I have had so much fun lately sharing our new lifestyle change with you all, from our eating plan to our grocery list, and now I am here to share some fitness fun.
Growing up, I was always active with dance and sports and loved every minute. I was with my friends and having fun, which totally distracted me from the struggles of training. Once I went away to college and was without team sports and dance class, I had to learn how to workout on my own.
Within the first year, I slowly learned to enjoy running to relieve stress, and started going to the gym at 6AM before class. Now, 8 years later, I am so glad that I actually find pleasure in attending a workout class or taking the Beast on a walk.
Setting goals, trying new things, and discovering my favorite fitness items has kept me motivated along the way. Here are a few I can't live without...
1// Fitbit Flex
I just purchased my
Fitbit Flex and I already love it. As I move throughout my day it tracks my steps, calories burned, activity level, water intake, and calorie intake. Meanwhile at night it tracks my sleeping patterns, which is totally nerdy for me to be so excited about, but it's very interesting to see if I had a restful night sleep or if I was rolling around like a tornado!
Believe it or not, it tracks all of this while wearing a stylish colorful bracelet (I chose yellow... are you shocked?), and syncs wirelessly to your smart phone, tablet, or PC. I also love that you can pop out the tracker at any time and switch it to another colored bracelet. I am loving the soon-to-be-released
Tory Burch band designs - both athletic styles and gold jewelry styles, that are way more trendy for all you fashion forward gals!
2// FT4 Polar Calorie Counter + Heart Rate Monitor
I got my FT4 Polar 6 months before my wedding as a workout motivator, and have been wearing it ever since. If you don't have this and you need a fitness wake-up call like I did, you need to rush to Amazon and buy this watch ASAP. If you've been going to the gym and tracking your calories burned by what's on the treadmill, think again! Mine was off by over 200 calories, but this tracks your specific calorie burn accurately.
3// Contigo Autoseal Water Bottle + Contigo Tranquil Water Bottle
I absolutely love these autoseal Contigo bottles. The big one I use for my water all day everyday, and the Tranquil bottle I use with a blender ball to blend my protein powder for breakfast or post-workouts. You can shake those things silly and they will never ever leak. Way better than past Nalgene or Camelbak bottles.
4// Champion C9 Workout Gear
Always cute styles of tanks and tees, and I have 3 pairs of their workout leggings and capris. They are made well, despite their affordable Target price, and they've lasted me for years.
5// Goody Stay Put Headbands
Having very fine, thin hair and cheekbone length bangs, I depend on these grippy little headbands to keep loose strands out of my face. With other headbands, they tend to slide out of my hair mid-workout class, but these headbands have thin little sticky strips all the way around the band to keep it from budging. Not to mention, they are cheap and easy to find at most drugstores.
6// Old Navy Active Workout Tops
Have you seen the Old Navy Active line? I am a girl who loves color and texture, and ON is doing it right. Every season they introduce new patterns and colors of their most popular tanks and tees, and they're always on sale. I mean, who can beat a $9 dry fit, super cute workout top? They also have great workout jackets, well fitting sports bras, and sometimes hair accessories.
7// GAP Fit gFast Leggings
This is also a newer obsession for me. This winter I had a GAP gift card, so I went browsing through the GapFit section until I came across their leggings. Holy heck. I like them so much I bought long ones for cold weather workouts, and little capri leggings that I sport at yoga and Zumba. They are high waisted, have a drawstring and thee structure of the material hides any lumps and bumps.
8// My Fitness Pal App
I know you have probably heard about this time and time again from me, but I love this free app. What a great way to get in the habit of keeping a food and exercise journal, and it syncs effortlessly with my Fitbit for a streamlined, simplified lifestyle tool. Feel free to
add me on MFP and we can do this healthy living journey together.
Encouragement is key!
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What are some of your fitness must haves?
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