Getting Fit in the Winter

It’s the New Year, and here’s where all the soon-to-be broken resolutions start to form. You make promises to yourself countless times that “this will be it” and “tomorrow will be the beginning.” Then, you look outside and see blankets of snow covering the ground and the thermometer reading in the single digits. How on earth am I supposed to get healthy in this weather?

Even if it’s too cold outside, there are so many small steps to take that can help you get healthy in the winter, of which I am currently enacting in my own life. The most important thing to remember when you begin any sort of healthy journey is that it is just that - a journey. This will not have a concrete start and end for the most part, and you always have to push yourself to move forward. I compiled a list of things to do during this frigid time to make sure that resolution becomes a habit which becomes a lifestyle.

It may take a long time, but you’ll never get to where you want to be if you don’t take that first step!

1) The Exercise Dilemma

The typical excuse of winter time is that it’s too cold to exercise or get to the gym. If you don’t live in an area that routinely gets hit with the remnants of the Arctic, then this may not apply to you - though the universal “winter blues” feeling might. Regardless, there’s many options to combat this. If you want to brave the open air, walking, running, and other outdoor sports are excellent ways to burn calories and strengthen your body. In high school,I used to run winter track, and I actually loved the cool weather because it would refresh me while I run, as opposed to jogging in sweltering heat. If you bundle up with the right gear, outside can be a fruitful way to burn some cardio.Don’t forget that even simple tasks like shoveling snow is taxing, enough to stand in for a workout (even if it’s backbreaking labor…)

No gym? No problem! You don’t need fancy equipment to exercise, especially indoors. I’ve taken many exercise classes in my life, and my favorite one only uses weights and school yard equipment (like jump ropes and cones) occasionally. The majority of the workout was using your own body for strength training, stretching, cardio and fat burning, and general movement! And believe me, it’s as tough as a treadmill or elliptical is, perhaps even moreso - just try a minute of planks and see how your abs feel afterwards. Cold weather doesn’t have to bar you from moving your body and building stamina, endurance, or just getting your heart rate up.

But, if you find it hard to do it by yourself…

2) Find a Healthy Support System

I will be the first to admit howdifficult a healthy lifestyle is tomaintain on your own. Themotivation comes and goes, and youlose accountability on yourself. It’snever easy to ask for help, but ahealthy journey’s success rate (andfor that matter, a resolution’s) canonly improve when you build asupport system. The effects aremassive - now, there is an internalmotivator for the other, and peopleto turn to when things get bad.

Working out is never fun, but with the help of a buddy it can make the time go by faster. Here, too, is where the motivation and accountability come into play. Journeying together, keeping tabs, and celebrating small and large victories increase the success of reaching your goal, no matter how small. I know without my family’s help, and their neverending belief in me, I wouldn’t be able to so much as think about being healthy. Because of them, I’m able to have someone to back me up and inspire me. It’s a priceless and vital tool to reaching your goals.

3) Join Online Groups

If the physical support system is notprobable for you, the online world is.There are tons of websites dedicatedto healthy lifestyle help, with groupsand forums and messaging galorethat can help you. Virtual support isjust as beneficial, and there’s somany resources to absorb. Mealideas, help during tough times,exercise ideas and more are easilyaccessible. Instagram is a great placeto see transformations of everydaypeople, together with varied mealand exercise ideas. It’s a welcomingcommunity all over, you just have todo a little searching to find it.

4) Begin an Eating and Exercise Plan

Of course, doing a structuredprogram will help you reach yourgoals and start on a healthy journey,if you stick with it. But the questionis - which? That’s up to you todecide, but for me, structure isimportant, because if I let myselfthink too long about food, I’ll makethe wrong decision, as much as Idon’t want to. Therefore, I’veembarked on a regimen that mapsout meals and exercises each day,and I’ve found it to be really helpful.There are copious amounts of plansavailable, in person and online, and ifyou are one to prefer structure likeme, this may be a great solution foryou. Grocery shopping ismainstreamed, too, which brings meto my next tip:

5) Try Meal Prepping

The many fitness and health Instagrammers I follow boast about how great meal prepping is. It requires planning, but in return, you get foolproof, ready-made meals for the entire week. If you don’t like thinking about food or counting every tiny macronutrient, meal prepping may be a solution to try out! I have started to do it with breakfasts, since I never have enough time in the morning to make something from scratch, and with the prep, I know that I’m eating something healthy and it’s one less thing to worry about.

6) Bet on Yourself... Really!

So, you have all this knowledge, but still no motivation. Frankly, what’s better motivation than money? I just finished a game on Diet Bet, where you bet money on yourself (usually a set amount) and are given a goal to reach by the end of the game. If you reach it, you win all the money in the pot, and if not, you still have a community at your fingertips and satisfaction of completion. For me, it was excellent motivation, especially when you see others competing. It awakened some fighting spirit in me!

You can also do this without handing over money on the internet - for example, set a goal for yourself in a certain amount of time, one that’s reasonable and achievable. Decide on a reward to strive to if you should reach that goal. It’s a great motivator and a segue into goal setting, which I find most important in seeing through a journey. Rewarding yourself along the way for small victories and seeing the bigger picture helps

7) Love Yourself No Matter What

Even with all the necessaryinformation, the support system, thedesire and want, sometimes it’s notenough. I’ve been in that mindset,and the resulting up and down, foryears. The important thing toremember is that it is perfectly okay.You may not be ready this time -physically, mentally, emotionally - butit doesn’t mean you have to give up.The most important piece toremember is that a part of your goalshould be to love yourself, howeveryou may define it. Whatever thatlooks like for you is what you shouldstrive for whenever you can. It’s so

easy to get upset when things go wrong, and dismiss everything you’ve done based on one mistake. But this is all part of the process. This is the reason that calling a “New Year’s Resolution” is faulty - it cements you into a short time period, when in reality, this process is unfinished. You are constantly changing and growing, and with that comes bumpy times. Our darkest days can overshadow the good, but know that it gets better. Stay positive and never lose sight of what you want most.

By Sara Taylor Mermelstein