10 Small changes you can start right now which will make a huge impact

Not only related to fitness and working out: changing immediately some small habits will get you to stick to your new lifestyle more easily, without giving up some treats from time to time.

1. PLAN YOUR WEEKLY SCHEDULE AHEAD OF TIME. Time management is an essential skill, and for me, it is extremely helpful to schedule my routine for each day of the week, based on work – things to do – gym opening times. Tell yourself: this week I’m going to the gym this, this and this other day; you can easily rearrange the rest.
2. HEALTHY CAN BE TASTY TOO. There is a reason why junk food is so hard to let go: because it’s hella tasty. Changing dramatically your diet to chicken and salad will only make you crave comfort food more and more, so it is important to have some recipes that are healthy, and tasty too. Some examples? Check this website! https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/g3733/healthy-dinner-recipes/
3. TRY TO ADD ALL THE COLORS OF THE RAINBOW IN YOUR DIET. For someone like me, who has absolutely ZERO fantasy with meal preparations, it’s useful to think about what COLORS you eat more often, and introduce food from various colours as well. This will help you bring into your meal routine some excellent nutrients that you simply forgot about! Some examples: YELLOW: paprika, golden beets, cauliflower, corn, yellow cherry tomatoes, summer squash, quinoa… so many, right?
4. SMALL SUBSTITUTIONS CAN MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE. Some small examples: use avocado instead of mayo as spread, wholemeal instead of white bread, cook cereals instead of pasta (ex. quinoa, barley, cous-cous).
5. KEY WORD? BETTER CONDIMENTS. Forget all the fatty, delicious sauces: there is nothing healthy about them and their only ‘contribution’ is to cover the real taste of food. By changing your mayo, ketchup, yogurt dressing etc etc with plain simple olive oil and a pinch of salt, I guarantee, you will start appreciating more the genuine taste of food. Some alternative condiments? Extra virgin olive oil (don’t forget I’m Italian, I know what I’m talking about!), a little salt, lemon juice, and spices like origano, turmeric, basil, pepper it’s really all you need to cook delicious food.
6. DEVELOP A ‘BEFORE SLEEPING’ ROUTINE. Coming from a person that has serious troubles to fall asleep, try to define a maximum hour to actually close your eyes, and stick to it. Some bedtime routine that can help you to go to sleep earlier: a warm bath, meditation, reading (instead of watching tv or being at your laptop), listening to classical music, a cold eye mask (best thing ever!), commit to your skin care routine, some relaxation yoga, and so on and so forth. Try them all and decide what works best for you!
7. GET MORE SPORT CLOTHES. How many times I skipped the gym because I forgot to do laundry, and didn’t have enough sport clothes? A LOT. Also, the simple act of wearing your sport clothes will make you instantly more motivated to hit the gym, I guarantee you. Also, you don’t have to invest a ridiculous amount of money: Decathlon is your new best friend.
8. FOCUS ON YOURSELF. It is OK to say no to that social event, the beer with the colleagues, the party on that Saturday IF YOU DON’T WANT TO GO. Don’t feel bad in saying no, if you want to prioritise your workout schedule rather than your social schedule. You will have time for your friends, don’t worry about that. YOU have the priority and the ability to decide what’s best for you.
9. STOP THINKING YOU’RE NOT WORTH IT. The biggest obstacle in our fitness journey is our mind: very simply, stop being your own defeater. Our body can achieve miracles if we start thinking ‘I can and I will do it’ instead, and I guarantee you, there is no better feeling in the world to surprise ourselves with achievements we didn’t think we were capable of.
10. MOST IMPORTANTLY… ENJOY THE RIDE! As I always say, a fitness journey is like a marathon without a finish line; it is a continuous process that doesn’t end when you reached your ideal shape. The only way to be constant is to enjoy the process: find a workout that you actually enjoy, appreciate the soreness in your muscles; it means you are getting stronger!

Do you have any ‘ready to go’ tips? Share them in the comments below!