5 Steps to Start Your Health Journey Today

With learning anything new you will fail. The stuff that will separate you from others is the matter of when you fail and if you keep trying. That old saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day” has been said so many times, yet we forget how true it is. When you want to start a new habit or hobby, you are going to have to work at it.

Are you looking to learn to play the piano? Are you trying to get better at cooking? Are you looking to get in shape? Then you must work for it consistently.

For example, with getting in shape you need to set a schedule for working out and eating right, it will not be a 1 week, 1 month, 3 months thing and you’re done. You will have to give it your all for a long time to truly reap the rewards of your hard work. You will skip a workout, you will eat something bad, but you have to get back on track, no matter what.

I say this as a person who is 5 weeks deep into my new outlook on life, devoted to getting in shape. I have not been perfect on this journey at all. But what I have done is go to the gym 4-5 times a week, eat better than I eat bad, acknowledge I am not perfect, read up on new techniques and dietary hints, and continue to show up for myself with love and patience.

I struggle when I look at the scale and it hasn’t changed. It throws me off a bit, but I know that what I’m doing now is so much better than what I was doing before. Rome was not built in a day; I will not be built in a day.

5 steps that helped me get the ball rolling for getting in shape

1. Write Down Your Goals – Get a journal, a notebook, a word document on your laptop, and write out what you want to accomplish. Start out with where you are out now. How I went about this was getting a cute journal from TJ Maxx, writing out my goals at the beginning of each month and then writing down what I accomplished along the way. I also wrote out a word document on how much I weigh now and how much I wanted to weigh in 2 months’ time. I printed that document and hung it in my bathroom so I can see it every day, right above the scale.

2. Start Slow at the Gym – You don’t even need to go to a gym but if you are investing your money into a membership it could help you to show up for your money and yourself. Don’t overexert yourself by saying you’ll go 5x a week or more, you could end up giving up or disappointing yourself if you don’t reach that high goal right off the bat. I started small. Go with 3-4 days a week. Walk, Jog, Run, or do whatever is easiest for you for at least 20-30 mins each. During those days try to incorporate something different each time, to work on different parts of your body. Work your way up over time after this. Read up on exercises, watch YouTube and Instagram videos/stories about work out routines. You might find that you enjoy some, hate others, and at least at the end of it all, you’ll feel good when your work out session is over.

3. Stop Eating Junk Food – Don’t wait to finish all the chips, cookies, ice cream, and other junk food before you start. Do it now. You don’t have to throw it all out, or you might if you find it too tempting. While you are determined its easy to say no. When you get those old cravings and feelings that make you want to eat, it’s a lot harder. Stock up your pantry and fridge with good foods. Vegetables, Fruits, Nuts and all the goodness. Try to cook at home. Don’t eat out anymore. If you do, you are only prolonging this process for yourself. The sacrifice you make now will do you wonders 3 months from now. Do it for your future self. Prep your food or at least don’t have tempting food in the house.

4. Don’t Hate on Yourself – You must be kind to you. You are doing this because you know its time to get healthy and its time to shed the weight that is limiting you in one way or another. Maybe you have a special event coming up down the road, maybe you are pre-diabetic, maybe you just wanna look banging in that teeny-tiny bikini, whatever your reasons are, don’t forget them, but also don’t be upset when you make a mistake, when you fail, when you have that donut, or eat out for lunch, or skip the gym, it’s going to happen. Acknowledging your imperfection can only help you. We are all imperfect, we all have things we want to improve upon. You must love yourself enough to change into the person you want to become, but that doesn’t mean you can’t love yourself now. You are amazing as you are, these goals are what make you human, its what makes you an ambitious babe who wants more for herself. Know you are trying and know you will make mistakes. Don’t let the mistakes make you stop, or say you’ll start up again next week or next month or in the new year. Tell yourself “I Can” and believe it in your bones, because YOU CAN.

5. Talk About It – Rely on loved ones, friends, and family. The people who love you want to see you succeed with your goals. Share what you want to accomplish with them. They can also help by holding you accountable. But make sure to set it straight that you are sharing this with them because it will help you, and that their support and kindness will help push you through. Don’t let negative people kill your vibe, if they see you fail and judge you, they are projecting their own insecurities and weaknesses. We all fail, them too, they just aren’t brave enough to share their life the way you are. If you are needing advice, you need to vent, you want to say how killer you feel after a workout, you want to say how you are struggling to put sugary foods out of your diet, share it, talking to other people is helpful. If you don’t have someone you feel comfortable enough to share your journey with or have only experienced judgment from those who are supposed to support you, talk to a therapist, a nutritionist, invest in you, there are people out there who want you to win, because your goal is a healthy one, your investment with them is an investment in you.

Go out there and kill it babe, you CAN DO THIS.