Lets Get Healthy

Welcome back, guys. I’m soo excited about this post and I think you guys will be too!! Let me start by saying during quarantine I know I haven’t been the only one who’s gotten a little bit thicker. Lol, not saying it’s a bad thing because for me personally, my goal was to gain a little weight and subsequently work out to put it in all of the right places. Wether that's your goal as well or if you just want to lose a little. Keep reading. I have a little something to help you guys out.

By now if you haven’t figured out, this is a health post. However, this blog isn't just about losing weight or working out. I’m going to be dishing out some of my most favorite tips to help you tone back up in a week and a half (minimum). I'll be telling it all and giving you guys all the tips on everything I do, some tips on gyms, at-home workouts, were to get amazing workout clothing that is inexpensive and even on the meals I eat. But before I start, I will say that everybody is different and what might work for me might not for you. So please don’t get upset at this post and expect to see/achieve the same results as me. In fact, some of you might even see better results and progress. If you do, don’t forget to let me know in the comments, because I'm trying to learn more as I go as well.

Gym or Working Out At Home:

When I first started this health journey, what I realized was that at home workouts although amazing, just didn’t motivate me enough to do daily. When I get home, what I realized is instead of being motivated to workout. I would focus more house stuff like cooking and do homework/work instead of working out. I would even try running around the neighborhood but my allergies would kick my butt right after that one. Then I discovered YouTube. It worked some days, but all in all, I thought being home was more for relaxing. I won't lie, I was lazy guys and certainly wasn't consistent at all. Some YouTubers that I did think had amazing workouts were Holly Dolke, Gabriella Whited, and my favorite Chloe Ting. Chloe is definitely my favorite because she also has her own website where she gives a FREE yes Free fitness schedule to help you stay on track with whichever one of her workout programs that you choose to do. She lists each video that you need to do on your Day 1 and so on. So if you're on that day, you would just click on the videos for that day and do them in the order that is listed. If you're interested in something like that: click here for the link to check it out.

At home workouts weren’t bad, but right when gyms reopened I decided to test out some gyms to see which one I wanted to be a member of. This process I would recommend. It was worth doing since there are so many gyms everywhere. Of course, I didn’t/couldn’t attend every gym, because I wanted to find a “home” gym as soon as I could and get right to it. I took a couple days to go check some out that weren't too far from me, and en route from work to home. That way I didn't feel like I was going out of my way to workout. I’ve listed some pros and cons of the gyms I thought were worth checking out and I did actually check out below.

1.) Lifetime Fitness: Click Here To Check It Out

Pros:

• This gym was absolutely incredible. It was huge, had everything you could possibly need to work out with, has a pool, some basketball and tennis courts. Just so much.
• The staff was friendly and they have many options of memberships to choose from. By options, I also mean classes, equipment, floors, recreation, and pretty much everything. 
• They have many locations you can go to.

Cons:

• Although they had many options for memberships, it was a bit on the pricey side compared to other gyms that were around it. I figured I wouldn’t be using everything and didn’t need it all.
• Another con is the free day pass they offer to “test out” the gym. From my experience, it wasn’t necessarily what you think it would be. It was pretty much getting a tour and sitting in the office after the tour, were the workers tried to get you to decide on membership right then and there. It was uncomfortable because I was on a gym search and wasn't planning on deciding until I checked out all of the gyms on my list. Also when you tried to leave, they would make you feel like you have only that moment to decide on their gym and membership, or else you wouldn’t receive that "cheaper" offer ever again.

Price: $40+

2.) Anytime Fitness:Click Here To Check It Out

Pros:

• They offer 1 week free to test it out (you do have to pay $25 for the key fob which allows you into the gym, at well Anytime). Then you have the option to receive a full refund if you decide not to sign up with them.
• Open 24/7 even on holidays. So you can go workout at 2am if you really wanted to.
• Short and simple tour (gym wasn't big at all) and you can get right to working out to actually test the gym out to decide on membership. 

Cons:

• The staff wasn’t as friendly. When you walk in, no one really speaks to you (unless it was just my experience). Especially when you decide to not get a membership. They show their true colors and are just mean.
• Smaller gym. I felt awkward while working out. (Mind you I have never had a membership, so all the equipment was pretty new to me. Apartment gyms that I've went to didn't have high tech equipment like real gyms.) This felt a little bigger than apartment gyms, but it was still pretty small compared to the 2 other gyms I checked out. It felt like everyone was looking at you struggling to figure out how to use the equipment. It was so awkward I didn't even use the weeks free pass. I decided not to use the gym that very same day.
• Price was as much as LA Fitness. There wasn't nearly enough equipment for the price. There was social distancing as well, which caused you to have to wait to use some equipment after someone or come back to it.

Price: $39

3.) Planet Fitness:Click Here To Check It Out

Pros:

• Located everywhere
• People are really nice and super friendly. When you walk in, they welcome you. (So far its been the same with the 4 different Planet Fitnesses I’ve attended) When you leave they say goodbye (when someone is in the front desk of course).
• Have pretty much every equipment that you would need and they also offer a free app for your at-home workouts if you are unable to make it to the gym (the app is actually available whether you are a member or not).
• They are very affordable for a big gym with many locations. 
• They always have specials to join. Like $0, .50 cents or their popular $1 down to join and $10 a month. (Unless you get their black card membership, which I did ultimately got to be able to bring a guest and use all the massage chairs as much as needed).

Cons:

• The hydro massage and massage chairs only allow you to use it for 10 minutes at a time. Personally, I think if you're getting a massage 10 minutes is not enough. Maybe I just enjoy longer massages lol. But you are able to get more time when you request it. They are trying to prevent people from going and hogging it for like an hour, just to be fair.
• Some of the staff do not really know much about the equipment. You have to see a staff member that has on a “trainers” shirt, look at the picture on the equipment, or look at there app to watch how to use the machines. 

Price: $10 a month, Black Card $22

Meals That I Eat:

This topic can definitely be customized depending on what your personal fitness goals are and what you want to achieve on your fitness journey. For example, if you are focusing on building more muscle. You should eat foods with more carbs (especially high-quality carbs like eggs), healthy fats, and protein. If you are focusing on losing weight, you should cut down your calories, cut down your carbs, and cut down on your fats. You should focus on eating a diet that consists of fresh fruit, fresh veggies, nuts, and fish. However, if you're like me, and just want to tone up, you would want to focus on not overeating along with smaller portions. Its like a little mixture of both diets/eating habits.

I have started to meal prep and here is an example of what I would usually eat for breakfast, snack, and lunch. Meal preparation especially, helps me stay consistent, and helps me with watching what I eat in the mornings and on my lunch break at work. My personal issue was “overeating”. So for breakfast, I usually do cottage cheese with some fruit, yogurt and coffee/water. In the past, I would never really make breakfast, instead, I would either skip it, eat leftovers, or grab fast food on the way to work. I realized that I didn’t, well my body wasn’t feeling neither of those options. Skipping breakfast (because I didn't have time to stop to grab some usually with traffic/running late occurs) would leave me feeling super light-headed. Than by the time I would go on my lunch break, I notice that I would eat a bigger lunch to be satisfied. Because by than I'd be starving. Then there are the days I would have time to stop for fast food for breakfast. That would make me feel so heavy and not have as much energy as I usually would. For me, I always get the itis when I eat big meals. So the cottage cheese, yogurt, and a drink were perfect. Not only did it help me tone up because they are all good for you, but it also helped me stay full and light until my lunch break.

Now for my lunch break, in the past, I would either bring leftover dinner or grab fast food again. They both would honestly make me feel too heavy and sluggish at work. So during my meal prep, I would make salads for lunch. I know most people don’t like salads so please eat something that is good, healthy, and will work for you on your health journey. As for me, I honestly love a good salad. I add so much in mine that it makes them super yummy 😋. I like to switch them up every now and then by adding different toppings like bacon, chicken, ham, shrimp, cheese, eggs, avocados, green peppers, and mushrooms. The days I didn’t make my own salad, I usually bought already made salads for the week. Not the kinds at a fast food place. But the ones at either Kroger or Walmart was my go too. They are both less than $5 depending on the one you purchase. Both stores have many options and their pre-made salads come with your calorie count, 2 protein with many opinions of toppings to choose from, cheese, eating utensils, and dressing all included in its container. 

• Kroger has them = 1 for $3.34 or 3 for $10 = Click To Purchase
• Walmart has them = $2.98-$4 = Click To Purchase

Also at work for my last 15-minute break I would have a snack. I would do like salami and cheese, or a fruit with a protein bar with water. Just something in my system so I wouldn’t be hungry before getting off and heading to the gym.

For dinner, I usually would cook and eat anything that I like. (Hey, I said everyone’s journey was different. For me I eat anything for dinner ). With eating anything, what helped me achieve my fitness eating habits was working on portion sizes. I cut down on all of it. I used to eat so much and would never get full. I could be eating and eating and eating. I realized it wasn’t healthy at all. Not only wanting to tone up, but I also wanted to make a healthy life long eating habits as well. So for dinner, I won't say that I watch what I eat, but I definitely watch my portion size for what I am eating.

Motivation:

Motivation, something I get asked a lot about when I post me finishing a workout at the gym is "what motivates you?". So this is the fun part for me. At first I had to really think and ask myself this question, “what really motivates me to stay consistent with going to the gym Monday to Fridays and even some weekend days?” When I did, my answer ended up being a collection of things that all made being working out so much fun for me. The first thing that makes me want to be healthy and stay consistent is how my journey has made me feel. I have more energy which keeps me motivated to get so much more done throughout the day. Since I’ve started working out, I’m just less lazy. My body wants to keep itself moving and busy. I overall just feel healthier, less slouchy and that is my ultimate goal.

The second thing that makes me motivated is doing workouts and seeing how much progress I’ve made for that day. That sounds so confusing, but what I mean by it is that with my workouts, I don’t just go to the gym and just workout. I did research on the best workouts to obtain the body I want and then downloaded an app called JEFIT to keep track of my workouts. This app has truly made it so much fun to go to the gym and actually work out for me. It keeps you accountable and helps you not want to miss a day at the gym. It’s an exercise tracker app that lets you customize which body parts you want to work out for the day of the week. When you click on it, you can customize your workout then add how many sets, reps, and in between rest seconds for each exercise. My problem with the gym as I previously mentioned while checking some out, was that I had no idea what I was doing. So I’d feel weird with people watching me struggle with the equipment and just leave out of awkwardness and complete embarrassment lol. But with this app, you can see how you would use all of the equipment, correctly (in HD might I add) and track your results. You can even add your friends as a friend and see what workouts they’ve done. When you finish a workout, your friends have the ability to comment and like your stats to motivate you even more. Still confused? Look at the picture and read the details below for more helpful information and reference. Oh yeah, go ahead and add me by searching: EmmaEbosi. The best part about this app is at the ending of each workout, you're able to see which body parts you worked on, how long it took you to complete the workout, and how much weight in total that you lifted that day, I absolutely love it. Oh and the app is absolutely FREE guys lol. You can switch to premium, but I have the free version and I am getting everything that I just listed.

The top pic is an example of what the app looks like, so please make sure you download the correct one:

• Photo 1: Is the screen of my days and what I work on for that day. It shows you how many exercises and how long it’ll take you to complete the exercises. You can name the days' anything you want and customize the workouts as you want.
• Photo 2: Are the exercises and what I actually do detailed for the day (this picture is showing what I do when I click on the Glutes Day). It shows you how many sets, numbers in a set, and rest times for each exercise. This screen you are also able to customize all the numbers in a set, how many reps you want to do for each exercise, how many seconds you need to rest in between (comes in handy for harder exercises, you want to make the rest time a little bit longer to catch your breath) and your even able to customize the order of your exercises. I put my order in connection to the Planet Fitness gym I usually go to. I can use each equipment on one side at a time, to limit me walking back and forth inside the gym.
• Photo 3: Is the progress page. This page shows you the days you've been at the gym and also the workout time and muscles that were targeted. I like this page because of your ability to use it to keep yourself accountable. Your able to see the days of the gym you missed and be motivated to head right back. I also like this page because you get to see a physical picture of which muscles you have been used throughout your workout. It’s so helpful if you want each part of your body to get toned up.
• Photo 4: Is your completed workout page photo. So ever time you finish a workout. It gives you a summary that looks like this. As you can see this is the page were your friends can like the photo and leave a comment to motivate and congratulate you. If you download the app, don't forget to follow me EmmaEbosi so we can keep each other motivated on this Fitness Journey :D

The third thing that keeps me motivated to even go to the gym daily is some new workout clothing. It’s weird because I would always wear a T-shirt and some leggings. Then I’d search some YouTube workout videos or see some on Instagram workout clips and really notice how much cute gear is out there. Choosing workout clothes was actually harder than I imagined. There were so many out there. I ended up narrowing my search down to a site that offered some cute and affordable sets. I wrote in my previous post: Positivity that putting on cute clothes just makes me want to get out more and makes me overall, feel better. Ironically that’s the same as workout clothing. When I put on the new workout gear, I feel so official. I feel like I’m a gymnast that’s been going for years or something lol. I put on my gear and I just walk in there feeling and looking like a professional. That honestly gives me a lot of motivation. That and of course showing off the cute workout gear ;)

So let’s talk about these looks. These are some of my favorite that I’ve purchased so far. These looks get me excited to hit the gym. I purchased all of these from Romwe. Direct Links below if you guys like any of them :)

1.) Green Neon and Black Set: 

• Price: $15.65
• The Size I Have On: Medium
• Link to Purchase
• Review: Love this one and how bright the neon green is. It’s so thick and has amazing padding in the sports bra area. Also comes in the colors black, blue and red.

2.) Marble White Set: 

• Price: $13.69
• The Size I Have On: Medium
• Link to Purchase
• Review: Love the marble pattern. But it is pretty thin and a little see-through. Recommend wearing a sports bra under this one. The only color it comes in is the color I am wearing.

3.) Blue Leopard Print Set: 

• Price: $14.63
• The Size I Have On: Medium
• Link to Purchase
• Review: Loved how thick this one was as well. It’s super comfy. The material will definitely last and it’s not see-through at all. Also comes in orange with yellow leopard print, and pink with white leopard print.

4.) Pink Letter Tape Set:

• Price: $12.70
• The Size I Have On: M
• Link to Purchase
• Review: Love the letter tape area. But the material is pretty thin and the sports bra has no padding at all. Definitely recommend a sports bra under this one, or your boobies will be flying around. The only color it comes in is the color I have on.

5.) Striped High Neck Set: 

• Price: $15.65
• The Size I Have On: M
• Link to Purchase
• Review: Super cute and very unique set. I’ll need a sports bra for it because I think I should’ve ordered a size down (actually I should’ve al but the neon and leopard print one). So definitely order your real sizes and not a size down or up. The only color it comes in is the color I have on.

Go Check Out & Follow The amazing people I worked with to Make this Photoshoot Happen

Photographer: Anthony | All Flawless Shots 

His Insta: @afshots

Creative Director: @gwenglamorous

Model / Makeup: @emmabossi

This post has come to an end. I hope you guys enjoyed this and try some of the things that help me stay motivated to be healthier. Leave in the comments what you would try from my post, what you liked, and any other things I can try myself. Talk to you guys next Sunday ❤︎❤︎