Vision Personal Training Kogarah's Guide to Weight loss and Fitness
They say starting is the hardest part : and this also depends on a number of factors: Are you a first time exerciser? Are you terrified of 'gyms'? Have you taken a long break from exercise? You may ask yourself how to start a diet or eating right?
Healthy living isn't easy. For some, it comes naturally, but for those folks who are already overweight-large enough that it's difficult or even painful to do what thinner people can do-it's even tougher to get started. How to start a diet too?
Here are some tips to help.
Ever since I was a teenager I've struggled with my weight. Not necessarily from a health perspective-I've always been pretty healthy, but I've struggled because I want to look better, feel more energetic, and get all of those great benefits that fitness offers. However, when you're already overweight, a lot of the activities that other people just pick up without trying are either impossible or feel like death. High Intensity Interval Training? Hot yoga? Insanity? Crossfit? Even jogging? You've got to be kidding.
It's not that those workouts don't work. It's just that doing them when you're a beginner, or large enough that they do more harm than good is a ticket to hating and giving up early, and feeling ashamed for ever having bothered to try. Keep in mind, we're not just talking about someone who's a tad overweight, where you can push past the discomfort. We're talking about those of us who have enough extra weight on our bodies that jumping into a running regimen or Crossfit workout isn't just unpleasant, it's painful, and can be harmful to your health.
How to start exercising and how to start a diet : Tip One- Don't be too hard on yourself!
Those who beat themselves up for getting to the point that they've gotten to are more likely to fail. There is a very scientific reason to this. If you come from a place of guilt, then you exhibit a fixed mentality rather than a growth mentality. Any slip ups that you have along the way are therefore viewed as a character failure. Research shows that self-compassion, however, allows you to think of exercise with a growth mindset-as a skill-something that you can improve.
"One last thing I want to mention...Being overweight is not a character flaw by any means."
Too frequently will people think that they're overweight because "something is wrong with them" and that's the furthest thing from the truth. Focusing on your clothes size, waistline, reflection in the mirror, and so on are all short-term motivators that don't adapt with you.
Instead, concentrate on the long term benefits, and use the immediate ones as a motivational push. In short, make your fitness plans because you love yourself and want to be the best, healthiest possible you that you can be-whatever size or shape that involves.
Tip Two - How to start being healthy : Be realistic and plan to fail!
If you expect to just hop on a stationary bike, start lifting, or turn your diet upside down without challenges or setbacks, you're setting yourself up for trouble. Approach your health and fitness goals like you would any other skill that you're learning.
If you fell and scraped your knee the first time you attempted to ride a bike, you wouldn't beat yourself up and say "Shit, something is horribly wrong with me...I just don't have the willpower and discipline required to ride this bike," would you? Nope, you'd realize that you just don't have that skill yet. You just need to get better at it and learn how to control the bike when you hit different terrain...a bumpy road or a patch of grass, for example.
How silly is it that when people attempt to lose weight-often by reducing it to "eat less, move more"-then fail, they think that they're lazy? Undisciplined? They feel guilty and horrible about themselves, rather than think about what caused them to slip up-how to control the bike past a new terrain.
If there's one thing that you take away from all of this, is that it's important in this entire journey to be self-compassionate.
How to start exercisingTip 3 : Find Something You Enjoy Doing, and Start From There
Getting into the right mindset is only half the battle. The rest, obviously, is actually putting your plans into motion. If you're already struggling with your weight, or if you have no idea where to start, this can be one of the biggest hurdles to get over. What kind of exercise should you do, and how much? How can you tell if it's working? How can you get the biggest bang for your diet and exercise buck, as it were?
Frankly, the best response to all of these questions is to ignore them. If you focus on results out of the gate, or think in terms of optimal benefit instead of building habits, you're already on the wrong track
When considering how to start exercising and how to start a diet, stop the consideration phase. Just do it -and if you can get started on the right foot, your chances of sticking with your changes and making real, long-lasting, meaningful lifestyle changes is that much higher. Before long, your exercise habits will be routine, and the results you'll see from them (and from proper nutrition), will be side benefits to a healthy lifestyle. It's the long way, but it's certainly the best way.
*Disclaimer: Individual results vary based on agreed goals. Click here for details.
