Once again another article caught my eye. I’m always drawn to news stories on health and fitness and am usually looking to see if it will tell me something new that I don’t know. I gather tidbits from articles that I find useful and valuable for myself or others and mentally discard the rest.
However, I’m always disappointed when the story leads to telling me this… being overweight/fat leads to health problems.
Like…tell me something I don’t know. Or tell the world something they don’t already know.
This is why the “diet” industry rakes in billions of dollars a year… from people who know that and want to make a change… who hope that the next new shiny thing will be what morphs them into being thinner, stronger, healthier, and more fit.
I may have said this before… once or twice… and if you follow me much you know what I believe…
there is no magic cure or diet.
Can I just make a suggestion here? Throw something out at you? Do with it what you will…
Why not start with not eating crap… to put it bluntly…. and learning to exercise?
Two things. Two points here beautiful people.
Maybe you need to make a list of what you eat, maybe you don’t. You know how you eat and what you eat. You know if it comes more in drive thru bags, boxes, or purchased off convenience store shelves.
Sugar, fatty, processed, high calorie “foods”. These are often what’s referred to as “empty calories” … simple carbs… it’s the stuff you don’t really need.
Cookies, crackers, chips, donuts, muffins, snack cakes, pastries, sugar cereals, sugared drinks, super size fries etc. we’ve been brainwashed to think we “need” to buy, eat, have these things.
We don’t.
All it does is mess with our bodies chemistry, often put us on a roller coaster of hunger, and adds nothing but fat to our bodies… and not the good fat we need.
It’s the kind of fat that grows around our waist and clogs up our hearts arteries and makes us buy bigger jeans.
Really, you don’t need that stuff. Yeah, some of it tastes good, but so does your health. And trust me, when you start intentionally working your way away from it, these food products will have less and less pull on you.
So start there. Don’t go crazy and think you have to go live off kale and nothing else. Start by working to eliminate the crap food from your daily diet.
I’ve talked with people who “just” gave up sodas and they were amazed at their weight loss. No wonder. A standard can of Coke has 39g of sugar… which is 8 teaspoons in a can! Now figure if someone puts away….3,4, 5, or more Cokes a day…. that’s a ton of sugar for nothing but empty calories.
If one thing can make a big difference imagine if you cut out other stuff too. Depending on how much of these simple carbs show up in your daily food allotment you might have to take slow baby steps eliminating a thing or two at a time… but do it.
Your body will thank you… your improved health will be a huge reward for you.
Now the other part…exercise. I’m kinda big on that now days. Mainly because I have enough of a track record now to preach like crazy at you regarding all the benefits of it.
Mental clarity? Physical strength? Weight loss? Amazing lab results? A body that’s reshaped? Learning to set and achieve goals? Reduce your risk of heart disease? Gain energy? Improve memory? Gain strength and flexibility? Sleep better? Increased confidence? Mood improver?
Am I selling you yet ? 😉
So here’s the deal. Find something you think you can stick with, that you like, and do it.
I hear all the time from people… “It’s great you run but I don’t like running!”
I get it… running is hard and its not for everyone… if you don’t like it…don’t do it… but for heavens sake find something you do like, or think you could learn to, and get after it.
Do it every day. Make no excuses to not do it. Put it on your planner like you do going to lunch with a friend or any other appointment. Don’t play the martyr role and place yourself on the back burner of life.
You… your health… is worth it… I hope you get that …really.
It needs to be up there on top of your list ’cause I’ll tell you, no one else is going to put your health up there and make you get stuff done.
So here’s the kicker. Here’s what I learned a few years ago when I was scrambling trying to get my feet under me and get on this fitness journey…
when I started daily exercising ( and I mean daily… I accepted no excuses from myself to not get it done) I liked how I felt when I finished. I liked the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction of doing it. I loved how clear my mind felt. I even liked being tired from it ( no endurance in the beginning for sure)
Before the scale had barely changed. Before a visible muscle had appeared. Before I ever thought about running or lifting or riding a bike like a crazy demon….
I loved how I felt when I finished.
And when you start exercising and feeling good about yourself for doing it, you start taking more of a look at what you are stuffing in your face and evaluating it.
Is it worth it? Do I need it? Do I feel better without it?
And as you keep on eliminating that crappy food you don’t really need and make a commitment to daily exercise, somehow, the weight slowly and steadily will begin to come off.
You gain a new confidence in yourself. You start to look at what you do and how you eat in a different way.
It’s a process. But if you start with these two points, I’m pretty sure you’ll find yourself on a path to success… and skinnier jeans as well 😉
sassyfitnesschick 