The winner of Everyday Happy Herbivore by random drawing is BRUCE! We will be contacting you soon! We will be having more giveaways soon, in the meantime if you want to pick up Everyday Happy Herbivore it is on sale with Amazon right now 
This month we are going to hear from people in our E2 family about ways they got moving and the activities they enjoy the most! We thought we’d kick it off by giving you some tips about moving your body.
1. You don’t have to do a certain type of workout. If you hate going the gym, don’t go. If you don’t enjoy being on a treadmill, jump off that thing! If you do not enjoy the bike, skip it. The key to long term success with working out is to find something you LOVE to do. Maybe that is hiking, or basketball, or dancing, whatever it is make sure your heart rate gets up and you enjoy doing it.
2. Fidget! One of the key differences between thin people and overweight people is that thin people tend to fidget more. What does this mean? Stand up more, step side to side, try not to sit as much at work (consider getting a standing desk) get up and down more during the day. If you watch TV get up during commercials and move around. Clean the house more (win/win!). Put music on and dance! Find ways to get extra movement through out your entire day. If you are sitting ask yourself, “could I be moving right now?”
3. Know that there are a lot of different benefits to working out than just burning calories. In fact, burning calories is a very small part of losing weight. Your weight loss will primarily come from eating a plant-strong diet. Working out does things like increase bone density, improves mental clarity, helps with depression, helps your lungs, helps with sleeping, circulation and more. Psychologically we find that people workout tend to have a much easier time sticking to their plant-strong life because they don’t want to waste that 500 calories they burned on a few bites of junk food!
4. Start small. You don’t have to start out with hour a day workouts. Try going out for a 10 minute walk today, tomorrow maybe go for 15 minutes, the next day 20 minutes.
5. Know your body. If you have physical limitations, find things that will work with them. It is also always a good idea to get your blood work/physical done with your doctor to see where you are starting from and to see if there is anything you need to be aware of before starting out.
7. Try a little of everything. We have the same philosophy about eating plant-strong! Don’t give up because you didn’t enjoy the first thing you tried. Maybe make it a goal to try 10 different ways to workout (this month should help you find things that you are interested in). But the key is to keep looking for something until you find something you love. The other thing to keep in mind, sometimes you might think you will absolutely HATE something but then find out that it is a perfect fit. Remember 1 class, video, or workout is not going to do you harm, if you don’t like it, you don’t have to return to that same activity.
8. Find a workout buddy! This can really help! Find someone to go for a walk with you, meet you at the gym, check out a zumba class. Maybe you and your partner can sign up for dance lessons! Having someone to join you is always a win/win situation.
9. Make sure you have the right equipment. Make an investment in decent sneakers, have a nice water bottle, if you are taking a class ask what the best gear is to have. Also, make sure you have comfortable workout clothes that are not too loose (when things are baggy it can be a hazard in some workouts). If you are prepared, chances are you will enjoy the experience a lot more.
10. Trip over your gym bag! This is by far the best thing to do to get in a good habit. Make sure every thing you need to workout is ready to go. Put your gym bag in front of your door so that you have to do something about it. Make sure every thing is the way it needs to be so that you can be ready for your workout. If you don’t prepare, you won’t make it a habit.
We can’t wait to hear some of your stories about your favorite way to get a great workout! If you’d like to be a guest blogger in this series, please send us an e-mail: engine2family@gmail.com
