Get & Stay Motivated to Live a Healthy Lifestyle With Amanda Ah Sue! by Christine Jones

One of the hardest parts of living a healthy lifestyle can be finding the motivation to start and then sticking with it. At this week's #30SecondMom Twitter chat we talked with 30Second Mom contributor Amanda Ah Sue, founder of Work Week Fitness. Amanda is committed to helping other busy women create healthy lifestyles without diets or trainers. Here's some of the fit-tastic wisdom she shared!

Q: Let's get real. What's the biggest roadblock that keeps you from starting a healthy lifestyle?

• Roadblock 1: When I started my journey, I wasn't sure how to workout. I was totally lost.
• Roadblock 2: I had a negative attitude. Not just about being healthy, but I found myself just being negative about life.
• Roadblock 3: Loss of hope. Who else has been discouraged thinking "realistic," "sustainable" and "healthy" don't go together?
• Roadblock 4: Healthy can be overwhelming. How do you know where to start? (Read my whole blog post here.)

@CYJones30 @workweekfitness A1 ME! I have time, but lack some motivation #30secondmom

— Toni B (@rychepet) September 15, 2016

Q: One way to get back healthy motivation is to debunk the myths! What are they? Any guesses?

• Myth 1: Healthy can't be realistic or sustainable. Failed diets and quick-fix exercise programs aren't your fault!
• Myth 2: Healthy equals time consuming. You've already made time for 90 percent of what you need to do!
• Myth 3: Healthy equals starving yourself. Eating healthy food actually means you can eat more with fewer calories. Ironic?
• Myth 3: Want examples of how you can eat more with healthy options? Click here.
• Myth 4: Healthy equals boring and repetitive. The whole reason I say you should learn to create your own healthy lifestyle.
• Myth 5: There's only one effective way to workout. FALSE! Here's a free list of 55 ways to exercise!

LOL @chefgigi snacks are necessary! I try to keep healthy snacks around so it's easier #30secondmom

— Amanda Ah Sue (@workweekfitness) September 15, 2016

@workweekfitness That's a hard concept to grasp, but I believe it....I'm more full from 1 cucumber than a bag of chips! #30secondmom

— Toni B (@rychepet) September 15, 2016

Q: Let’s really dive into getting motivated to make healthy changes. What should we do? Is there a checklist?

• Checklist 1: Know your starting point! Healthy changes are easier when you're realistic. Be honest with yourself. For help finding your starting point click here.
• Checklist 2: Identify your eating and exercising strengths and weaknesses and set healthy goals!
• Checklist 3: Self-reflect: How will your life (including family, friends, work, etc.) be impacted by healthy living?
• Checklist 4: Set big picture and checkpoint goals for your healthy lifestyle. What does your ideal look like? 
• Checklist 5: Identify and plan for potential obstacles. Will you face outside pressure? What are your weaknesses?
• Checklist 6: For a full (and free) healthy lifestyle motivation checklist, click here!

@workweekfitness @30secondmom #30secondmom And not have to feel guilty. everyone is different and likes to eat and do different things.

— lorri langmaid (@lorri1956) September 15, 2016

Q: You said a healthy lifestyle can be both realistic and sustainable. Can you give us more details?

• Realistic 1: Absolutely! First, diets fail because they're not catered to YOU/YOUR lifestyle. That is NOT your fault!
• Realistic 2: Healthy lifestyles are realistic and sustainable when you eat food you actually like and do exercise you enjoy.
• Realistic 3: Learning to create a healthy lifestyle on your own lets you take back control, which means no excuses!
• Realistic 4: Most diets and programs are 7 to 90 days. You need something for a lifetime. That comes from knowledge and balance.

@workweekfitness absolutely. Mini goals on the way to the larger one. That also helps to keep motivation #30secondmom

— healthy fit with jen (@JFoYoHealth) September 15, 2016

Q: Any advice for how to stay motivated? Sometimes enduring is way harder than starting a healthy lifestyle.

• Advice 1: It starts with having some solid motivation. What do you really care about? What will drive you to make healthy changes?
• Advice 2: Making realistic goals with checkpoint goals helps make it easier to see progress with your healthy changes.
• Advice 3: Sometimes you need to just do it. Get out of bed, cook a healthy meal and/or show up at the gym.

#30secondmom @workweekfitness Weigh in , drink coffee think how u feel after u exercise @rychepet

— Chefgigi (@chefgigi) September 15, 2016

Q: Can we talk about all the pressure to break healthy habits? What do we do when people aren't supportive?

• Pressure 1: Social pressure: Build your foundation of motivation so it's easier to say no when you want to. 
• Pressure 2: Family pressure: Help them understand why healthy changes are so important to you and ask for their support.
• Pressure 3: Cultural pressure: Plan ahead, know when you can and can't make exceptions, and try to find solutions together.
• Pressure 4: Workplace pressure: Make healthy suggestions for the office that will benefit the whole company.
• Pressure 5: Get more information here on dealing with peer pressure to break healthy habits!

@30secondmom @workweekfitness #30secondmom A6 Try and ignore them. Don't let anyone make you feel bad about doing good for yourself

— lorri langmaid (@lorri1956) September 15, 2016

Q: What if I fail at my new healthy lifestyle?

Fail 1: We ALL fail and that's totally fine! Our failures make us stronger. Just get up and get going again. Diets don’t work!

Fail 2: If you get up every time you fail, you'll be further ahead each time. Celebrate all progress!

Fail 3: Long- term perspective – that's what keeps me going. What keeps you going?

Fail 4: Read my full post on turning failures into successes here! 

@30secondmom @workweekfitness #HealthyLifestyle? #30secondmom A7 i would think just like with a resolution. Turn the page and start again

— lorri langmaid (@lorri1956) September 15, 2016

Be sure to follow @workweekfitness, visit her site, WorkweekFitness.com, like her on Facebook and visit her 30Second Mom page!