivated is the best way to start/continue with your fitness/diet routine or just leading a better lifestyle, but finding that motivation can definitely be hard sometimes, especially if you don't have the support, knowledge or guidance that you really need.

In today's post, I'm going to be sharing with you my top 5 tips to getting motivated, and tips that I have started using myself, in order to get fit and healthy! As I said, I'm definitely no expert, but I'm hoping what I do, with motivate, inspire and help you with where you want to be/what you want to do!

1. Exercise with a friend/family member or your partner

We all know that exercising on your own, or improving your diet can be very hard if you don't have the support and help from others around you, but starting your fitness/diet journey with someone else can make it 10 times easier for you! Having someone you know, who are close with and feel comfortable around, is a great way to feel motivated and encouraged. It's also a way to build a closer friendship/relationship, to get to know someone better, or even just to have some fun and let your hair down, whilst getting sit and healthy!

There may be those times where you feel like you just cant do something or you're struggling with something, but having that someone there with you can give you that extra boost and guidance you need, as well as that moral support, that can spur you on to achieve your goals and aspirations!

2. Set goals and keep a fitness diary

Setting yourself goals, and by goals I mean realistic and achievable ones, whether you want to loose 5lbs in 5 weeks, or 1 stone in 2 months, dropping 1 or 2 dress sizes or even entering a running event, just make sure they are realistic and reasonable! Setting goals helps you to keep focused, motivated and determined to get to that place you want to be, whether you choose a few weeks, few months or even a year.

Keeping a fitness diary/log is a great way to record your progress and see how far you've come! It's a great way to record your weight loss, your exercise routine or even how far your running/swimming/cycling each week! You'll be able to see how you're improving and progressing, to get to the place you want to be at the end!

Setting goals and keeping a fitness diary, can also be a way or treating and rewarding yourself. By reaching your goals by certain dates/months, you can treat yourself to something as a way to feel proud and pleased of how far you've come and what you have achieved!

3. Purchase workout clothing/accessories

This might sound like a bit of an obvious one, but ACTUALLY buying your workout clothing and accessories gets you motivated to start using it and begin your fitness/diet routine. There are so many different clothing items out there, whether you want proper fitness gear or even a plain top/vest and tracksuit/leggings, there's always something for very body shape and budget, you just pick what you feel comfortable and confident in!

Important things that I feel you should really have are...

- A good, supportive pair of trainers

- A comfortable sports bra

- Comfortable clothing/swimwear

- A water bottle

- Yoga/exercise mat

I feel that these are the very basics that you need to begin getting in shape and leading a healthier and fitter lifestyle. You can pick most of these up anywhere, in your local high street, supermarkets or even online. If you're on a tighter budget, there are still places for you, check out the sales in your local shops and online! You'll be sure to find something you'll love!

4. Create a workout schedule

Creating a workout schedule or routine is a great way to begin getting fit and healthy. By sticking to your schedule, this gives you something to stick to, be committed to and doesn't allow you to "cheat". Even if you choose to go running once a week, exercise at home everyday or go to the gym twice a week, sticking to this will boost your confidence and give you that encouragement you need to stick to your routine.

I think that creating one of these is a great idea, you can build up your schedule slowly, making sure you're not doing too much to exhaust yourself, just make sure you are flexible and realistic, and when you feel the time is right, you can slowly and steadily, build up your routine gradually.

5. Feel inspired and be determined

To get motivated, feeling inspired and being determined plays a huge role in this. There are many ways to do this, and here's just a few.

- Having photographs of yourself, or areas of your body that you aren't happy with dotted around in your exercise area, is a great way for you to feel motivated and determined to improve this.

- If you're looking to lose weight, buying something you love in a small dress size, will give you that boost and determination, to be able to fit into it and look great!

- This is probably a controversial one, but having images of celebs/role models that you think have a great body or just look great, will help you get inspiration!

- Printing out motivational quotes and putting them around your house, will help give you that encouragement you need to continue and stick to your routines!

So hopefully, If you're someone who is lacking that little bit of motivation, have no idea where to start or need some more help, this post has helped you that little bit! Getting that motivation you need to be successful and achieving your goals can be hard at first, but once you're there, you can do anything!

How do you get motivated? Do you include any of these tips? What other tips do you have?

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