This title might be throwing you off a little bit.. Just do it? I’m supposed to be telling how to do it. And I just did. You just do it. Whatever it takes, that’s what you do. Because the truth is, the journey to losing weight isn’t going to be the same for everyone.
“Just do it”. Nike’s slogan. A brand that’s all about living a fit and healthy lifestyle. Now they’ve got the right idea. When it comes to losing weight, (if you’ve read my other posts in the series, you’ll already know this) I believe that eating right is the first step to losing weight, because no matter how much you workout (unless it’s hours a day), you won’t be able to lose weight eating everything. You just can’t do it. But I do also believe that exercise plays a very important role in losing weight. Especially when it comes to KEEPING it off. And that’s just as important.
Don’t just lose it. Keep it off.
You’ve probably heard of or known people who have lost weight fast and then gained it and more almost just as fast. My personal theory is those people dieted and didn’t change their lifestyle. I’m sure you’ve heard this one before, but it’s true. You have to change your lifestyle. That doesn’t mean that you can never have cake or ice cream ever again… It means that you have to promise yourself to never let yourself be like this again. And even when you start to fall back into your old habits, you have to remember how far you’ve come and how food isn’t worth it.
What I always tell people to think about is this. What did you have for lunch last week? Can you even name me 3 meals you had? If you can do that, what about the week before? Leaving food on the plate isn’t as hard as you think, but you just have to do it. And once you do, it will become easier and easier. And you’ll be surprised when you find you don’t really want that brownie so much after all.
So let’s get back to the point of this article. Losing weight is all about living a healthy lifestyle and making yourself do what you have to do until you want to do those things, because trust me, if you do it right, you’ll feel better than you’ve ever felt in your life. At least, that’s how it was for me.
Almost as hard as eating less is, working out on a regular basis seems to be a challenge for most. You’ve got to make yourself do it. I’m not going to lie. It’s going to hard at first, but don’t worry, it gets easier. Here’s what I’m going to recommend for anyone who wants to take the information in this blog series and put it into action. Get on a treadmill (or go outside if you prefer) and run/jog intervals. Start out really easy. Take 5 minute intervals and each interval run 1 minute and then walk 4 minutes. This sounds really easy, but honestly, when I was so out of shape, after just 30 seconds of running I thought I was going to die. But I didn’t.
How to do it.
The way that I did it (and the way that you should do it) is to just let yourself get comfortable with an interval. Don’t increase the running/jogging time until you feel that you’re ready. It might take a week or two or three but just keep increasing the time you jog steadily. I’d recommend making small increments (probably 15 seconds at a time). This is a continual process. The highest I ever got was running 3 minutes walking 2 minutes, and I am proud of that.
Running intervals is a great way to lose weight, and I highly recommend it. Peaks of high activity really get your heart pumping, and you’ll hurt your body less than running long distances. In addition, most people find it easier to run shorter periods at a time, and the time tends to go by a lot faster than keeping a constant pace.
PRO TIP: Buy running shoes! You don’t want to hurt yourself, so get the right equipment. It honestly doesn’t matter what brand you get; just go to your local shoe store (preferably something like Footlocker) and ask someone to help you find what’s right for you.
Cardio in general is the way to go if you want results. That being said, I would definitely recommend getting onto some of those weight lifting machines. You’ll want to build some muscle, because muscle burns more calories than fat – and it’s leaner. So the more muscle you have, the thinner you’ll look and the more calories you’ll burn.
So just do it. Don’t just read this post, make a change. Start walking 3 times a week if that’s all you can do. Then work your way up. Maybe after a couple weeks you try those intervals. And maybe you stay there for a while. And then you work your way up again. The point is you’re always striving for better – pushing yourself. JUST DO IT!
This post is part of a series on how I lost 60 pounds in 6 months. It is where I break down my journey on what I did so that you can copy it as well. I’m not pitching some magical pill or a crazy workout. This is real information from my experience and I hope you enjoy it!
Part 1 – Can you do it?
Part 2 – You are what you eat
Part 4 – Dealing with setbacks
Part 5- The End is Where We Begin
