How to Begin Your Fitness Regimen
You finally want to do something about that bulging midsection brought about by too much time on the couch. Congratulations! Nothing and no one is going to rid those fats off for you except you and that’s not going to happen if you continue to sit in front of the computer or television all day.
The question is: How do you start it on the right foot? A good plan is essential.
If you’re truly ready to lose weight, map out your fitness program. You need to be proactive in planning your exercise regimen. If you leave it to others to give you a pre-planned workout, the chances of you abandoning it midway are huge since you are not going to feel responsible for it. Don’t copy everything en toto online, either. Use these as basis to craft your own workout routine.
Make it a point to include physical activities you love to do into your regimen. This is crucial in ensuring the sustainability of your workout.
If you love dancing, for example, find space for it in your weekly workout plan. Since dancing is a cardio exercise, you can dance instead of walk or jog on certain days. The same goes with swimming or outdoor trekking. If you live near walking trails, this is also a good workout instead of your usual walking routine.
Eating well-balanced meals is essential in your program. We say well-balanced because wiping out entire food groups is not a healthy diet plan. It only slows down your metabolism and causes you to gain weight when you go back to your regular meals. Plus, it makes you more prone to cravings which will ultimately derail your weight loss efforts.
Eat more frequent but small meals everyday. You can beat food cravings by always bringing healthy munchies, like carrot sticks and dried fruit or trail mixes with you while you’re on the go. Clear out your refrigerator of all the processed junk you have there. If you are truly serious about staying fit, you’ll have to wean yourself from junk and processed foods.
This might be difficult to do cold turkey so do it in increments. Replace any processed food with fruits or vegetables one day at a time.
Having a fitness buddy to whom you can hold yourself accountable helps a great deal. One of the reasons why individuals fail in their quest to shape up is because they’re going solo and don’t have the support system to back them up. The accountability factor they give is truly crucial to ensuring success.
Having a personal trainer (if you can afford one), friend, parent or loved one who cares about your welfare will be an added boost to your efforts.
Don’t be too hard on yourself but don’t be too lax either. You will cheat somewhere along the way and fail big in some cases but these should not be enough to deter you from your fitness regimen. Commit to doing better next time, let go and just get back on your program.
Last but not least, don’t forget to look at our comprehensive P90X review and this blog post on our Shakeology review.