I had an interesting discussion on fitness with one of my callers who had tried everything under the sun to become fit but had failed in the effort. She mentioned that Health & fitness was way too complicated. Well as a matter of fact one can’t blame her for this.
If you are passionate about fitness and read a lot of fitness related articles, you are told a variety of suggestions which can make your head spin. It did to me a while ago when a set of highly acclaimed people were of the opinion that running long distance is the best way to burn off more calories whereas some other people said that just lifting weights will do the trick. In this age of information at our finger tips there is definitely an overload of information. With too much information one does tend to get confused and tend to do nothing since there is not much clarity. Fortunately Fitness need not be a complex problem for people who are looking at turning over a new leaf. In my opinion there are a few simple rules which just about anybody can follow without major disruptions in your schedule
Become more active: If you have an aversion to any kind of exercise, then just try and become more active during your waking hour. It can be a simple solution like standing as much as possible or even going for a leisurely walk to begin the morning. Do not think of it as an exercise but look at it as a way to get your body moving. You can also mix and match and do different activities every day of the week .However to make it a regular routine I would advocate that you make some time during the day where you will be determined to commit for most days of the week no matter how your schedule is. I personally split my workouts in two slots – one first thing in the morning for my Yoga and then, next in the evening times for my swimming, lifting or even running. What I generally do is to mix and match and there is no rigid schedule.
Eat real food & eat less: This is critical. Remember if you do not eat right then no matter how much you exercise or not, you will eventually put on weight and become unhealthy. Aim for real, whole foods that are as close to their natural state as possible. That means stay away from processed,refined,fatty and sugary foods. Veggies, fruits, lean meats, dairy, nuts, beans, whole grains, eggs, seeds are what you should be trying to eat. Make plant based natural food, the main source of your food intake and you can never go wrong. Another important thing is that most people eat too much and lead an extremely sedentary lifestyle. One way to avoid that is by eating slowly and mindfully until you ‘almost full. Another way is to eat smaller meals and watch the portions. Work on consuming real food in limited quantity and reduce your calorie intake if you are looking to lose fat.
Enjoy yourself: Whatever activity you choose make it fun and do it with passion. If you cannot relate to walking then try swimming or even cycling. Important factor here is to do it with passion for most days of the week. When I see people working out, the ones with passion stand out like a beacon among-st those who just do it as a chore. Focus on the fun part and not the hard part. Make the activity fun or you won’t keep it going for too long. Focus on just getting moving and enjoying the activity. Start small, and build it up with small baby steps.
Give it some time: Rome was not built in a day and so is a fit and healthy body. Most people I come across expect to see results in a short span of time. Real fitness rarely happens this way — it’s a process and a lifestyle change. I started out in really bad shape. I was really overweight. All I did in the beginning was to quit smoking and start exercising. A year later I ran my first marathon and eventually became a complete vegetarian but was still kind of fat. Now 4 years later I’m in decent shape — slimmer, more muscular and much healthier. I still have a little stubborn belly fat which I’m working on. I’ll get there, but have accepted the fact that it takes time. You didn’t gain the fat overnight and you won’t lose it that way either. Learn to enjoy the process,activities and the healthy food, and you’ll get healthy and fit almost as an afterthought to this new, amazing lifestyle.
Hope I have made some of you realize that working towards being fit is not as complicated as you think it is. I would love to hear from you about what you do think of my thoughts over here. Do post on my Facebook Page or on mail me on coach@satishrao.in Would be glad to hear from you.