How Do I Start?

[JanessaPablo]

Hi, I'm Nessa, 19 and I'm not the fittest person in the world. 😄

I recently got a Charge HR and it motivates me to get fit (because although I'm young and slim and whatnot, I am actually a very weak person -- can't run for a long time, can't lift moderately heavy weights, etc). And let's not mention my food intake, shall we? ^^

Yup, so there. I don't know how to start getting fit. Or maybe just changing my lifestyle bit by bit. I know a fast food diet paired with a couch potato attitude won't benefit me in the long run. 

Any ideas? Tips? Please help 🙂

[SunsetRunner]

Your question, Diet (nutrition) and Exercise, likely most contentious topics available.

Nutrition:

Stay away from "fad" diets, and follow something like the Mayo Clinic Diet.

Mostly complex carbohydrates (not simple sugars), a bit of meat protein, very few fats.

Exercise:

Cardiovascular health is the most important, walking progressing to jogging to running.

Some weight training will be helpful, exercise at home or join a reputable fitness centre.

There is information available on the internet and from consultants.

Be cautious, as much of it is nonsense designed to extract your money. 

[DominicJ]

It depends what you want to do really.

If you are happy with your weight and figure then thats 90% of the battle won.

But beyond that it all depends on what you want.

[Raviv · Accepted solution]

How do you start?

You just get started.  Today, not next week.

Every time you eat, make the best food choice from what's available.  Eat the salad with grilled meat instead of the burger.  Make eggs for breakfast instead of frozen waffles.  Next time you go to the grocery store, stick to the perimeter and avoid the aisles of packaged foods as much as possible.  Eat whole, real, unprocessed foods like meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, eggs, nuts and seeds.  Drink plenty of water.

Go for a walk, go for a hike or go for a run.  Play with little kids that you know, join a baseball game or try a new sport that looks interesting (rugby is VERY cool but not for the faint of heart).  Read up on weight lifting, maybe get a trainer for a bit and start lifting heavy weights - nothing pink or tiny.

You just have to start.  You have to find what keeps you coming back and what is good for your head as well as your body.  And then you keep doing it.

[pidgeon92]

Fast food and soda are the first things you should cut out. I stopped consuming both about twelve years ago, long before I started exercising, and I lost 20 pounds within a few months.

[quickster47]

You really need to set some goals.  Long distance runners are good at what they do but are they in good shape?  Likewise weightlifters may be strong but are they really in good shape?  And remember round is also a shape.  So set some attainable goals and do them in small achiveable increments and you yourself need to define how you want to be in shape.

Carl

[dreggas]

Hi Nessa,

Just to add to what others have said (and they've given some great advice) for running, you need to walk before you can run, that's where hitting your step goal should start. 10k a day is about 5 miles. Once you hit that then build up to jogging for some of that. Then build up to running/sprinting during your jog (or even running for longer periods during your jog).

For strength, I'm personally a fan of the Bigger Leaner Stronger program (currently using it) and there's one for women called Thinner Leaner Stronger. Lot's of good nutrition tips and work outs in both of those books. If you want, then split your workouts (if you go to the gym) to doing strength (ie weight lifting) one day and doing cardio the next and keep that split for 5-6 days (if you want to go all out with working out).

There are a million ways to do it, it's figuring out what works for you and making time to do it. Personally I am up at 4:30 in the morning so I can hit the gym by 5 and workout for an hour during the week, workout at my leisure on saturday and sunday is my "day off" but then again I am a zealot about this stuff now.

Also get an app (or use the fitbit app) to track your calories and where those calories come from. Watch fat intake and if you plan to build muscle keep the protein intake on the higher end.

As I said there are a million ways to do it, but the journey begins with a single step.

[Pariste]

Find something of moderate activity that you really love to do to start off and spend the next month slowly building up in comfort level to more active things. When you find and prefer a certain excercise regime, time will fly by.

        Then find that one healthy food that you find interesting. I like to make a hobby of healthy eating. When I cook, I like to find certain food variations to create the best and most fullfilling flavor even when it's absolutely ridiculous. There are many healthy foods in the world to try in my opinion.

        Being healthy is an awesome experience and totally worth it 🙂

[AmandaBee]

You have gotten some really great advice here and I think what is important which was already said is you just have to START! A lot of times people wait for a specific day or time and just keep putting it off, you already know you want to get fit so make some goals, small ones to just get you started and go from there! This is already a great start!

[JanessaPablo]

First of all, thank you to everyone who took the time to reply to my post and questions. 

I did suck it up about two weeks after this post and just started walking and making sure that I reach my 10k goal everyday (who knew I could reach my step goal just by window shopping!) and cutting off soda and replacing it with water and fruit juice if I just miss the sweet stuff. However, I still fail at avoiding fast food most of the time, since that's the most accessible as of now. 

I've also found a Pilates calendar that I'm really interested to try called the Blogilates Beginner's Calendar 2.0, and researched more about the food pyramid so that I could figure out my own diet plan. 

I really do appreciate all the advice that you've given me and have taken note of all of them. Thank you again! 🙂 It feels amazing to be part of this helpful community. 🙂

[nkotblove]

Hello here from Kansas fan

Hello fitbit friends 🙂

it's hard to up with my friends on fitbit friends and just walking more to get my steps in I am at 13k steps today.

thanks for reading my post

Happy stepping

[Mukluk4]

Put one foot in front of the other!

[marfar]

The crucial question is for what we walk briskly every day?
What is going on inside each every time we move?
I did not understand until I walk than once or twice a week .Or a few times a month! Primarily due to pain in his ankles and shins...
But I understood that brisk walking is the only way to put into operation the sewage system in the body!
Our blood is cuisine body! He carries nutrients to billions of cells! But our cells remove toxins that can not be transported by blood. It is slightly alkaline with pH 7.35. The acidity of ph 3 has cells! The difference is logarithmic, so that toxins are nearly 50,000 times more acidic than blood!
Fortunately, there is a parallel system that deals with the disposal of cells! It is the lymphatic system!
And please tell me when was the last time the lymph medical tests? Never!
And if the blood has an engine that is the heart, lymph has no engine! What's lymph engine? Brisk walking!
Chemical, lymph is helped by lemon juice and mechanical massage helps a little but brisk walking is the engine!
I understood when I started walking briskly! After the first week the pain in my ankle decreased.
And keep going!
And I am glad to be with YOU , all FitBit users !

[DanielleinDC]

i'm not thee fittest person either (I'm also a lot older than you). But I just started doing it. I had on hand a set of three-pound dumbbells that I use for my arm day, and I wonder if I'm not ready to work up to five.

Anyway, get a light set of dumbbells and get used to those. Then graduate your weights.

If you can't run, walk. Or dance. Or bike. do what you can and what you like.

As the Nike ads say, just do it!