1) See a doctor before you begin an exercising program if you think there is any possibility that it could cause health problems. Also visit the doctor if you have trouble once your exercise routine begins. If you find that you never improve, this could be a symptom of a greater problem.
2) Define your goal. Do you just want to lose weight, or do you really want to improve your physical fitness? For most people it is the latter.
3) Don't start out by changing your diet; start out by adding exercise. To lose weight, you need to increase your calories expended (exercise) and/or decrease your calories consumed. Most people focus on the latter, but that approach has many drawbacks (slower metabolism, poor cardiovascular health, etc.). Instead, develop an exercise routine, and once that becomes a habit, then slowly start to improve your eating habits. If your goal is to improve your fitness level, you HAVE to exercise.
4) Establish a set schedule and stick to it until it becomes a habit. For me, I started by getting up at 5:30 M-F and doing cardio work for about 30 minutes and
strength training for about 15 minutes. I picked getting up early over working out at night because it is unlikely that something else will compete with that time. At night, there is always something going on that makes it too easy to skip a workout. Regardless of what time you pick, don't let ANYTHING prevent you from performing a workout until it is ingrained as a habit.
5) Do both cardio work and strength training. Doing both will burn more fat and improve your overall health. Don’t get caught up in comparing your performance with others, there will always be someone who is faster and stronger, instead, worry about whether or not you are meeting your goals. The only way to know this is by keeping a training log.
6) Get a
heart rate monitor. It’s a valuable tool that will really help you maximize your time spent exercising.
7) Once you’ve established the exercising habit, it’s time to improve your diet. The first step is to start changing how you eat. Don’t worry about the amount of calories at this point. Start out simply: eat a few more servings of fruit and vegetables each day, use whole grain breads and pastas, etc. Get your body used to eating healthier foods. Also make sure you are drinking enough water.
8) Once you’ve gotten used to eating healthier foods, start reducing the amount of unhealthy food you eat (fried foods, simple sugars, etc.) and replacing them with healthier selections. Slowly continue this conversion until healthy foods make up the largest portion of your diet.
9) Don’t “diet”. For most people, switching to healthier foods will allow them to make significant progress. If this doesn’t get you to your goal, consider exercising more. If this doesn’t work or isn’t an option, you can count calories, but for most of us, this is hard to do. If you do decide to restrict your calorie intact substantially, see a doctor. Rapid weight loss can lead to gall stones and other problems.
10) Don’t weigh yourself. Is a 230 lb man fit? It depends on his body composition. Instead of worrying about weight, worry about your ratio of fat to muscle. Progress is best measured by your pants size, not your weight. If you must weigh yourself, don’t do it more than once a month.
11) Be realistic in setting your goals. You may want to look like that hot model you see on the cover of your favorite magazine, but chances are, you’ll never look that good. In fact, those models rarely look that good: you can do amazing things with a computer.
12) Learn to deal with failure. No matter how disciplined you are, you will eventually fail to meet your exercise goals, or will go on an eating binge. Don’t judge yourself by these failures, but by your ability to overcome these failures.
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