However you feel about health and fitness, you cannot deny that we now live in a world that is becoming more and more obsessed with fitness and healthy eating. We are bombarded as we walk down the street with health stores popping up left, right and center, billboards advertising the latest celebrity fitness DVD and eating plan, social media timelines filled with people selling all sorts of shakes and pills to make us healthy, and bloggers all over the place telling us about their workouts. 

That’s fine if you love the gym, and enjoy supping on a superfood smoothie in the mornings, but for those who are a bit ambivalent towards health and fitness, it can all get a little bit boring. It feels like sometimes if you don’t go big, you might as well not go for it all. However, we know how important it is to lead a healthy lifestyle, so here, we have put together some realistic tips and tricks to help you – without it taking over your life.

Start off on the right foot

If you can get your workout out of the way first thing in the morning, there is much less chance of you putting it off later in the day. Hop out of bed, get your workout clothes on (although watch out for fake sportswear, it’s never quite as comfy or looks quite as good as the real thing!) and get into the gym or out for that run. The endorphins released from your workout will set you up nicely for the day and stop you reaching for the unhealthy comfort foods later in the day.

Make it a part of your everyday routine

If you really hate doing dedicated workouts, why not incorporate extra movement into your days? We should all be aiming to do around 30 minutes of exercise a day. This can easily be done with a few changes, such as getting off the bus a stop earlier, using the stairs instead of the elevator and parking at a space at the far end of the supermarket car park. All these little things soon add up!

Don’t deny yourself treats

One of the worst things that you can do is to deny yourself of all treats completely. Food is not ‘bad’ or ‘good’ – in moderation, pretty much everything is acceptable. If you give up the foods that you enjoy and demonize them, you’re much more likely to crave them and end up binging on them. Once you get stuck in that cycle, it is tough to get out of it. One slice of cake every so often is not going to make a difference to weight loss, so if you want it, go for it! You can also look at healthier alternatives to your favorites. If you love chocolate cake, why not look at recipes that sweeten them with beets or courgettes rather than sugar?

Getting fit is a journey, not a race, and it is a good idea to start slowly and build it up. What are some things you do or have done to help jump start your fitness routines?