Staying in shape isn’t easy. If it was, everyone would do it. The obesity epidemic would be completely nullified. But that’s not what we have. Fitness is earned, and actually, this is the best arrangement. Fitness is like learning how to be competent at anything. You need to pay your dues. You need to develop into the person who remains in shape, not simply become in shape as your current self. You need to find the beauty in learning more about your body and how it functions, and in the process gain motivation to care more deeply for yourself.

But there’s no reason as to why the fitness lifestyle should be artificially hard for you. When you’re just starting out, it can be important to make things manageable, and actually realistic. Even those who are well regimented into a fit and healthy lifestyle use simple shortcuts once in a while in order to preserve their schedule. We all have busy lives to lead.

In order to make the fitness lifestyle more possible for you, keep in mind:

Healthy Snacks

It can be hard to curate the most perfect healthy meals day in and day out. You might be working out and hoping to build muscle, but are having difficulty hitting your macros or protein limit. You might simply be looking for alternatives to the high-calorie diet you are used to consuming. If this sounds like you, then there’s no need to punish yourself. Just ensure that the snacks you consume are health, such as protein cookies, sunflower seeds, or a range of supplements that might be perfect for you. Meal prepping on a Sunday can also save you plenty of time.

Personal Training

A personal trainer is perhaps one of the best ways to stay on board with your fitness goals. If you treat this process seriously you can learn plenty about leaning out, getting strong, mental strength and the attitudes you truly need to curate in order to make healthy living your default. Having a tutor to guide you can also help you take some of the fear away from the gym, on top of giving you the tools to stay disciplined.

Tracking Progress

Track your progress. Without this, you might struggle counting all of your exercise gains, seeing how much weight you lose over a period, or be able to quantify your results as to what is working for you and what isn’t. Tracking your progress can inform you of just how regular you’ve been, if you need to sleep or eat more or less, and including a notes sections can also help you figure out how and when you have the most energy in the day, or what has been the hidden constant throughout all of your best workouts. It only takes a few minutes to do but can yield so much positivity for your health living, that to not track progress is relatively silly.

With these simple tips, making your fitness lifestyle easier for yourself is sure to be worthwhile.