10 Day Countdown to Fitness: Day 1

OK…it’s time for everyone to get off of the couch and get moving.

I have gotten at least a half dozen emails in the last week with a common theme: people that know they need to exercise to lose weight but aren’t sure where to start or are having trouble getting started. Have no shame if this describes you! Lots of people don’t know where to start, and even more people have trouble taking the first steps.

If this describes you, you’re going to want to check us out for the next 10 days.

Every day for the next week and a half, I’m going to post a simple step you can take to get yourself up, moving, and started down the road to fit and thin. None of these steps will be hard or intense. If they were too hard or too intense, we would be defeating our whole purpose.

Even though they won’t be intense, you should still get clearance from a medical professional to begin exercising. This is especially true if you are older, considerably overweight, or haven’t exercised in a long time. With that in mind, let’s get started:

DAY 1 — Grab a piece of paper, a 3 x 5 card and a pen, and put on your thinking cap. Your first assignment has a couple of steps; first, write down all the reasons why you’d like to start exercising. Once you’ve got your list, write a sentence for each reason you’ve listed that states a positive affirmation for it. For example, let’s say that one of the reasons you want to start exercising is to have more energy. You could write a sentence like: “I enjoy exercising because it gives me more energy!”. The key is to turn the reason for exercising in to a real-life benefit for actually doing it, and by writing the benefit statement AS IF you are already doing it. Once you’ve done this with your entire list, grab a 3 x 5 card and write each sentence on the card.

Now take that card, and for the next 30 days, do not let it leave your possession. Grab it as soon as you wake up every morning and read it out loud. Read it right before you go to sleep. Read it out loud AT LEAST 3 times every day, and read it quietly to your self at least 3 times each day.

The more you do this, the quicker it begins to work!

And don’t be fooled, this simple method will completely change your attitude towards exercising if you just do it. HINT: this will work for any habit you wish to introduce into your life, not just exercising.

OK, go start making your list right now; don’t put it off until later. And keep the paper and pen handy, because you’re going to need them again tomorrow.