Overhauling your lifestyle needn’t be a daunting affair. In my early twenties I was a champion couch potato and junk food connoisseur. I lived on hamburgers and coffee, smoked like a pig and never drank water. I also drank copious amounts of beer.
I was, as you can imagine, pudgy and out of shape.
I can no longer remember my reasons (perhaps I was just fed up with myself), but I decided to quit the beer and join a gym. That’s not to say I suddenly turned into a fitness freak overnight, nope, exercising simply meant wandering up to the gym on my lunch break and bumbling my way around the circuit of really basic machines for about 45 minutes.
I didn’t change anything else. I still ate badly, drank too much coffee and didn’t drink water, yet a couple of months later my pants were literally falling off me.
Getting to a point of being healthy, fit and in shape – especially if you’re starting out where I did – can seem like an insurmountable task, but don’t let that put you off.
The key is to start small, and then once you’ve mastered one thing you can move onto the next.
1. Drink more water. You wouldn’t dream of driving your car without water, so why do it to your body?
2. Opt for an earlier dinner. Eating after 8pm is a big no-no. Your body needs time to digest your evening meal before you hit the sack.
3. Don’t eat carbs at night. If all you’re doing is sitting on the couch after dinner, you don’t need the extra energy.
4. Quit just one bad thing. For me it was beer, what overindulgence can you stop?
5. Exercise. Just get out there and get moving. The more you move the better you’ll feel.
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6. Enjoy your coffee, but not on an empty stomach. If you are going to indulge then stick to one cup of good quality (organic if possible) coffee a day after breakfast. Caffeine is a stimulant; so forcing your body to deal with it on an empty stomach will mess with your metabolism and digestion.
We all have the capacity of effect positive change in our lives and it begins with one simple word. Decide.
What are you waiting for? 