Fitness, Healthy on the cheap, Products I love

Feel Confident, Be Confident

January 26, 2015

I am a big believer in mind over matter; if you believe enough that this will triumph any obstacles that may be in your path. A big part of being able to continue working out and eating healthily is to focus on how this lifestyle makes me feel and to continually remind myself that I can do this.

Feel Confident

One of my resolutions for 2015 was to maintain my healthy lifestyle. It is a little broad, but by that, I mean to continue working out regularly (3-5x a week), making healthy and nutritious meals, and to have a healthy mindset. My mission on Honestly Fitness is to reveal the facts and to help make your healthy and active lifestyle something that is easy and fun to stick with.

I have found that having workout clothes that look good and fit me correctly make me feel a lot more confident and more enthusiastic about working out. No joke, there have been days where I have been totally impulsive and bought multiple workout outfits. And I am so lucky that I have some affordable options living in California.

My favorite and affordable option

I have purchased a few pieces from the fantastic TargetĀ® C9 workout collection before and recently bought a few more pieces with a generous $50 allowance through my partnership with POPSUGAR Select. The stipend got me a gorgeous long sleeve top, a really cute pair of shorts with short leggings underneath them and a pink headband! Normally $50 will only buy me a sports bra … and maybe a simple top too if there is a sale going on. 

the best workout clothes from target

the best workout clothes from target

Honestly Fitness Approved

Verdict on my beautiful new workout outfit from TargetĀ®? I love it! I mean, it is really hard to beat their great prices and the great-quality material. My new top kept me nice and warm on my fast walks, my shorts made sure no one was able to see my underwear during my workouts, and my headband was surprisingly good at keeping my hair from getting soaked in sweat! 

the best workout clothes from target

the best workout clothes from target

the best workout clothes from target

the best workout clothes from target

the best workout clothes from target

My only little nitpick is that you have to wear a sports bra with sufficient padding because otherwise ‘the girls’ will show through the material. But it’s hardly a complaint as I realize that the material is supposed to be lightweight and conducive to sweat evaporating.

the best workout clothes from target

the best workout clothes from target

Have any of you bought pieces from the TargetĀ® C9 collection? What do you think about them?

Honestly yours,
Alice

Thank you for always supporting me! For more Honestly Fitness, check out my Instagram, Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest.

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by TargetĀ® through their partnership with POPSUGAR Select. While I was compensated to write a post about TargetĀ® C9, all opinions are my own.

Health

How To Get Into A Healthy Eating Routine

January 23, 2015

Recently, I was asked about how to get into a regular healthy eating routine. It was such a simple question yet it threw me off guard because I realized that I wasn’t really sure how to answer it! I am so glad I was asked it as this is a perfect topic for a blog post and I am sure it may help you out, as a beginner in your healthy and active lifestyle or even as a ‘seasoned professional’ šŸ˜›

 The First Step – Plan

The first step with any routine is planning. Get a journal, piece of paper or even just your phone and write about what your plan is and some small goals. For example: I want to get into a routine of eating healthy and nutritious foods by including more leafy greens into my diet. Now, write down a meal plan with enough meals to cover you for five days. This gives you leeway to hang out and eat with friends. Take a look at a sample meal plan I have done by clicking here.

The Second Step – Buy

Now that you have written some goals and a meal plan, it is time to buy the food needed to bring this healthy eating routine to fruition! Everyone’s meal plans will be different and ergo, everyone’s grocery list will be different. The graphic below is a shopping list to accompany the meal plan I discussed about in the first step. Do NOT feel obligated to use this grocery list as everyone’s needs are different. It is simply a guide and something I use to help me.

Healthy Grocery list

The Third Step – Do

By ‘do’, I mean actually make the meals! Trust me, cooking is not difficult and you can only get better with practice. If you are busy and strapped for time, I suggest meal prepping the Sunday before the week starts. For me, my lunches and dinners are so quick that the only things I usually have to assemble are the meats that go into my lunches and some breakfasts’ such as overnight oats.

The Fourth Step – Keep Motivated

A downfall for many people (including myself) is a lack of motivation. This could happen for any number of reasons, such as not seeing results as quickly as you had hoped, feeling stressed out, and etc. For me personally, I find that using Instagram is a huge motivator not only because of the amazing and inspiration accounts you can find there, but because the health and fitness community on Instagram is so kind and supportive. Progress photos are also a great tool to keeping motivated as it can really open your eyes to how far you have actually come.

Good Luck!

I hope this post will help you slowly ease into a healthy eating routine or help motivate those who have been on their healthy lifestyle for a while. Sometimes it is useful to go back to basics and to re-evaluate your goals and intentions because … people change! I used to be all about getting skinny, getting to 110 pounds and whatnot, so my ‘healthy meals’ looked really different (basically all low-carb and unsustainable). My goals now are to reduce my overall body fat, to get strong and to feel confident in a bikini. My meals are balanced and full of carbohydrates, fats and proteins as well as the occasional treat to keep me from binging.

What are your healthy eating goals? How can I help you achieve them?

Honestly yours,
Alice

Thank you for always supporting me! For more Honestly Fitness, check out my Instagram, Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest.

Health, Healthy on the cheap

Healthy on the Cheap: Part II

January 20, 2015
Healthy on the Cheap: Part II

After the success of my first ‘Healthy on the Cheap‘ post, I have made a part II to add to the series! The last post focused on strategies you can do to help reduce costs associated with a healthy and active lifestyle, and on what foods you should buy that are both healthy and cheap. This post will focus on tips for shopping smart to keep your overall grocery expenses low.

Healthy on the Cheap: Part II

Healthy on the Cheap: Part II

Shop Smart

  1.  Keep an eye out for discounts – I used to get tons of flyers for discounts happening at my local supermarkets and would always throw them away until one day I noticed that Sprouts Farmer’s Market were having a ‘buy 3 for $1’ on Hass Avocados! Ever since then I have paid attention to any specials supermarkets are having.
  2. Make a grocery list! You would be surprised at how many silly things you purchase if you don’t stick to a list. I am not saying you will be 100% perfect with a list (I always sneak some Harmless Harvest coconut water in hehe), but it helps. A lot.
  3. Try and cut down on buying tea and coffee when out and about. I used to buy loads, but cut down to buying 1 latte or mocha every other day or so, and by making my own tea at home. Try filling a glass water bottle with green tea and half a lemon, sliced. It is delicious!
  4. Stick to a regular routine at the supermarket. By this, I mean start at the produce section and load up there, then move onto dairy, grains, and finally meat. By the time you get to meat (which is by far my most expensive purchase), your shopping basket will be pretty full and it will make you think more carefully about how much meat you need to buy.
  5. NEVER ever shop when hungry! Okay, so I still make this mistake from time to time but I am much more aware of this now. You’d be amazed by all the random c*** you will throw into your shopping cart when you are hungry. Suddenly everything looks good; “Ooh, $10 bag of caramel clusters, sounds good!” haha.
  6. Load up on in-season produce. Produce that is in season tends to be cheaper and fresher. Some examples of produce currently in season are artichokes, broccoli, winter squash, and arugula.
  7. Visit a farmer’s market. This isn’t something I do often but is something I will be trying to do more because farmer’s markets tend to have produce and fruits that are cheaper than they are in supermarkets. And usually fresher too!
  8. Don’t be afraid to buy frozen food. Frozen berries for example tend to be frozen at their peak nutritional state and are much cheaper than fresh berries. If you are on a budget, I highly recommend investing in certain kinds of frozen produce. I always have frozen berries, corn and green beans in the freezer.
  9. Get your supermarket’s rewards card. If you shop at a supermarket frequently, chances are that they will have some sort of rewards card. I have one for my local supermarket (Safeway) and it has helped me save quite a lot of money and cash in on special deals.

These 9 tips are what I try to follow to help me shop smart and allow me to eat a variety of healthy foods despite my measly student budget (bet everyone in university can relate lol). I would absolutely love to hear what you do to shop smart or if you already do one of the above tips.

What is your favorite winter produce? Mine are definitely winter squash, especially now I bought a spiralizer!

Honestly yours,
Alice

Thank you for always supporting me! For more Honestly Fitness, check out my Instagram, Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest.