1 Comment / budget, debt, eating healthy, Fitness / By Amber Masters / April 15, 2018
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Have you ever heard of the place “Some Isle” — really spelled “Someday I’ll”? Brian Tracy talks about it in his famous book, “No Excuses.” Someday I’ll… quit my job and go for my dream job. Someday I’ll… start a blog. Someday I’ll.. get that beach body. Someday I’ll…. [insert whatever you have been putting off.” I found myself thinking, “Someday I’ll get back into shape.” Because, I thought, it is surely impossible to get a beach body on a budget. Not so!
With summer JUST around the corner, it’s definitely crunch time to get your beach body. And you can actually SAVE money getting into shape using the following techniques. It’s time to vote yourself off of Someday Isle! Here’s how.
PLAN AND PREPARE YOUR MEALS IN ADVANCE
One of the best ways to get a beach body on a budget is to plan and prepare you meals in advance. This means that about once a week, you will sit down and plan what snacks you’ll get for the week, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Then, you will go out and buy those things and prepare them in advance. You can freeze them or store them in the fridge if they are perishable. Having healthy meals and snacks on hand does two things– 1) it will keep you from binging on unhealthy foods not conducive to a beach bod and 2) it will keep you from going out and buying expensive convenience foods in the moment when you are hungry.
PAIR “GOOD” CARBOHYDRATES WITH INEXPENSIVE LEAN PROTEIN
Each of your meals (and snacks) should pair a complex carbohydrate with a lean protein. For example, brown rice and chicken. Find inexpensive proteins and carbohydrates to pair together. For example, you could combine Greek yogurt (protein) with a handful of berries (carb)
WORKOUT WITHOUT AN EXPENSIVE GYM
I think one of the most eye opening things for me in my own personal quest to get a beach body on a budget was the fact that you really don’t need an expensive gym to do so! There are PLENTY of exercises you can do from the comfort of your own home. You can also run, bike, swim, hike, skate, or perform sundry other exercises outside. Get creative! And if you aren’t creative, you can easily search for free at home workouts on youtube, or grab a free copy of our 30 day fitness and finance challenge for four weeks of free at home style workouts.
MOVE WHILE YOU WORK
Another easy way to get a beach body on a budget is to keep yourself moving throughout the day. If you have a job where you sit at a desk all day, be sure to get up every hour and move. Do push ups, jumping jacks, or take a walk around the office. Remember, weight loss is really just a game of calories in versus calories out.
EAT AT HOME
Eating at home versus eating at a restaurant or fast food joint can easily save you tons of money. If you prepare and plan
PORTION CONTROL
An obvious way to get a beach body on a budget is to eat less. The less you eat, the more money you save. 😉 Just don’t get too crazy about this. Simply don’t overeat. Don’t under-eat either.
USE FREE APPS TO TRACK YOUR CALORIES OR MACROS
Another great way to get a beach body on a budget is to use a free app on your smart phone to track your calories and or macros. Be sure to enter what you ate immediately after you eat so that you can accurately calculate it.
SHOP SALES AND STOCK UP
Check your local grocer’s ad for items that are on sale each week. Generally, you can expect to see the same products on sale about every 6 weeks. That means that you should stock up on however much of that product you will need for 6 weeks to ensure that you are getting the best prices. For example, imagine that chicken breasts go on sale for $1.09 per lb when they are normally $1.99 per lb. You should buy enough chicken breasts to last you 6 weeks, until they go on sale again.
AVOID EXPENSIVE GIMMICKS
There are so many crazy/expensive diets and weight loss products out there. You can get a beach body on a budget without all the fuss! Avoid expensive protein bars, pills, and weight loss programs. Losing weight is actually not that complicated. All you really need to focus on is eating less sugar (and other high calorie foods) and eating more protein and low calorie foods (i.e. vegetables). You really don’t need the expensive gimmicks. If you need more help on figuring out what to eat, check out my FREE 30 day fitness and finance challenge that offers some great suggestions.
RUN, WALK, OR BIKE ON YOUR COMMUTE (IF POSSIBLE)
If you live close enough, consider running, walking, or biking to work or to run any of your other errands. You’ll save money on gas AND burn calories on your way. That is a win-win.
USE FREE CASH BACK APPS
If you aren’t already using cash back apps for your regular grocery shopping you need to start now! You can get money back for the things you are already purchasing using apps such as Ibotta. All you do is upload your receipt into their app. If any rebates match your purchases, you’ll earn cash back. I earn from Ibotta just about every single time I shop. It is the EASIEST way to save.
GROW YOUR OWN FOOD
Have you ever considered growing some of your own food? Gardening is a lot more doable than you might think, and you can even grow some foods inside. Read about how to make your garden worth it financially here.
DRINK WATER
Substitute expensive sodas, diet sodas, and any other drink for water. It’s better for you, helps you feel full, and is inexpensive.
Getting a beach body on a budget is completely doable. You might even find that you saved more money eating healthy on your beach body quest than you would have eating how you would otherwise.
Need more ideas? You can download our FREE 30 day fitness and finance challenge HERE or you can download the 12 week version here.
What things do you to to save money and stay in shape? I’d love to hear from you!
This post contains affiliate/referral links for products or services that I actually use. If you make a purchase through one of my links, I may get a small percentage of the sale even though the price to you is either discounted or the same.
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