I don’t remember when I started being attracted to the fitness lifestyle. I do remember always, always trying to lose weight. Being healthy and fit, sadly, wasn’t really my goal as much as looking “skinnier” was. Until I read somewhere, “You only get one body in this life. So you might as well get all you can out of it.” That stuck with me, because I don’t want to get to the end of my life and realize I didn’t take care of the one body I was given. If that’s how you feel too, but find yourself getting overwhelmed with all the terms, diets, workouts, and general health details out there. This post is going to solve that problem for you by giving you 9 actionable, straightforward tips on how to get fit for beginners and get the most out of your body so you feel your best.
These tips are for beginners because everyone has to start somewhere! But, if you’re looking for something a little more in-depth, you can check out my more detailed post 21 Tips for a Healthier You This Year.
Now, let’s get started on my 9 tips to get fit as a beginner!
Disclaimer: I’m not a health or fitness professional! I’m just sharing the tips that helped me get started on a healthy lifestyle when I was brand new, about 4 years ago. For my full, super boring legal disclaimer, you can read it here!
This post contains affiliate links. This doesn’t cost you anything, but I may make a commission payment from anything you buy through these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.
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Pro tip: Start by keeping track of you what you eat for a couple of days
Don’t trip, chocolate chip. This isn’t the part where I tell you to say goodbye to pizza and wine forever. I would literally die if I had to do that. Not to be dramatic, of course.
That said, I highly suggest you take a couple days to write down everything you eat and drink on a daily basis.
Why?
Because even though this post isn’t necessarily about “losing weight” or “how to eat better,” what we feed our bodies is a huge factor in our fitness goals and how we feel physically.
As you know, most people fall into certain eating habits over time. If you’re not intentional about it, you won’t even realize if you’re lacking nutrients, emotionally eating, or even under-eating.
If you find yourself feeling sluggish, bloated, or lacking in energy, your diet maybe to blame.
So take a couple days and write down what you eat and drink every day. You can use a pen and paper, but I usually prefer a free tracking app like My Fitness Pal or The Fat Secret (that’s the one I use.)
Then, take a look for patterns. Are you eating a lot of processed foods like fast food or chips? Are you mainly eating only carbs and skimping on the protein? Or, are you barely eating at all? How much water are you actually drinking? (And sadly, no the water in your iced coffee doesn’t count. I looked it up.)
Now that you’ve taken the time to truly observe your eating habits, we can get started on my top 9 tips for how to get fit when you’re still a beginner and how to get the absolute most out of your body.
How to Get Fit For Beginners Tip 1: Eat more whole foods (a.k.a. real food)
I used to think that as long as I ate “x amount of calories,” I was being healthy. Now I know our bodies and our minds thrive on being fed nutrient-packed whole foods.
What are whole foods? Basically, whole foods are foods that haven’t been processed or have been processed very minimally. They’re the closest to the natural state of food, with all the vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients still intact.
So the first thing to do to get in shape and feel way, way better is to introduce more whole foods into your diet. Fresh fruits, veggies, whole grains, legumes, beans, nuts, organic meat and poultry are all nutritious whole foods that’ll fuel your body. This is a great way to naturally get the nutrients, vitamins, fiber and protein your body needs.
That’s why people who are serious about living the fitness lifestyle also take their food seriously.
Eating whole foods is so crucial for your health, that this article goes so far as to say “following a diet based on real food may be one of the most important things you can do to help maintain good health.”
Tip 2: Eat your veggies and protein first
A simple tip for how to get fit as a beginner is make sure your eating habits are supporting your fitness and health goals. To do that, prioritize your veggies and protein by making them the first things you eat off your plate. Save the carbs, starches and sugars for after.
You should also make protein and vegetables the biggest portions of your meal. This helps you get full faster, so you won’t be tempted to snack a bunch after you eat.
This habit also makes sure you’re not too full on other stuff to give your body the food it needs.
Plus, the more protein your body has, the more fat it burns naturally because protein helps boost your metabolism and helps you burn more calories.
How to Get Fit For Beginners Tip 3: Cut back on processed, sugary foods
If it sounds like I’m focusing a lot on what you eat here, it’s because I am. Simply because what you feed your body has sooo much to do with being fit and feeling your best.
Again, this is NOT about losing weight! (although of course, these tips help with that too.)
This is about feeling your best in your body, keeping your body healthy, getting the most out of it, improving quality of life, and even helping prevent disease.
And so, it’s time to cut back on the processed foods and sugary foods.
Processed foods contain a ton of preservatives–which can be linked to serious health issues like cancer. These processed foods also uuusually often contain almost twice the amount of sugar and sodium that’s recommended daily.
Avoid processed foods like microwavable dinners, chips, fast food, frozen pizzas, crackers, deli meat, fruit snacks, cereal, packaged cookies and cakes.
P.S. Preservatives might be listed as dextrose, maltose, trans fats, and hydrogenated on the packaging.
To get fit and have more energy naturally, avoid overdoing it on sugary items and sugary drinks like sweet coffees, soda, and juice. You can still have these things in moderation, but too much sugar can cause unhealthy weight gain and a sluggish metabolism.
Bonus: Limiting your sugar helps you have clearer skin as well.
How to Get Fit For Beginners Tip 4: Exercise regularly
This won’t surprise you, but working out regularly is one of the most crucial steps for getting fit.
Going on regular walks is a good start for general health, but lifting weights or doing some kind of cardio is best if you want to get in shape.
Play around with different forms of exercise to see what you like best.
For me, it’s weight lifting, swimming laps, and High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts.
You can also play sports, dance, go running/jogging/sprinting, do crossfit, and of course do some kind of weight training.
HIIT workouts are my favorite exercise suggestion for people short on time who want results. They usually only take 15-20 minutes and are super effective to burn fat, get toned, and boost your metabolism.
If you want to build more muscle, incorporate weights into your HIIT workouts!
And remember, if you start lifting weights, you may want to add a protein supplement to your diet. Not everyone needs to add protein shakes to their regular routine. But most people who lift weights will see bigger muscle gains if they take protein.
My favorite protein is Chocolate Naked Whey. Naked Nutrition is cleanest protein brand I know. It’s free of preservatives, added sugars, artificial flavors, and other questionable ingredients that go into most mainstream protein powders. And I looove all the protein options for different diets like brown rice protein, pea protein, egg white protein and even goat protein (for those sensitive to whey.)
However, if you’re looking for a more budget-friendly option that’s still pretty clean and equally delicious, I’m currently loving the Ascent Chocolate Whey.
How to Get Fit For Beginners Tip 5: Be mindful of your alcohol intake
In my opinion, it’s possible to drink in moderation while maintaining a fitness lifestyle and getting in shape. But, I’d suggest cutting way back if you want results quicker and to get the most out of your efforts.
Besides the obvious liver damage, alcohol tends to have a ton of sugars, carbs and calories that can easily lead to weight gain. Plus, when you drink too much, it’s easy to get lazy in other areas.
Have you ever had a few drinks and then suddenly craved a plate of zucchini noodles? No? How about a plate of asada nachos? Yep. Thought so. Same here.
Too many drinks usually leads to over snacking on things that don’t align with your fitness goals. Drinking also causes dehydration and prevents you from deep sleep.
Not to mention that a night of drinking + morning workout the next day = oversleeping and not working out OR a very mediocre workout overall.
So if you find yourself drinking too much alcohol, especially on a regular basis, then it’s time to cut back. Limit yourself to a drink or two, and not every night.
Your body will thank you.
Tip 6: Get the right amount of sleep
You can do it all right–eat clean, stay hydrated, work out, take protein supplements, etc.–and still not make the sort of gains you’re aiming for if you’re slacking on your sleep. For beginners and experts who want to be fit, you need to make sleep a priority.
Sleep is basically the key to everything.
To gain muscle, you need sleep.
To lose weight and burn fat, you need sleep.
For your mental health, you need sleep.
To have good workouts, you need sleep.
To stay motivated on your fitness journey and not get massively overwhelmed about life, YOU NEED SLEEP.
Try to sleep during normal hours by going to bed sometime between 9 p.m. to midnight, and wake up between 5-8 a.m.
I’ll be transparent here and say I usually go to bed around midnight or 1 a.m. That’s definitely not the best for my physical or mental health, and it’s not helping me with my fitness goals either.
It’s something I’m working on, but I felt like it needed to be said.
However you do it, you need at least 8 hours of sleep every night for your fitness goals. And of course, try to do it during normal-ish sleep hours.
If you have trouble sleeping, check out my post on Best Herbal Teas to Fall Asleep Faster!
Tip 7: Manage stress
Stress makes everything harder. So it’s no surprise it makes fitness goals harder to reach, too.
Everyone handles stress in different ways, and the problem is that a lot of those ways can really slow down your progress.
From emotional-stress eating, to not being able to fall asleep, to simply not being in a good mood and giving up on your workout, stress complicates things.
Find a healthy way to deal with your stress so it doesn’t hold you back.
Whether you take up yoga, or you meditate daily, or you just make sure you get some quiet time to yourself every day. Do what works for you.
Everyone’s stress management will look different. So please don’t feel pressure to fall into the “fit girl” mold and force yourself to do yoga for stress if you know you hate yoga. Listen to what your body and mind is telling you it needs, and do that.
Just make sure your stress management is healthy and balanced.
Tip 8: Step back from things that drain you emotionally
Once upon a time, I felt very emotionally drained due to a lot of factors. I wasn’t happy in the relationship I was in at the time, I lived at home in a negative environment, and I didn’t like where I was in life overall.
I ate very little because my appetite was non-existent, I held super weird sleep hours (like 3 a.m. to 11 a.m.) and had no motivation to follow through on anything.
It wasn’t until I made conscious decisions to change the things I didn’t like about my life that I was finally able to pursue my fitness and health goals wholeheartedly.
That’s why it’s so important for your mental and physical health that you distance yourself from negative energy and things or people that bring you down.
I know you can’t always just instantly walk away from the things that drain you, like a job you depend on or a family that you live with. But, you can always find ways to minimize the damage and even the time you spend in those circumstances.
Getting in shape is 100% doable for every person, and it’s such an amazing thing to feel healthy and strong. But you have to give yourself every chance at being successful in your goals, and sometimes we allow ourselves to be held back.
Some ways to cut out the negative energy
Take some time to notice what brings you down and what lifts you up. Then, prioritize the things that lift you up, and slowly start distancing yourself from the things that bring you down.
Change jobs, move out, break up with the boy, block your ex, get the alcohol out of the house, stop watching depressing and angry television all the time, quit listening to music about people who are sadder than you.
And just put all your energy into YOU and what brings YOU peace and positivity. Then watch how your healthy habits start taking over and how your happiness grows stronger and stronger.
Tip 9: Take vitamins and protein supplements
Truth time. I find it really, really difficult to get in the daily requirement of vegetables, fruits, protein and vitamins.
It’s just hard, man, and I always end up falling short.
I’ll give you an example. Apparently for my personal fitness goals I’m supposed to be consuming a gram of protein for every pound I weigh? And I weigh around 160 pounds right now so… 160 grams of protein?? Like… that’s 27 eggs, yo. And yes, I know I can eat protein in a ton of different ways besides eggs, but that’s just to give you a visual.
THAT’S A LOT OF PROTEIN.
So you’re super serious about getting fit and getting the most out of your body, but you’re finding it hard to reach all the requirements, you might want to look into supplements.
Supplements are a quick and easy way to add nutrients to your diet without having to consume a ton more food or calories. This is super helpful for people like me who just don’t have it in them to shovel down all the veggies, fruits, chicken, and other foods required to meet my daily fitness goals.
My go-to supplements for fitness
That’s why the supplements I take are creatine, protein, and a greens powder.
I take creatine for muscle recovery, the protein for muscle gains, and the greens powder to get my daily dose of green veggies. (It’s worth noting that I take these supplements in addition to eating protein and veggies in my regular meals.) I’m also currently in the market for a liquid collagen to improve the health of my hair, skin, nails and creaky joints.
So I always like to encourage people to figure out what kind of supplements might work for them and their lifestyle.
Probably unsurprisingly, my top suggestion for supplements to add to your routine are greens and protein.
Protein supplements are amazing because they help you gain muscle so you get the most out of your workouts, but they also help curb your appetite. And a greens powder is super great to get all the nutrients and health benefits of a daily dose of veggies, without having to shovel down a boatload of broccoli, kale, and spinach.
The greens powder I use is super clean–meaning there’s no additives, preservatives, or artificial junk in it–and has a ton of amazing greens in it. I just mix a scoop into a few ounces of tart cherry juice and take that sucker like a shot. The tart cherry juice is the first thing I’ve found that really masks that “green” flavor, without needing to make an entire smoothie to make it go down easy.
Related Reading Fitness Resources
Conclusion to 9 Simple Tips to Get Fit For Beginners
There you have it, friend! My top 9 tips for getting in shape that anyone can do, so you can feel and look your absolute best. This life is short, and we have to take care of our bodies and our health as best we can. You’ve got one, beautiful and incredible body. And it’s your privilege to care for it! Which is super awesome because you GET to make changes for the better. Take care of yourself for YOU and it will become such an enjoyable journey.
Remember, these simple tips can be put into action daily, but don’t worry if it takes some time before they become habits. I still struggle to remember my green juice in the morning, but hey. It’s all part of the process.
I know it can be tempting to compare yourself to people who seem so far ahead on their fitness journeys, but remember. Everyone has to start somewhere. Those people didn’t just wake up one day and magically be healthy or in shape. Those things come from the little habits and daily decisions we make. In order to get to where you want, you have to start with the basics.
You gotta choose to take care of your physical and mental health every day. It’ll take time, but nothing permanent happens right away.
You got this! I believe in you. Have questions or need some motivation? Feel free to send me an email, or shoot me a DM on Insta! I’ll get back to you as quick as possible 🙂
If you liked this post, I’d super appreciate if you shared it! It’ll just take a sec and the share buttons are to the left of your screen 🙂 Thank you so much!
Til next time, ya hot tamale.
