An Easy Transition in to a Healthy Lifestyle

Any average person that’s tried to start exercising and eating properly can tell you fitness and lifestyle management isn’t an easy task to take on. There’s a lot of information to absorb, many habits to change and various obstacles that get in the way of achieving goals. The whole process can be very overwhelming.

There are people that have been eating healthy and living actively since childhood. They have no problem taking it up a notch to obtain their goals. This article is not for those people.

Here are tips to a successful transition:

1. The very first change has nothing to do with diet or exercise at all. It’s actually quite simple. You must convince yourself you are doing the right thing. You are, after all.

You want to lose weight and be healthy. Why? Keep the answer close to you. Visualize what these changes will mean for you. Daydream. Who do you want to be? What do you want to look like? Where do you want to buy your clothes? Picture yourself already months ahead exercising and eating right.

This first tip will make or break you. If you are in the gym but loathing every second of this “chore,” you are setting yourself up for failure. If you are taking up fitness as a hobby and excited to get in a work out, you are going to reach your goals and love every minute of it.

2. When you start, make it your first priority to get in to the habit of being active. I won’t lie, for the first few weeks it will be tough. My suggestion is to have a reward waiting. Let’s not make it anything habitual or costly, like food or shopping.

Here is an example of a first week fitness goal:
“If I go on the treadmill for 15 minutes today I will allow myself to get in to my P.J’s early and watch TV guilt free.”

2. (b) It also helps to know the benefits of what you are doing. If you don’t know why, you don’t know what’s to be gained for your time and effort. It’s probably not going to keep you interested for very long.

Did you know just 20 minutes of cardio activity begins to improve heart health? That means your heart is working less hard, your stamina improves and every physical activity you do in life becomes easier. Not to mention losing weight, lowering (bad) cholesterol and assisting with stress management.

3. If you are in decent health (you should have a medical examination before starting a fitness plan) I suggest not worrying about anything else but getting 30-60 accumulated minutes of activity a day (this is easy because it can be anything from walking the dog to cleaning the house) and doing cardio workouts (moderate effort) for 10-15 minutes 2-3 times/week. Eventually increase cardio by 5 minute at a time, and the days to 5-6.

A good speed to start walking on the treadmill is 3.0-3.5. A brisk pace is 4.0 and a very brisk pace is 4.5. On other fitness equipment like the elliptical or stair climber, level 2-4 is a good place to start. If you begin to lose your breath or feel uncomfortable in any way slow down. Don’t stop (you want your blood to keep circulating) but take it easy until you recover.

Eventually you will add in training techniques, target heart rate and distance. Trying to do it all at once will be overwhelming. Adding new things in as you progress will keep things fresh and exciting.

4. Nutrition is tough to take on. Most people love their food and why not? Food is delicious! The trick to a successful “diet” is to avoid deprivation. It’s all about moderation and quality food choices. If you are trying to lose weight and you are living off of lettuce you will eventually binge. The fat you DO eat sticks with you even more because your body knows it’s starving. It will hold on to every ounce of fat it can get! Search the web and cookbooks for nutritious and exciting dishes to replace fast, fatty and fried food.

Here’s some great news! If you crave chocolate let yourself have some! Instead of eating a whole milk chocolate bar, eat a square of dark chocolate. It satisfies the craving quickly and has health benefits.

5. Many beginners run in to obstacles that discourage them. The truth is, life is ever changing and there will always be obstacles. You just need to learn how to adjust your new lifestyle to them.

So you overate at 3 business lunches this week and only made it in to the gym once…

A bad week can and does make people stop working out. It’s easy to be discouraged if you believe you threw away a week of hard work. Fitness is for life though. One week is nothing in comparison to that. Plus there’s always something you can do to make up for it. If you had to work late and missed the gym, get off the subway/bus 20 minutes before your normal stop and walk home. Or do some crunches and push ups in front of the TV. There’s always another way so don’t let life’s little problems get in your way.

Let’s face it; there are not too many things in life we can control. The one thing we do have some say over is how we treat our own bodies. Challenging yourself and making personal goals is a doorway to greater things. Once you know you can accomplish something for yourself, you will have the confidence and mental focus to make achievements in other areas of your life. Just take it one day at a time, give yourself time to adjust and don’t get discouraged along the way and you will do it!

Now get out there!