I am going to climb on my soapbox for a moment, because quite frankly I've been where most of you are now. There was a time, that I dreamt about being a healthier more physically fit version of "me". There was a time, that I thought about being a healthier more physically fit version of "me". If there had been Pinterest, I would have pinned every exercise program I could find no matter how crazy they seemed as my way of studying about being a healthier more physically fit version of "me". There was a time that I didn't take action, I didn't own it and I sure as heck didn't believe that I could be a healthier more physically fit version of "me".
Every day I see posts on Facebook "talking" about making a change, I see friends "pinning" things on Pinterest "studying" about making a change, I have conversations with family/friends "thinking" about making a change. Yet you have to live it, breathe it, own it and believe it - in order to go get it!
You have to step out of your comfort zone and do the uncomfortable. Walk into that gym you pay for monthly. Substitute those favorite food items for a healthier option. Throw out the uneaten Halloween candy after a week.
You have to set a reasonable goal within a reasonable timeframe. Nothing happens overnight! It took me 90 days to work my way from walking on the treadmill to running on the treadmill.
It takes 4 weeks for you to notice a change in yourself, it takes 8 weeks for friends to notice and 12 weeks for the world to notice. So set a 4 week goal that is reasonable and a new goal every 4 weeks after that and these goals will take you to that bigger goal.
You have to have accountability. In the beginning, this means someone else to hold you accountable because each of us can talk ourselves out of anything uncomfortable. Share your goals with someone, ask them to call you out when they see you giving up, ask them to cheer you on when you keep going.
In the beginning, my best friend & I started the couch to 5k program together - holding each other accountable. I knew that neither of us would let the other one quit, neither of us would let the other one reach the 2 mile mark and give up. We weren't going to let each other settle if we only made it half way.
When I first added strength training to my plan in 2011, I hired a trainer and fact: it was the scariest day ever to walk in there the first time. Yet I needed him to teach me how to train, to tell me to suck it up, to hold me accountable when I didn't show up for a session. And quite frankly, he believed in me more then I believed in myself most days. And recently as I completed my own 12-week program all on my own, I thanked him for teaching me to believe in myself.
Make the time, not another excuse. Everyone has a busy life, everyone has more on their plate then hours in a day, everyone has a list of excuses MILES long. Yet you only have one lifetime and you only have one body to live it with. I promise that you have one hour of your day that you can and should give to YOU, you just have to take it - even if that hour is uncomfortable at first.
As I climb off my "box", I hope you feel uncomfortable enough to go get your "it" because I BELIEVE IN YOU!
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