6 Key Steps to Starting a Healthy Lifestyle

Jun 13

Stop starting over and start feeling good again with these key steps.

Step 1: Consideration.

Consider what a healthier life looks like for you. Does it mean eating healthier? Meal prepping? Running? Taking a group fitness class? Giving up soda? Do you start your day with a morning routine?

If you were living the “healthy life” you imagine, what does that look like day to day? What kind of people do you spend time with? (are they in your life right now or do you have to meet them yet?) What do you do for fun?

Take time to brainstorm or journal. Really think deep about what you want your healthy lifestyle to look like. Talk to your friends, family, community. You may discover things you haven’t considered before.

Step 2: Decide to become unstoppable with your WHY.

Decide that you’re going to take steps to live a healthier lifestyle. Decide that this is who you are and who you’re learning to become.

Perhaps you can come up with a mantra. When you inevitably have days that are hard, you’ll have this to turn to and refocus.

Here’s a good starting place: “I am choosing to live a healthy lifestyle because I deserve it. I will not give up when times are hard. If I miss a day, I will continue pushing forward.”

You’re welcome to start with this mantra; but I encourage you to come up with one that resonates with you. Can it change overtime? Absolutely.

I encourage you to write your mantra on a paper, sticky note, the background on your phone, or wherever helps you as a reminder of your goals and vision.

People often ask me “how do you stay motivated?”

One of the hardest things that we face when trying to lose weight is commitment. Stress happens. Celebrations happen. Social events happen.

There’s food, old habits, stressful situations…

It’s inevitable that life will try to prevent you from being successful.

Let me start by saying: motivation is temporary. Motivation will help from time to time; but you must be determined.

Be determined to change your life for the better.

My advice for you is to come up with a solid WHY. Your why should be deep and personal. Your why should be more than just to lose weight for a vacation or to run a marathon.

· What would your life look like if you lead a healthy lifestyle (not just if you lose weight)?

· How would your day to day be better if you did this?

· How would your mood/energy/confidence improve?

Use your WHY to drive you. Your WHY should be what you turn to when you’re struggling to make choices that serve you. You can incorporate your WHY into a mantra like I mentioned earlier.

Need more help? Here’s a worksheet that can help guide you on the process.

Still struggling to find your why? You can also book a What’s Your Why Discovery Call with me to work on this together with guided prompts to help you with clarity and specificity.

Step 3: Dial in Nutrition.

There are a lot of ways to approach nutrition. Nutrition is a major part of living a healthy lifestyle.

I recommend discussing with your doctor before starting any new eating patterns or plans. You may meet with a nutritionist or a dietician. Maybe try my nutrition audit.

When it comes to weight loss, the basic formula is, calories you consume must be less than what you’re burning. This leaves room for a major issue of still eating junk because as long as it fits your calorie goal, you “can” eat it.

When we still load our plate with junk food, it can still lead to health problems such as heart disease, high cholesterol, and inflammation. Learn more about inflammation here.

Counting calories can also be quite daunting. For some people, it can also cause an unhealthy relationship with food.

My favorite approach is similar to intuitive eating. It’s where we learn to listen to our bodies and fuel it with what it needs. And sometimes, it just needs comfort! When cravings take over, that can get tricky. I have a cravings cheat sheet here to help!

Think of nutrition as fuel for your body to function properly.

If you fill the gas tank of a car with a mixture of a little gas, oil, and maple syrup, you’re going to have a mess and a car that doesn’t work properly. Yes, it needs gas. Yes, it needs oil (in a different part of the car, NOT mixed with gas). And no, it doesn’t need syrup.

Now, think of your body. You have organs, muscles, fluids, bones… All of these things need to be working smoothly for your body to function well.

Fueling your body with nutrient-dense foods is going to make your body function better than if you fill it with non-nutrient dense foods.

What are considered nutrient-dense foods?

Nutrient-dense foods have vitamins and minerals that our bodies need to function well. Nutrient-dense foods have little to no sugar or extra ingredients like dyes and artificial ingredients.

Some examples of nutrient-dense foods:

· Veggies

· Salmon

· Berries

· Eggs

Does that mean you can’t enjoy some of the more comforting foods or less-nutritious foods? No! My advice for you is to first focus on getting more nutrient-dense foods than non-nutritious food. The majority of your plate should be nutrient-dense foods.

I like the 80/20 rule, which is, if you focus on being on track 80% of the time, you will have a good balance where you don’t feel deprived and still succeed.

Step 4: Connect

Find your people. You may have friends or family who are also trying to live a healthier lifestyle. Maybe you and your bestie decide to go through this journey together.

If you feel alone in your family because no one is interested in a healthier lifestyle, I have a hard truth for you: you can’t force anyone to do this with you or to support you.

They have to want it themselves. If you have young children or people you provide for, you can prepare healthier meals for them. You can encourage play or getting outside, being more active with them.

If you have other adults or very picky family members, the best thing you can do for them is offer first, and then simply lead by example. When they see how good you look, how much better you’re feeling, and how you can still enjoy your food, they just might be inspired.

If you feel alone or would like more support, there are loads of resources for you. You just have to find what works best for you!

We have a community on Facebook. When you sign up for the AYM Method programs, you are automatically added to our community where others are also going through the same process as you.

You can join the gym and or group fitness classes. This is a great way to connect with others who are going through similar situations. You may surprise yourself with the people you connect with there.

I love my groups at the gym. When someone doesn’t show up for class after a few classes, other regulars ask “where’s so and so been?”. You start learning about people’s lives and connect on a different level. It’s our own little gym family.

Step 5: Move More

Exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous, last countless hours, or make you so fatigued that you vomit or pass out.

Making an effort to move more often can make a big difference in your journey, especially if you’re living a sedentary lifestyle.

Maybe you start going for a 10 minute walk after lunch. Maybe you join the gym. Maybe you start an exercise class. Maybe you get a personal trainer.

You can exercise while watching TV. Play with the kids/grandkids/pets. Spend time taking care of the lawn or garden.

Using trackers, smart watches, and apps can also help you stay driven.

Similar to the consideration step, you’re the one that decides what being active looks like for you. Find ways you enjoy!

It’s recommended that adults get 150 minutes of moderate cardiovascular activity a week. You can break that down into two 75 minute vigorous workouts. You can go for 30 minute walks 5 days a week. You can dance, run, bike, swim… The list goes on and on.

I recommend starting small. Make small short term goals to help you feel successful. My blog about resistance training after 35 has a lot of great insight on how to add more activity into your day.

Step 6: Practice Grace

When we commit to any changes, it can be hard to not have the mindset of all or nothing.

Instead, I love the phrase “all or something”. You have your mantra and you have a solid WHY. But life will still try to slow you down.

How to avoid completely falling off and giving up?

Practice grace.

If you follow the 80/20 rule over the course of a year, that still leaves you with 73 days out of the year. That’s more than 2 months!

Does that mean you should just eat like an asshole and not put effort towards your goals for 73 days? HA! No.

This just means that it’s OKAY to “slack off” or have off days. It means you can enjoy extra goodies on vacation or special occasions. It’s okay if an injury, illness, loss of a loved one, change in routine, etc. gets in the way.

The key is to keep pushing forward.

When you consider this a lifestyle and not just a goal with an end date, you can keep moving forward.

Have more veggies at your next meal. Go for a walk at lunch. Do one small thing to help yourself get back “on track”.

It’s who you are. It’s who you decided to be. This is your life. You are worth the effort!

Hi there, I’m Kimberly.

I’m so happy you’re here! You’re taking important and powerful steps towards a healthier, more confident, empowered, and stronger you! Congrats on taking that step. It can be scary and overwhelming. I am so proud of you!

If you would have told me back in high school when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grow up that I would own my own health and fitness business, I would be shocked (especially about the health and fitness aspects).

I always knew I wanted to own my own business. I like to think my dad’s business inspired me. I loved teaching and leading. I worked in schools for years; but something was just not quite right.

One year while working as a para in a middle school, I had a health coach. I was already in the process of my own health and wellness journey.

She inspired me to take what I know, change career paths, and go all into health and fitness. I thought it was crazy. I wasn’t athletic. I wasn’t in what I thought of “good shape”. How could I be a trainer and health coach?

I went for it anyways - and now here we are. I created life changing programs such as the AYM Method, created and taught over 500 group fitness classes, and provided personal training to over 30 clients, some who have been with me for 3 years now!

One of the coolest parts? I’m still a teacher! My lessons, students, and classrooms just look different than I ever thought possible.

And guess what? I absolutely love it. I took classes to become certified in group fitness, personal training, and to be a health coach. I am also licensed to teach Zumba, Circl Mobility, Strong Nation, and Plate by Zumba.

I feel so much gratitude for those who have supported me along the way, especially my amazing husband who has been by my side through it all.

I now have a mission to help others find ways to create sustainable lifestyle changes. I want to take away the overwhelm that I felt on my journey and take you step by step through your own path. Click for info on how to work with me.