This post is sponsored by Always Eat After 7, however, all opinions are my own.

Having strong physical, mental and emotional wellbeing is important for those who want to live and work productively in the world. Taking care of your body boosts your well-being pretty fast. Eating well, proper exercises and daily water intake call almost instantly boost your wellbeing, giving you more energy and more positive outlook on life.

It has been a struggle to find a way to lose the baby weight that has lingered around after having five kids. Truth be told, my willpower when it comes to dieting was never that great. Over the last few months, however, I have made a bigger commitment to doing and being a better me.

As I have worked diligently to better my eating habits, I was excited to get a chance to preview the new book by Joel Marion “Always Eat After 7 pm.”

Marion is a fitness expert and nutritionist, who is debunking the myths underlying traditional dieting and offers a simple, highly effective weight loss program. 

What I have enjoyed the most about this program, is that I did not have to shock my system into a radical change. The Always Eat After 7 PM has a 14-day Acceleration Phase to kick-start the program and see rapid results. Once this portion is complete, you then move on to the Main Phase where you’ll learn exactly which foods to eat when in order to achieve your weight-loss goals. Lastly, there is the Lifestyle Phase that helps you to keep the weight off for good.

“Always Eat After 7 pm is a three-phase program that teaches you how to lose big by strategically eating big when you are naturally hungriest—in the evening. This may sound too good to be true, but let me assure you it is no gimmick. It’s all about making strategic and smart food swaps, and you can still eat your favorite foods.”

I was able to start with the 16:8 Intermittent Fasting method Joel mentions in his book. He recommends that you fast for at least 12 hours. With the 16:8 method, I fast a minimum of 16 hours and eat during an eight hour period. While fasting for that extended period of time may appear to be difficult, I was probably one of the easier techniques I have ever completed. What I enjoyed is that it motivated me to ensure I stay hydrated, by increasing my water intake. I could drink regular water or lemon or mint water.

I also did not have to give my regular morning cup of black coffee. That is definitely a win for me (and my entire family!).

If you want to hear from the author himself, and get more amazing tips from the video, you can watch here.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Staying consistent with exercising can be tough until you get into the habit. If you are anything like me, you want to see results immediately. Unfortunately, when it comes to weight loss, it is not immediate. Once you truly understand that part, you are one step closer to achieving your goal. Consistent exercise makes me feel better mentally and physically. Getting to that point where I am consistent is a different story. So here are a few tips that I have found that can help you stay on track.

Set Small Goals

I wouldn’t suggest right out of the gate that you say you are going to work out two hours a day, seven days a week. If you actually can, that’s great, but it’s best to try and be realistic. Right now my goal is 30 minutes a day three days a week. That’s a lot more doable than trying to commit me to something every single day. The best part is, on the days that I surpass my 30 minutes goal, I feel great. Not only that, there are also days where I can sneak in an extra 30-45 minutes (right after the kid’s bedtime). That in itself is another reward. Is your goal weight loss? Remember to keep that realistic as well. If you want to lose sixty pounds, aim for a goal of 9 months to 1 year to achieve it. If you want to lose 60 pounds by June for swimsuit season, while not impossible, it’s not healthy. Definitely, make sure that you are going about your weight loss the right way.

Reward Yourself

If you were able to sneak in that extra workout, lost a few pounds or if you met all of your goals for the week, make sure you treat yourself. Whether it’s getting your nails done or buying a new outfit, make sure you celebrate every milestone, no matter how big or small.

Schedule Your Workouts

The key to consistency is planning. Even as parents we have to plan all kinds of things in advance for our kids, so why not plan out your workouts? If your kids take naps from 11:30-2:30, you can say ‘hey I’m gonna workout from 12:30-1:00, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday”. If your kids go to bed at 7:30, set your workouts from 8:00 pm to 8:30 pm on certain nights. Knowing in advance that you have something to do, will make it easier for you to stick to it. Put it on your calendar, whether you are old fashioned and use a written one or if it’s on your phone. Set an alarm if you have too. Once it is down on paper (or in your phone), just tell yourself that you HAVE to do it!

Take a Cheat Day

It’s okay to cheat. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. If you are doing well with your workouts and eating habits, don’t feel bad if you let your guard down every now and then and sneak a peanut butter cup or if you decide to catch a movie instead of working out. If you end up being too hard on yourself, you will burn out quickly, or worse you will hate working out, and you won’t ever do it.

Remember it takes 21 days to change a habit, and 90 days to create a lifestyle.