Let’s face it – sticking to any goal you’ve set for yourself, can be a challenge, but ones involving health and fitness tend to be the hardest.

There are temptations EVERYWHERE! School, work, birthday parties, kiddos snack bags, social gatherings, the gas station, grocery store etc… Luckily, there are some great tools available to help us keep closer tabs on how well we’re doing and make sure those goals become results!

I was recently talking to Andrea Powers of Oscar Health Insurance, a Health Insurance provider in the New York/New Jersey area who uses technology to make things simpler! She asked the question – “How has technology helped you manage your health” and it didn’t take long for me to come up my top 3 resources and subsequently 3 things that keep me going on a day to day basis!

1) Online Accountability Group

I began my personal fitness journey March 2013,  looking to shed a few post baby pounds and gain some energy so I could be more present in my kids lives!

I started with the 21-day fix home workout program, incorporated Shakeology and Clean Eating AND joined a Challenge group. Quickly something just clicked. I started looking at all food items in relation to the colored container they fell into and really learned portion control and I found myself setting my alarm daily so I could get my workout in and share with everyone else in the group when I completed it and how great it felt. I started seeing results…quickly! What was this secret sauce? THE COMBINATION OF ALL 3. That combination of regular, daily exercise, balanced, clean eating, and the accountability and support of a challenge group – GOT ME SUCCESS!

I had tried exercising but could never stick to it. I had (thought) I was eating healthy (although it wasn’t as “clean” as I thought) but I never had a group of people right there to help me and support me as well as guide me and give me tips on how to make this whole thing work!!!! After all, you can only eat so many steamed veggies and grilled chicken!!!!

You see, I had purchased my challenge pack under my Coach, and she immediately added me into this closed group on Facebook. Although unsure at first I found what had previously been missing from my fitness routine – Support & Accountability! Sure my husband was incredible support, but there was something about this private group. We were all working towards our goals, some the same and some different, but we all had goals in mind and we knew what we had to do to get there and we were going to do it – TOGETHER!

These little online accountability groups – all ran through a closed Facebook group – were the missing piece to my success! And I didn’t stop with my first one either! After seeing how this all fit together, I began coaching others and helping them become happier and healthier too! I continue to run these challenge groups and continue to thrive off the success of my challengers!!! And the ripple effect keeps on going!!!

Another BIG key to my success comes from being PREPARED.

2) Meal planning

 

Yes – as simple as it may be, the meal plan word document I create each week helps me more than I could have ever thought! I’ll admit I wasn’t too excited about making a meal plan when it was suggested to me in my first challenge group,  but after “winging” it more times than I’d like to admit I found out that I do a LOT better when I write it down.  Typing it all out in a word document in one week increments and seeing the full week at a glance really helped me in the balancing each week. I am all about healthy, clean eating but I’m also all about balance in more ways than one. I am a busy mom and for some reason that 5:00 hour seems to be that time when the kids NEED everything and I’m TRYING to cook. Enter – meal prep and planning!!! The upfront time on Sunday or Monday is more than worth it later in the week plus it saves me $$$ too as I know exactly what I need to buy and helps reduce those impulse purchases at the store and/or wasting produce we don’t need! Its a win win all around!

There are a lot of great apps out there to track your daily food but I stuck with a simple meal plan!!! That’s what works for me!

3) Fit Bit

It didn’t take long for me to realize that healthy eating and regular exercise just made for a healthier family all around. My husband bought me a fitbit for Mother’s Day and it was months before that little band was taken off, with the exception of a quick overnight charge! Not only did the fitbit help me realize how much activity I had during the day, it also helped me guage my weight, and sleep! There is just something about that sense of accomplishment when you feel the buzzer go off when you’ve hit your daily goal!

In talking to Andrea she mentioned the MisFit program they offer their customers. These MisFit bands sync with their app which helps members earn up to $240 a year simply by hitting daily fitness goals! How cool is that – you get paid to WALK!

I hope you can see from the above that staying on track with your health and fitness goals doesn’t have to be complicated. It may take some upfront planning, some time, and a commitment that today is the day, but with a little support and the right tools, you have the opportunity to be the happiest and healthiest YOU!

If you would like to join my next challenge group or if you just have questions in general about getting started or jumping back in wherever it is that you left off, please fill out the application below and tell me a little bit more about you!