Getting started, for the super unfit
So, recently I was asked, ‘How do you get started when you are super unfit?’
This is a great question. In many ways starting is both the easiest and the hardest part. I have broken what I believe is one of the most successful ways to getting fit into 4 phases. Each phase is equally important and must be followed one after the other.
A warning though, before we go on. Do not try to change more than one thing at a time. This is the fit person’s rule of change. When training they always focus on only one thing. This is because success for them is assured. Think about it, they aren’t going to quit. People who incorporate too many items right away are desperate. They are too rushed, they don’t believe in themselves or their motivations. You are not desperate. Don’t try to get too fit too fast. You are learning to walk before you learn to run (that may be both metaphorical as well as literally). This could be a defining battle in your life, one that you are finally going to win. If you try to do it in 30 days, or 45 days, you really are setting yourself up to fail.
First things first:
Document what you eat in a week. Make it an average week. Don’t lie to make it seem that you eat less than you do, as if to justify your belief that you are being punished with unfair weight gain. This doesn’t matter. As well, don’t overdo your eating during this week to make it appear that you are cutting back even more than you are when you start eating better. Just be honest. There is a good chance that you will look back on this data and appreciate that you have an honest estimate of what you ate. Use the food chart on the next page. Photocopy it seven times or download it off the net. Keep this food journal in a safe place. Make it two weeks or more if you aren’t going to start your first steps at this time. More data is better.
You can start this today. I can’t express enough how important it is to be totally honest about your current eating. Don’t change a thing, just keep track.
While you are doing this though, you can make one of the most important steps in this process and that is to prepare yourself to make significant change. Nothing I am going to ask you to do is individually very hard. No step in this process is that difficult. That said, a journey of this magnitude is no insignificant thing. You need to understand that the way you have been living your life needs to change and the only way that is going to happen is if you want to fit ENOUGH. You have to spend a little while with yourself thinking about how badly you want to be fit. There will be obstacles. You will have to do things you don’t want to, or not do things that you want to, after all, doing everything you have wanted is what got you where you are.
The power of never:
I don’t want you to start thinking of all of the things you can’t do, all of the things you won’t get. None of this is true. In moderation, you really won’t be giving up anything that you actually want. In fact, you will be getting back so much more. This program is sustainable because it gives back so much more than it takes. This plan will involve learning what is healthy and good for you. Methods to reduce your calorie consumption that are very doable, and ways to get you active. This program deals with losing weight and getting fit in a much more logical way. No frantic rush to make massive changes to your life, only to switch right back in a month or so and rebounding up to your previous weight. Instead a long slow progression towards a permanently fit and healthy person.
So, I have posted the food log, and your first measurements chart to the resources section. You can download them, print them and go to work on getting your personal measurements up to speed (nothing is more motivating over time than seeing how you are improving. On top of getting as many of the measurements that you can regarding your body, think about taking a realistic photo or 2 of you before you start your journey and then updating it as you update your personal measurements).
So, I am including the first 5 chapters, the first stage of You Are Not A Fit Person in this post. You can download the digital copy from right here and get started right away (just click on the image of the cover below). There really are no tips that I can give you that will start this journey properly, so I am giving you the first stage of the book. Please, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to drop me a line. The book should be available at your local bookstore by the time you finish phase one, so if you want to continue on you should be able to.
As for being super unfit, I don’t differentiate by fitness level until we get to stage 6. Up until then, all of the changes that each and every person has to incorporate are the same.
