You want to get fitter, get healthier, improve your eating or exercise habits, lose weight, tone up...? But how? You're finding it difficult to get started or to find motivation to keep going. What's the secret? The "problem" with losing weight, getting fit etc etc is that there's no fast-track. Anyone who offers a magic bullet - lose half a stone per week, get fit in 3 minutes per day and all of that is just selling snake oil. So how can you not just start your journey but continue it as well? Well the good news is... 1. You don't have to be perfect all the time! You don't want to give up cake, biscuits, slumping on the sofa? No problem! You don't have to. Try an 80:20 approach - be "good" 80% of the time, but don't deny yourself life's pleasures. 2. A good starting place is 10,000 steps Possibly the best thing you can do to start your fitness journey is invest in a pedometer (I have a FitBit, but there are so many available starting at just a few pounds), which will help you to monitor your daily steps. If you can bear to, spend a few days at your current activity levels to get your starting point (most people in the U.K. average 4,000-6,000 steps per day), then try to increase this by 2,000-3,000 steps per day and include at least one brisk walk per day to elevate your heart rate. 3. Don't run before you can walk Although I blog about running, and this may be your ultimate aim, pushing yourself to run a 5k on your first day is a sure-fire way of giving you an easy excuse to quit (because it will hurt. A lot. Trust me on this!) So start with walking and increasing your activity levels. Perhaps start on NHS Couch 2 5k, which is a run-walk programme. 4. Something is better than nothing Think about your current activity levels. It's easier than you might imagine to add some more activity into your day. On a brisk walk, you probably manage 1,000 steps every 10 minutes (depending on stride length etc), so you can easily do something. 5. Your limiting factor is YOU! Any of these sound familiar?... "Maybe tomorrow..." "I'm tired..." "It's raining..." "I don't have time..." "Next week..." "Sometime, just not now!" You also know that these are excuses and not reasons. If you want to do this, then nobody can make you do it except you. So stop with the excuses, and remember points 1-4. You don't have to eat a diet of lettuce leaves or run 10km per day to be fitter, healthier and lighter than you are now. Just one last thing... You won't see instant results This is possibly the most frustrating thing about trying to improve your fitness or lose weight, and perhaps the reason why so many people stop trying. It's human nature to want instant gratification, but try going for smaller targets. It will take: willpower, determination, perseverance (from you)... But that's the only way you will succeed (and this will be a future blog post). Remember: start small, build up and see results. Like my Facebook page for daily updates and inspiration...
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