Save More with Increased Fitness Levels
If you've read here for the past 4 years then you know that I was super focused on fitness and weight loss the first year of publishing the site. I used to publish my weekly efforts to achieve my weight loss goal in the Fat Burnin' Friday posts.
During that time, I was 5 pounds from my goal weight. I've added and lost pounds since then and am now 15 pounds from my goal weight. I haven't been focused on fitness like I used to be. No movement is headed in the right direction towards achieving my goal.
OK, so this is about how fitness relates to savings, let me get back to that. Increasing your overall fitness level can help save in many areas of your life, including health care and grocery savings.
Mental Health
When I worked out regularly, I was close to the happiest I have been in my adult life. When I was working out, I felt good not about how I looked but about how I felt. I'm not clinically depressed and I don't have body image issues (well, no more than the next mom who has birthed three children has at least). I felt good about the example I was showing my kids and the mother I was to them.
To be very honest, when I get upset I am a screamer. When I was working out regular, I didn't yell near as much. Now, I can't guarantee that won't happen when I focus on fitness again. I now have a pre-teen who tries me EVERY minute. I'm hopeful the parental testing will be more tolerable at least. I'm not a horrible mom now but I am completely aware that I less stupid stuff bother me more now versus when I was regularly active.
When I was in a regular routine, I took pride in my health so my kids could see that your body can do things you never though it could. I would have NEVER thought running a 5k was a possibility, yet I have run several. They saw a mom who could do anything in their eyes as they cheered me on at the finish line of the races they attended. That is the example I want to show them everyday – push yourself to the limits and achieve your own level of success.
OBG Post: Weight Loss on a Budget
Physical Health
It's an obvious one. The lower your BMI, the fewer risks you have for developing chronic health disease. When I really started to focus on weight loss, I personally feel I was on the verge of being pre-diabetic (based on my family members' symptoms, and yes I was diagnosing myself). As soon as I started exercising regularly and eating a diet in lean protein with more fiber and my daily dose of nutrients, the symptoms went away. OH, and my weight dropped a lot (a total of 70 pounds if you remember my posts).
So how does this all relate to savings? The better your mental and physical health are, the more you will save on doctor visits, RX's and therapy.
Grocery Savings
Through minimal planning and purchasing grocery items that you can save on, you will have meals that are way less than joining something like Jenny Craig or Nutrisystem. It is a time investment and you know I believe time is money. The ROI with this time investment will pay you in the years ahead which can equate to literally thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.
As I mentioned many times before, losing weight doesn't have to cost a fortune. The unhealthy foods cost just as much as the healthy ones. Add a chicken breast with in-season veggies or a salad and a baked potato or jazzed up brown rice (whole grain and not instant). That meal is so inexpensive and packed with the right nutrition anyone's body needs!
OBG Post: Achieving a Healthy Weight Loss: 5 More Tips
So this is a savings tip and a personal goal. The past two years of building this site have taken my focus off of my health. I personally want to start running again. I was running consistently in the summer and didn't see any weight loss with the miles I put in each week. It was really discouraging and I finally just stopped.
Starting to run again is more mental than having the time or anything mental (since running was truly as much of a mental exercise of endurance as it was a physical exercise of movement for me). Although, I will be traveling more this year so I need to figure out how I can be committed to a routine, crazier hours and run (mostly on a treadmill which I loathe). Your tips would be appreciated!
This year, I want to have my family workout together. I would love nothing more than Paul, T and I to run a race together. Caleb may be able to do a 5k but Andon is still too little. I want my boys to see a mom who is healthy inside. To see a mom that would never ask them to do something that she wouldn't personally do herself.
Hey, we could use our exercise time together as therapy. Free therapy. Give us a little Toby Mac and the pavement…it's good for the soul. That is priceless.
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