A common question I get is: “It’s been a while since I’ve worked out and ate healthy, how do I get back into it?”
One of the hardest things to do is start over. Doesn’t matter what situation you are in, starting over is always a challenge. Whether it’s your first time or your 500th, this post can apply to you.
First thing to do is evaluate yourself. Why do you want to live this lifestyle? Do you have the commitment necessary? Why now? Are you unhappy with yourself? How would you like to feel? Asking yourself these questions will help you understand exactly why you want this. Figuring out the answer will help you in the future if you ever feel like you want to quit. Repeat it to yourself over and over so that you stay in perspective of what you want.
Second thing to do is set goals for yourself. Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to gain muscle? Do you want to be more flexible? Do you want to eat better?
Setting goals for yourself is essential. If you don’t set goals, you will not have that constant motivation pushing you every step of the way. My goals in the first few months were to:
- Lose weight
- Lose body fat
- Tone muscles everywhere
- Stop binge eating
Although these goals were quick vague, these were the basic goals I wanted to achieve. Over time i started to better understand how to do these things and learned to better evaluate my goals. Now my they look something like:
- Feel confident without going on the scale
- Lower my body fat from 19% to 15%
- Gain muscle throughout my body, especially my legs
- Learn about moderation and how to say no
Once you understand why you want this and what your goals are over the next few months, its time to get excited! Its time to get inspired! Nothing pushed me more than the thought of what I could potentially look like in a few months. Keep reminding yourself that you want it SO bad you are willing to do anything. Waking up excited and inspired – ready to eat healthy and go to the gym is so much better then waking up upset by the way you look and feel about yourself. Change your mood around. When you learn to change your attitude, you will actually look forward to the gym. When you go to bed with this new attitude, you will be excited to wake up and make a healthy breakfast. Once you stop beating yourself up you will see a door open to start loving yourself. Not because you got the body you want over night, but because you understand that every day that you treat your body right, is a day closer to your ultimate goal.
An important factor of starting is cleaning out your kitchen. Get rid of EVERYTHING that is unhealthy, processed or has any ingredients you don’t understand (basically anything that could harm your new goals). Throw it out, donate it, give it to a friend (although you aren’t doing them a favor) i don’t care, just get rid of it! You will feel clean of all the harmful chemicals and wont have to fear falling off the bandwagon. The next step is to make a trip to the grocery store. I recommend giving yourself a fair amount of time for this because you will be spending a lot of time reading labels and understanding what is healthy and what is not. Fill that cart up with lots of fruits, vegetables, lean meats etc. (If you don’t know what to get, read about my ITBF Challenge). Don’t put anything in your cart that has any ingredient that you don’t understand. This is so important. You might be thinking “that’s impossible” but let me assure you that feeding your body man-made chemicals will always harm you. There are lots of options just open your eyes and take the time to read. You will be surprised at all the things you thought were healthy that are not.
Now since you understand what to eat, its important to understand how to workout. This takes a lot of practice, research and trial and error to understand. Over time it will get easier but doing your research will benefit you. Talk to personal trainers at the gym, read articles about working out, go to the gym and do what you learned and see how you feel about it. This will make your workout experience much better, faster, easier and more fun. You will be able to go to the gym and not panic about what to do.
But first thing is first… how to get yourself to the gym. Some of you have never stepped foot into the gym and some of you haven’t in a few years. Either way, you are intimidated and will most likely make any excuse not to go. This is my advice to you. JUST GO. Put those workout clothes on, tie up those laces, get out of the house and just go to the gym. When you get there get on the treadmill and walk. Maybe even run if you’re feeling up to it. Just start sweating. 20 minutes might feel like 5 hours but do it and get it over with. This may be the hardest gym session you will ever have but you will feel so accomplished. The next few workouts will be tough but it will get easier very soon. Just continue doing your research and every trip to the gym will get better.
You now have all the tools you need. Remember to get excited and be inspired about this new lifestyle because when you do, you will love it.
Stay Inspired,
Ronnie aka Inspiredtobefit
Ronnie Friedman is the creator of the fitness and health Instagram “Inspired To Be Fit”. She started this to inspire herself to live a healthier lifestyle. As her it grew significantly in a short amount of time, she was overjoyed to realize that she was inspiring many other determined individuals as well. Inspired To Be Fit has evolved to offer offline inspiration with its stylish motivational apparel – encouraging everyone to achieve their physical, emotional, and spiritual goals.
Follow on Twitter or Instagram @inspiredtobefit and visit ITBFSHOP.com.
