So many decisions we make in our lives seem to be transient, inconsequential, and disposable. Decisions about your health and nutrition shouldn’t be. It’s coming up to that time of year when people like to make new years resolutions. Probably the number one resolution everyone wants to make, is to lose weight. So, come January, all the treadmills become busy, the fitness classes end up with waiting lists, and all the courts start getting booked fast. Do yourself a favor, if you need to get more fit, lose weight, eat better, or live healthier, then don’t start in January. Instead, start today. Right now. Do something that makes your life better today. There are quite a few things you can do, and it doesn’t have to be something crazy like running twenty miles. Here’s a few ideas for starters.
Do a little research into healthy living. If your reading this article, then chances are pretty good that your on the internet. So, that means you have an entire library of information at your finger tips about all kinds of healthy living choices. Sure, I know there’s a lot of misinformation out there, but don’t let that discourage you. Be persistent, this is your life and your health were talking about. Start with Googling a few things, and just keep on reading. Sure, your going to come across a lot of misinformation and bad advice. You’ll run into a lot of sites that want to do nothing but sell you stuff and provide little advice. But if you stick with it long enough, eventually you will find what your looking advice. If you read enough information, you will eventually start to see some convergence. There will be certain suggestions and information that start to get repeated by fitness experts over and over. Those are the items you want to remember.
Start with healthy food choices. Don’t worry about the whole exercise and physical activity thing right away. Don’t worry we’ll get to it. What you need to do first of all, is get your eating habits in order. You may think your eating pretty healthy, but you may be surprised. One of the best things you can do for yourself, is to start logging everything you eat. And, when I say everything, I mean everything. If you eat a peanut, or chew a piece of gum, you need to write it down. Keep a log. Then, you need to start reading labels. You need to know what your putting in your body. How many carbs (fiber / sugars) are in that granola bar your eating? How about that apple, chicken, or beer? Most people have no idea what they’re putting in their body. You log should keep track of the carbs / proteins / sugars / fibers / fats your eating in your foods as well. You may be surprised.
Food is your foundation, once you get that right, the exercise and physical activities get a lot easier. So many people find working out hard and painfully strenuous. Well, you may think it’s because your out of shape, but that’s only half the answer. The other half is that you’ve got the wrong fuel in your body. If you dumped a cup of sugar into the gas tank of your car, how well do you think it would run? Well, your body works the same way. Feed it the right foods, and those workouts will get easier, and a lot more fun.
Don try to lose weight, get fit instead. What you want to do is get fit. I know, it’s a hard thing to get through your head, but working out to lose weight is just a bad idea right from the start. What you want to do, is get fit. Getting fit means getting stronger, it means getting faster, it means getting more flexible, it means increasing your aerobic endurance. What you really want, is to get fit. Forget about losing weight. It’s simply the wrong approach. While there’s no doubt, that doing all the things to get fit will also cause you to lose weight, it’s just a better mindset. Losing weight should be though of as just a symptom of getting fit. When your fit, you can do so much more. I love being stronger, faster and more flexible in my everyday life. Lifting groceries, playing with the kids, shoveling snow, or just running around. It all becomes so much easier when your more fit.
Work hard to make it easier. I have a number of very intense workouts that I’m doing these days. Intense to the point, that I can’t do them one percent. I do weight training, yoga, plyometrics, core training and I play squash. But, I do have a goal in mind. What I want, is for those routines to become easy for me. Right now, it’s tough. I have to work hard, sweat, and really push myself to get through them. But, it is getting a bit easier. At least parts of them are getting easier. And I know, that if I stick with those routines they will get to the point where they’re easy. By the time I get there, I will be in the most amazing shape of my life. I know that, because just being able to do them at 75% or so now, I’m already in better shape then I’ve been in for years. It will probably take me the better part of a year to get there. But that’s ok.
I’m in this for the long haul. And by that, I mean for the rest of my life. Once you get to the level of fitness you want, then it becomes a whole lot easier to stay there. It’s just maintenance. I’ve heard people say, I don’t want to work to get a six pack, it’s just too hard to maintain. Well, let me tell you people, maintaining a level of fitness is a whole lot easier then trying to improve your level of fitness. Believe me, I’ve done both. Once I get as fit as I want to be, life get’s a whole lot easier, and a lot more fun.
