Okay, so you want to start working out? Great! Choosing to live a healthier lifestyle is one of the best decisions I have ever made but it has been quite the journey. Today I am going to tell you a bit about how I got into working out and how that ultimately got me into living a healthier lifestyle. In the weeks future posts I will share my tips and tricks that got me there to hopefully help get you there as well.
My Journey:
I first started with just wanting to workout to lose a bit of weight, like most people. I did a lot of cardio which I didn't mind, I enjoy running because it helps me clear my head for a little bit and erases some of my stress. As the weather got colder I found myself running in the gym more instead of outside which I didn't enjoy as much and I started to slack off like most people tend to do, more on that later. After slacking for a few weeks I found Nikki Blackketter on YouTube and binged on all of her videos. It was then that I started making my way to the weight side of the gym which I now call my second home. I got all the same benefits I wanted from running by lifting weighs, however it didn't seem as much as a chore as running was. Lifting weights also forced me to be more social in the gym and I have made loads of friends that I look forward to seeing every morning. I noticed that I was giving it my all when it came to gym time but I still wasn't seeing the results I wanted and that was very discouraging so I decided to educate myself on the nutrition side of things since I knew I wasn't the healthiest of eaters. After heavy loads of reading and documentaries I decided to become vegetarian and I have noticed a world of difference in everything. I'm not trying to tell you that you have to be vegan or vegetarian but at least educate yourself on the foods you eat and GMO's. (A few of my favorite documentaries have been Vegucated, GMO OMG and Cowspiracy.) Since all of this over the past year I have lost almost 20 pounds and can noticeably see muscle gain.
Where do you start?
First you need to ask yourself why you want to do this because it is a lifestyle change for most people and most of the time it's not an easy one. Finding your inner motivation is key. It can be fairly easy to find external motivation such as quotes or fitness people you can look up to but truly asking yourself why you want to do it is harder. Are you doing for yourself to help build confidence within or are you doing it mainly for your family so you can live longer and watch them grow and live their life, or maybe a bit of both? Whatever it is wright it down in a letter to yourself so that when you fell like skipping a workout or eating something you know you shouldn't you can read it and remember why you started. Like I mentioned before most people do great with their first bit of motivation and go a few weeks making the right choices and decisions but then they start to slack like I did. I often found myself "restarting" my fitness journey. I would lose a few pounds in a few weeks then when I slacked I would gain it all back and once I decided to try again I would just tell myself to restart because that was easier than telling myself that I failed myself since I didn't have that inner motivation.
Okay, lets recap:
-Ask yourself why you are doing this.
-Find external motivation such as quotes you can post all over the house or people to look up to.
-Find your inner motivation.
-Wright a letter to yourself using your inner motivation as the key to remind yourself to never give up, cheat, slack off or "restart".
Living a healthy lifestyle isn't easy for most people and they often find excuses such as "I don't have time to go to the gym today," or "healthy food is too expensive," don't let this be you. Set your goals and surround yourself with people who push you towards them, not questions you why you're doing something for yourself. Don't feel awkward for turning down your coworkers for lunch when you know they are going to a burger place and you packed a healthy load of rice and veggies. Do what is best for you because in the end those who matter won't mind and those who mind shouldn't matter.
Living a healthy lifestyle isn't easy for most people and they often find excuses such as "I don't have time to go to the gym today," or "healthy food is too expensive," don't let this be you. Set your goals and surround yourself with people who push you towards them, not questions you why you're doing something for yourself. Don't feel awkward for turning down your coworkers for lunch when you know they are going to a burger place and you packed a healthy load of rice and veggies. Do what is best for you because in the end those who matter won't mind and those who mind shouldn't matter.
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