We All Can Start Somewhere!

I am often asked “how” to go about starting a healthier way of life.  What can I do to get myself motivated? Where do I begin? How many days should I work out? What should I eat?

First you have to ask yourself “Why” you want to start making healthier choices?  Do you want to have more energy? Do certain chronic conditions run in your family, and you want to prevent them? Do the latest statistics of how our society is affected by obesity frighten you?  Did the weight that showed the last time you stepped on a scale alarm you?  Do you have a young family and want to be able to do more with your children?  Do you know that you are making poor food choices and want to start making them healthier now?

These are all questions to consider, but most importantly, find your own personal reason.  From there, focus on one thing.  The biggest mistake people tend to make is that they see a “healthy” lifestyle and want it all at once, so they try to change everything at once.  For the majority, this does not work.  The key to finding lifelong healthy behaviours is to start with one thing (e.g. eating breakfast every morning if you don’t already, having one teaspoon of sugar in your coffee instead of 3, climbing the stairs at work instead of taking the elevator).  Give yourself time to get used to incorporating this healthy behaviour, and once you don’t have to think twice about doing it (sometimes 2-3 weeks), then you can think about what your next lifestyle change may be.

If you want to tackle daily physical activity, and you currently do not include any, choose 2-3 days of your week  right from the start where you know there may be more time you watch TV, or have extra time after work or in the morning and start using those days as your activity days.  Most important choose something you enjoy.  There is no point in starting to include some activity that you know you will not ultimately want to get yourself out to doing.  Right now we are having some gorgeous weather, where it is still sunny, and cool enough to enjoy a brisk walk.  If you know you don’t enjoy walking, but may prefer a kickboxing class, find out where you may be able to enjoy one of those classes.  If the thought of a “bootcamp” class intimidates you, don’t start with that, but rather set a goal for yourself to eventually get there.  Begin with walking, light weight training, running or a high-low cardio class to get your body moving and in 6 months time, you may just want to tackle a bootcamp class.  All you need to do is move!! That is what our bodies were designed to do right!  Deciding on the time of day to include your activity in is also an important factor.  Some people enjoy early morning work outs (trust me, your body will get used to waking up earlier in a short period of time, provided you have given yourself enough hours of sleep), some during their lunch hour, during the 3 o’clock hour, or after work.  If you chose to go after work, one thing I remind myself after a day’s work is that “you are mentally tired, but not physically tired”.  If your body has not exerted that surge of energy throughout the day, but your mind has, give it to yourself to allow the endorphins to float! It may just be that pick-me-up you need!

I often suggest to balance physical activity and nutrition.  Once you have accomplished your first goal, if it is a physical activity goal, consider a nutrition goal next.  Do you know that your afternoon snack is not a great one?  Will a fruit and yogurt be that hard to include instead of a bag of chips or chocolate bar?  Take a look at the choices you are currently making and make one small adjustment. Again, it can be as simple as beginning to include a small breakfast at the start of your day if you don’t already, grabbing a side salad with your sandwich instead of French fries, the snack idea above, use a smaller dinner plate (we as a society eat dinners that are much too large), or have 1 pop a day instead of 3.  Just like the physical activity goals, ask yourself what would be the most realistic nutrition goal.

Consider the acronym  S.M.A.R.T. when choosing your goals  —–specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely.  Write them down, share them with a friend, be accountable to the goal and most importantly YOURSELF.  Are you someone who gives so much of your time to others?  Consider why you do not put yourself first, OR, why you can’t give yourself to others and then to your own self, and then start small, one thing at a time.  Communicate with others that you are doing what you are doing.  Leave your phone aside while you’re taking this time for you and just start somewhere.  Life is too short to not give yourself a little bit of time in a day if it means making healthy choices to allow you to live a longer, healthier, more fulfilled life!