Getting Started.....

Making healthy choices in your nutrition and fitness is exciting, even life changing. Once you make a conscious choice to make a change, all types of possibilities open up. Truth is, getting started can be the most difficult step in your health journey. At  first, excitement kicks in, then once you realize what it entails, it can be scary and overwhelming. How many times have you told yourself you’re ready to embrace health, only to get discouraged and disappointed? It doesn’t have to to be like that. You can totally embrace your new goal and thrive.

Deciding to start is already a huge step so celebrate that! Here’s my advice to help you get going: 

1. START TODAY

You’ve heard it before, don’t leave for tomorrow what can be done today! Seriously, stop putting a start date on your health. Don’t wait for after the holidays, January 1st, or after your cousin’s wedding to get started on your goals: do it today. There is no “perfect time”. Life is not perfect! You’ll always have holidays, responsibilities and a social life. Living a healthy lifestyle does not mean avoiding these things. It means figuring out a way that you can have your cake and eat it too (figuratively and literally). You want to make a change? Starting today doesn’t mean running out to the gym and cleaning out your fridge this instant, it means making a conscious decision to reach your goal and making deliberate choices to get you to it. Today it might just mean finishing this article, tomorrow it might mean drinking more water and the day after it might mean having one extra serving of veggies (or even just 1!). 

2. CONSISTENT BABY STEPS

Change happens gradually, through consistency. We tend to think it has to be drastic or that it has to feel hard. Real change happens slowly, it becomes a part of you naturally over time. So when you’re ready to make a change, start small. Instead of thinking you have to overhaul your entire life and change everything overnight, make small adjustments you can do consistently. Sometimes, just taking 5 minutes out of your morning to plan what you’ll eat the rest of the day can have a huge impact. Doing this consistently will slowly trickle into your choices and help you decide what your next step is. Remember this is YOUR path, you’re in control of it. Little changes create big results!

3. DO YOU

There is a vast amount of diets, advice, products, workouts and everything in between available. It’s important to remember that you are unique in your own needs. Not everything out there will apply (or even work) for you. Why? Because no one else has your life! Your body, lifestyle and goals are yours and yours only. Whenever you try new things pay close attention to your response, notice how you feel and choose things that work for YOU. 

When we think of health we tend to think of someone who eats only nutritious food and does the hardest workouts - all the time. Sure, that’s healthy, it’s one version of health. Your version of health might look different, it’s probably a space in between! 

4. BE REALISTIC, FIRM AND KIND

There’s a reason you decided you wanted to change, keep sight of that with an objective mind. Sometimes we can be our own worst saboteur, wether by making excuses or worse, by being extra hard on ourselves. There’s a delicate balance between these two. My advice is to approach your journey with kindness. Some days, you will not want to make the healthiest choices, that’s ok! It’s healthy to give yourself a break every now and then, just don’t make it the norm. Simply ask yourself why, regroup and try again. There’s no point in being harsh to yourself, but it’s also not helpful to pretend that you’re ok with that choice all the time. Learn to move on without judgment and try again. Keep your goals in mind, keep trying and stay firm in your conviction to reach them. 

5. HAVE A HUMBLE APPROACH

Everyone is a beginner at one point or another. Wether you’re coming back from a break or just getting started, give yourself (and your body) time to get adjusted. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and try new things. Approach your health endeavor with patience and some sense of humor. Once I got stuck between a wall when I practicing an inversion…. There were 5 people at the gym who saw me and even they couldn’t help their laughter (no worries, I was fine!). We all make silly mistakes, laugh it off and have fun. Nobody gets it right the first time around, keep trying and working on yourself, you are worth it!