Don't Make It Complicated

     I had to go into town for shopping and a dental appointment and I ran into an old friend. We go back almost 30 years but we don't get to see each other very often anymore. I know I should make more of an effort to stay in contact but like everyone else, my life is quite busy and so is hers. We sat on the tailgate of the van and talked for about an hour. It was a good visit and it was great to catch up.

     Yesterday on messenger she contacted me again. She proceeded to tell me how great I was looking and wanted to know what I was doing. I told her about my exercise plan and healthy eating. Her answer to me, "I should be doing that too but it's all so hard. I really don't know how to get started." I realized at that moment there are probably a lot of people out there who just don't know how to get started. They want more in their life but where do they begin? A word of advice, "Don't make it complicated."

     You don't need a day by day plan of everything you want to change. Pick one thing and start from there. Start walking for 30 minutes a day. Ride your bike every morning at 10:00 am. Turn on your favorite music and dance. Make it simple. Just begin. Once your comfortable with what you're doing, add another item to your list. But most of all, celebrate your successes.

     I started with just riding my stationary bike for 30 minutes a day. The only person I had to compete with was myself. By the end of the first week, I had a goal. I wanted to complete 10km in under 45 minutes. Here I am at the end of a month and I can now do 11km in 45 minutes. I lost 7 pounds and 2 inches.

     By the third week, I decided to cut out junk food. Well, let me tell you, what a difference that made. I saw the pounds start dropping off even faster. It gave me the motivation to keep going and helped to keep me focused on the bigger picture. I'm feeling so much better about myself knowing that I can accomplish this if I just keep at it.

     This month I'm introducing some strength training into my routine. Nothing fancy, a few resistance bands is all I need. I want to keep it as simple as possible and I don't have the room for any fancy equipment. Working out and staying strong doesn't have to cost you a fortune but the payout is amazing.

     Don't sit down and write out this long schedule of everything you want to accomplish in the next six months. Don't set yourself up for failure. One small step at a time and you'll get to where you want to be. The only requirement is to just begin. Don't get upset if for some reason you have to miss a workout. Just start again tomorrow. Life gets messy now and then and sometimes we have no control over the time allotted to us for that day. There's always tomorrow to get back to it.

     Never berate yourself because you didn't accomplish your goal for the week. We all hit plateaus. Your strength comes from working through them knowing that it will all even out. As you get stronger you are building muscle. Muscle is smaller and denser than fat. Just keep working on it. Don't judge your workouts by your bathroom scale. It's how you feel that counts. The lack of aches and pains is what counts. Feeling like you can take on the world is what counts. That's why you work out and eat right.

     Getting healthy is a good start to making any changes in your life but don't make it complicated. Just start moving. Do it for yourself. The rewards make it all worth it in the end.

     So here we are at the end of the week once more. It's been a good week filled with success stories, appointments, good movies, and fun. My favorite kind of week.