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In Part I of Getting Fit – Kickstarting a Healthier Lifestyle – I talked about some tips for starting, or restarting, your healthy living journey. Today I’m going to be telling you a few things that you may not know yet about what may happen when you start on this new lifestyle.

It Takes Time – We live in an age of instant gratification. You can have your food delivered, have a car arrive at your front door, or even have online orders delivered within minutes. But the truth about getting healthier is that it takes time. And there’s no crash diet or workout routine or magic pill or drink that will circumvent that time.

Weight Isn’t Everything – This tip is a two-parter. First, building lean muscle can result in gaining, not losing, weight. It may seem counterintuitive that you’re gaining weight as you get healthier, but it’s a natural side effect. Don’t be alarmed and don’t skip weight training out of fear of weight gain. And second – Don’t weigh yourself daily. That’s more likely to increase your stress, make you feel like the process is hopeless, or even lead to disordered behaviors. Instead, try taking progress photos or measurements that you can review every few weeks or once a month. That’ll show you the progress you’re making without letting yourself get upset about (completely normal) daily fluctuations in weight.

You’ll Eat More – When you workout more, you eat more. The key is to reach for healthy, whole food-based meals and try to get protein in each meal. Don’t think that because you worked out, you can reward yourself with a pizza or takeout or ice cream. Remember – You can’t out train a bad diet.

The Bloat Is REAL – One of the first steps towards a healthier lifestyle is cutting out processed foods and increasing your consumption of whole foods, fruits, and vegetables. And while that helps your body get the micronutrients that you need, it can also lead to bloating. One way to help with the bloating is to ease into whole foods little by little. Another tip is to increase your water intake.

You’ll Need to Shop – While gaining muscle and losing fat are wonderful things, they can often mean a shift in your body type and proportions. Which means clothes that you love or that have always fit, may no longer be comfortable. Rather than seeing it as a bad thing or being frustrated that you can’t wear anything but yoga pants, you can set a challenge and reward yourself with some much-needed shopping.

Dry Shampoo is Life – My sweaty sisters out there will already know this, but once you amp up your workouts, you’ll find that your hair can be a bit of a mess. You’re not going to wash your hair daily or restyle it after every workout – Enter dry shampoo!

Do YOU have any tips for people working on getting fit?