EASY STEPS TO GET FIT WITHOUT A CRUSHING WORKOUT SCHEDULE

The obesity epidemic in this country is reaching epic proportions. Americans are fatter than ever and there does not appear to be an end in sight. We are bombarded with food ads, fast food restaurants at every corner, and a barage of time constraints that make eating much easier than being fit. Eating is a big part of being fit, but for most of this post, I will only focus on how people who could stand to lose a few pounds (who couldn’t) can do so without rearranging their lives to fit in a taxing workout schedule.

1) START SMALL

When you have not exercised in a while, the thought of it can be like the idea of climbing a mountain. And let’s be honest, the first time you work out after an extended break from it, you are probably not going to feel great. However, don’t let that first time feeling discourage you. In fact, you can start small and possibly avoid that feeling all together.

When I decided to start training for a sprint triathlon I thought I would go for a run to begin my training. I had played sports in school and considered myself an above average athlete. The problem was that I had not done any aerobic exercising for about 18 months. Let me tell you, that first run was not a pleasant experience. Cramping, wheezing, panting, seeing spots and finally, barely avoiding vomiting.

Perhaps I pushed myself too hard. If I had just gone for brisk walk I probably would have felt fine and I could have worked up to running. My pride did not let me do that and I paid the price. Many people suffer from this affliction. When they decide to start a workout regimen, they get tunnel vision and start to focus only on that thing. Other aspects of their life begin to suffer and eventually, the person gets burned out on the exercising and goes back to a sedentary lifestyle. Don’t fall victim to your overanxiousness to get in shape. You cannot do it all at once! There is no quick fix.

You need to start small and make exercising just one small part of your routine. By doing that, it will become habit and eventually you will do it without even thinking about it. For example, start walking up a couple flights of stairs every day. This only takes a minute or two, but it will get your heart pumping and start you on the road to getting in better shape.

2) KEEP MOVING

Have you ever noticed that thin people tend to be in perpetual motion. They have energy and they use it. They are always working on the lawn, walking, cleaning, just generally moving around during their daily activities. Don’t underestimate how many calories this can burn off. Staying in motion also keeps your mind occupied so you don’t think about food as much.

I know what many of you are thinking, "I work in an office, I can’t keep moving." To some degree, you are right. But not entirely. You can make that phone call while you walk around your office. This one act may not seem like it will make much difference, but this is an overall healthy idea. The more you stay active and in motion, the easier it is to keep that activity going and transfer it into a little more strenuous exercises.

Think about it. Don’t you think it is easier to just keep moving than get up off of that nice comfortable couch with your favorite t.v. show on? My parents’ neighbor is 93 years old and he walks the neighborhood twice a day and seems to always be doing some project in his yard. He is also thin as a rail and always had been. It’s not a coincidence.

3) WALK PLACES

You have all heard many times that you should walk places instead of driving. That is not realistic for most of us because we live in the suburbs, or it is just impracticle to walk places

you need to go. Well I am talking about on a smaller scale. Instead of emailing a co-worker that document, walk it over to them. In the same vein, don’t circle the parking lot until you find the closest spot, just pull into the closest one you see upon your initial scan. I am not going to tell you to do that cliche of parking at the other end of the lot and walking the entire distance of the lot to get to the store. We all know that is impracticle with kids, packages and frankly, for safety concerns.

What I am saying is don’t TRY to be lazy. If you spend five minutes looking for a parking spot ten feet closer to the entrance you need to stop it. The slightly longer walk can only do you good.

This is the easiest way to build up muscle without really having to try very hard or carve out a specific time in your day to devote to strength training. What I mean by "sneak" exercises is to do a little strength training throughout your day.

Do crunchs while you sit at your desk. Do ten push ups when you get out of the shower. How about a few calf raises (go up on your tippy toes) while you wait for the elevator. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you will burn while resting. The more calories you burn, the better shape you will be in and the more weight you can lose.

The point here is that working out does not have to be a life changing proposition. Most people procrastinate from getting in shape because it seems like such an overwhelming prospect. However, if you start with the small type of exercises, you can improve your fitness and eventually segue into more serious exercising, if you so choose.

5) PORTION CONTROL

This is the only aspect of this article I will devote to eating. Look, most of us eat foods we know are not good for us, but we like them, so we eat them. That is the bottom line. I subscribe to the "everything in moderation" axiom in this regard. You can eat what you like, just take in easy on how much you eat.

I work out regularly and pretty much eat whatever I want. However, I am careful not to be a glutton. I have small portions of many things I like. This way I do not overindulge on anything. People have been giving me grief for many years about the meals I prepare for myself because I usually have about ten different things on a plate. Hey, variety is the spice of life right? I eat a little bit of each thing, not one thing all at once. So I satisfy my desire to eat that specific food item, but I do not overindulge because I have so many other appetizing things I can choose from.

The other thing I will mention here is this: DO NOT FALL VICTIM TO YOUR PLATE SIZE. My wife got new plates a while back and we started using them. I noticed we were going through a lot more food at dinner time, but did not really think about it too much, until I noticed my pants were fitting a bit tighter than before the plates. I realized that the plate she bought were much larger than the previous plates we had been eating from. I had the natural tendency to fill the surface area of the plate with food, and then the natural inclination to finish all that food that was on my plate.

When I realized my problem with the large plates, I started reducing the amount I put on the plates. When I did this I had a psychological dilemma: from looking at my plate, it looked like I was depriving myself of food. I had to get over this, and I did by just being reasonable with myself, but it was hard. Eventually I started eating most of my meals from smaller plates. I would fill them, and when they were full, I would not give myself any more food. I found by the time I was done with the smaller plate, I felt full, even though when I first filled it up I thought there was no way it was satisfy my hunger. Your eyes are bigger than your stomach when it comes to food!

An added bonus of not overeating is that you will not feel lethargic an sleepy when you finish your meals. This will allow you to "keep moving," "sneak" exercises, and so on. Bottom line: DON’T SUPERSIZE IT!