Motivation

     For myself, the most important thing I will need to have in order to achieve my goals is motivation. Without it there is no way I will eat healthy or try to stay fit. That is why I am happy I made a blog focusing on this topic, so I will have something to look back on and remember why I wanted to do it in the first place. I've decided that next year at university I want to have a couple motivational posters that will help me stay focused. Watching videos about motivation I was intrigued by Nike's commercials. For example, 'my better is better than your better', is a great video that pumps up its viewers. Between the visuals and music I literally felt myself being motivated to work out just from watching this video.
       
         Since I've explained below how I want to eat healthy and put such a big focus on that, I need to remember that staying fit is also very important. I think I will maintain my goal of going to the gym at least once a week if I remain motivated to do so. If I set a designated time to do so everyday, I should be able to make it a habit and not have it interfere with my school work. I'm hoping that whoever I get as my roommate next year will have the same goal as me to stay fit and healthy. That would be great since we could both motivate each other and stay focused. If I don't get a roommate like that however, I can always look back to this blog and remember why I made it. I will make sure I accomplish my goals and stay motivated!

    Lastly, for a little more motivation...

University Living

     Like I've stated before, next year I will be going off to university. I'm so excited but the major concern I have is about my health. Since university is a huge change to ones life, it is easy to forget about staying healthy and active while going through such a change. While I will be meeting new friends, studying and getting adjusted to my new surroundings, it will definitely be hard to make time for working out. My goal for myself is to AT LEAST go to the gym once a week. Since that is only a small goal, I hope to make eating healthy a large goal. This is because while working out is hard to find time to do, eating healthy is something I will be able to do everyday. While reading tips from university students, I learned simply and easy steps that will help me with my goal of eating healthy.

     Even though for my first year in university I will be on a 'meal plan', I have tried to find quick and cheap meals I can make for myself. This will benefit me greatly throughout my years at university since I will be able to save money while still eating healthy.

     This video gives tips for students on how to stay within a budget for food. She discusses the importance of coupons, buying in bulk and sharing. She gives simple suggestions that are very valuable to a prospective student like me. Watching videos such as these really will help me next year as I can share my knowledge with my new friends at university. As well, this blog will help me greatly as I will have something to look back at and give me motivation to eat healthy and stay fit!

Classes I want to try

     In order for me to work out I think I need to make it somewhat enjoyable. A lot of my friends take classes and I think I would like to do that as well. I have never taken one though and I am kind of intimidated because I don't know what to expect. I have however been searching the internet for class and I have found some that interest me:

-Zumba

-Yoga/ Pilates

- P90X -probably will never happen..

P90X would be something I would have to be incredibly determined to do since it is so demanding on your body. As well, I believe it is time consuming so I would most likely try to do it in the summer since it won't distract me from school.

Avoid the Freshman 15

   

    I think for almost every student that is in some form of post-secondary schooling, has been faced with "freshman fifteen". Not all are affected by it but most definitely they all know about it. Avoiding the freshman fifteen is definitely a challenge and I'm sure I will be faced with it next year. Having the freedom to walk down to the residence cafe and be surrounded by pizza, chocolate and chips it is going to be hard to resist. Looking for the healthier options will be something I have to make sure I do in order to avoid the freshman fifteen.

As well, I have to make sure to stay fit so even if I do sneak something unhealthy, I can work it off at the gym. Making sure I go to the gym and have the will-power to actually get out of my bed...will be the most important thing. Especially since the residence I want to stay in is far from the gym and Western, that will be a struggle for me. Knowing I could either stay in my bed watching television on my laptop or walk 20 minutes to the gym..doesn't seem like that much of a question now but I know I need to change my mentality.

Why I chose this topic!

     I decided to focus my blog on physical fitness and getting in shape, as that has been something on my mind lately. Since I will be leaving home and going off to university in the fall, I want to be knowledgeable on how to maintain good health and eating right. As I've heard, staying in shape at university is rather hard as it becomes very low on ones list of priorities. That is another reason as to why I wanted to focus my blog on this topic, so I can have something to look back on and motivate me if I begin to fall behind. As of right now I know little about cooking, let alone cooking healthy and affordable meals. Since in university the main meals students eat are often from fast food places, I would like to know how I can incorporate healthy meals into my life, while staying on a student budget. I have made a list of food rules I will set for myself, they are:

1) Eat a healthy breakfast EVERYDAY (I don't think I've eaten breakfast this whole week..)

2) Limit times I go out for fast food.

3) If I do go out for fast food, choose a healthier option, i.e. Subway

4) Avoid eating unhealthy food at late hours of the night.

5) Always choose water when getting a beverage, no soda.


     Therefore, I will dedicate a large portion of my blog to the eating healthy aspect as well as a large portion going to physical fitness. The gym is literally one of my worst enemies and we rarely meet... I know however this needs to change. The school I want to go to next year is Western, and I know they have an amazing gym at their school. As well, first year students get a free membership for the entire year, which I hope to use a lot. In order for me to use it however, I need to know how to work the machines. This is a large part of why I don't go to the gym, because I don't know how to use a lot of the machines and it is embarrassing. Therefore I intend to use this blog to teach me techniques and tips for the gym.