How are those New Year’s resolutions working out for you? A lot of people start a new year with the best of intentions to change their eating habits, start a fitness routine and get in shape. However, without constant encouragement from family and friends some people just can’t seem to stay motivated to exercise and eat right. I’ll go back to writing product reviews on Monday, but today I would like to help you find a way to stay motivated this year!
Welcome To My Gym
If you need a bit of motivation to help you reach your fitness goals I would suggest you follow some of the blogs I read (listed below). On the right-hand side of this page you should see a partial list of the over 200 health and fitness blogs I follow (so glad I took that speed reading class). I wish WordPress would rotate the avatars (or as they call them, blavatars), but at the moment they only display the last fifty blogs I decided to follow. These avatars usually show a photo of the blogger (sometimes a logo) and if you move your cursor over the photo it tells you the name of their blog and their tagline. I just started using the widget that displays these avatars last week and, unfortunately, as soon as these avatars appeared I stopped following two of the blogs because I felt their avatars were very demeaning to women (and the sad thing is both of the bloggers were women!). Here are some of my favorite blogs (and I am so sorry if I forgot to mention your blog)…
Cyclists and Triathletes: Kent Peterson’s blog, aptly named Kent’s Bike Blog, is the blog I have followed for the longest length of time. There are two Minnesota-based blogs I thoroughly enjoy, The Adventures of Joboo and His Trusty Pugsley and Bill’s Magical Mystery Tour. Rounding out the list is Sip, Clip and Go (Massachusetts), IowaTriBob (Iowa), Tracy at SpringfieldCyclist (Missouri), elisariva (Ohio), and Elizabeth at Triathlon Obsession (New York). Annie at anniebikes is seasoned commuter who also loves to tour (Vermont). A little further away is Kitesurf Bike Rambling (UK). Jim at Fit Recovery is a recovering alcoholic/addict—I am not sure where he lives, but his blog is great!
Fitness, Weight Lifting and Body Building: You will notice that all the blogs in this section are written by women. I am not a sexist nor am I following these blogs for aesthetic reasons. However, if I am going to read an article about weightlifting or body building I would rather have the photo next to the article be of a smiling female than of some dude flexing his muscles with a strained look on his face that makes me think he needs to increase his intake of dietary fiber. Lisa Traugott at She’s Losing It! became my hero when I read that she does 400 lunges a day with a 50 pound weight! Dani Cee is a certified personal trainer and works as medical content writer and nutrition adviser. Joy is a certified personal fitness trainer and she writes at joyfitnessandstyle. Sara, a group exercise instructor, writes at Shh…Fit Happens. Sarah, a certified group fitness instructor, can be found at Strong, Fit, Beautiful. Katie at Fit Butt Fabulous is a first-grade teacher by day, health and fitness enthusiast by life. Newlywed Laura at Fit And Busy has a great motto on her site, “If you don’t make time for fitness now, you will have to make time for sickness later.” Joanna at Sports Bras And Sippy Cups is a fit momma who lifts more than just babies! Heather at Run Eat Play writes about every day life experiences with exercise, food, and family.
Diet and Nutrition: Even though I am not a vegan I enjoy reading what Laura at The Daily Meal has to say. Christy at Christy Fit is a fitness instructor and model, but she also has several recipes for great protein shakes. Even though she is no Martha Stewart, Doctorate Housewife also has some great recipes. You should also visit Carrie at Fitness And Frozen Grapes for some healthy, great-tasting recipes. Katie at Gettin’ My Healthy On is not a professional dietician, but she does have wonderful recipes (and a killer smile). Dr. Madeleine Vanstory at Rants, Rules & Recipes has an excellent blog—she explains why diets don’t work and why most food is garbage (you really need to visit this site).
Interesting People: Anita Mac is a world traveler and I enjoy reading her posts at traveldestinationbucketlist. Heather is an “explorer” with four young children and she writes at 7feetnorth. Melissa lives in a “small town in Illinois” and blogs at Spicy Homemaker. Stephanie at The Stolen Colon was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease in 1999 and her blog is both uplifting and inspiring. You should also see Anka at Keeping it Real and Melissa, a Michigan photographer, at Melissa Not Dusting. Erin at Hey Hey, Erin May is a designer, writer, marketer and all-over creative for hire. And last, but certainly not least, there is Irish Katie, a frequent commenter on this site and the proud mother of a teenage daughter.
