Getting Started

Starting out on the path to fitness is often the hardest step. I don't think any of us want to be unfit, unhealthy or unshapely, but buying a Bar One chocolate is so much easier than going for a jog!

I speak as a fat person who loves food. I was never blessed with the kind of metabolism Delon speaks of. In primary school I was the fat girl. I never even tried to run, jump or throw things on the sports field. I tried to play hockey and was given the goalie position for the B side, while my best friend played centre and won the 100m sprint.
With high school came vanity and peer pressure. I also wanted to be like the skinny girls who were satisfied by a carrot stick for lunch, I tried crash diets which mainly consisted of trying to starve myself but only resulted in binges after about 2 days.
In short: I'm not naturally skinny, I like food (a lot!) and I wasn't born a sportswoman! Fortunately I came to the realisation that none of this means I have to be unhealthy.

I firmly believe that once you can come to the realisation that being fit and healthy is a way of life, you have already conquered the first hurdle. This is not something that you do for a month to lose 5kg, fitness and health are habits you adopt so that:
1) in the short term you have more energy everyday
2) in the very near future you start to feel good about yourself and so are able to get laid more often, which will only encourage you (although, frankly, this benefit hasn't quite kicked in for me yet, i'm surviving on the endorphins I get from the exercise)
3) in the long term you live a longer and more productive life, not having to spend 50% of your time after the age of 40, waiting in the line at the doctor's office or in the queue at the pharmacy to collect your bag of pills that keep you alive.

Start small, start easy. Dig out your old pair of gym shoes and cross 1 item of junk food off your shopping list. You have already accomplished much, you're getting started.

Finding the Motivation to Achieve a Personal Goal

One of the most difficult things to do when trying to achieve a personal fitness goal is to stay motivated. My motivation is to loose my gut and put on a bit of muscle. I've always been thin but as my age increased, my metabolism decreased - resulting in a bit more unwanted meat around the waist. I didn't realise how fat I had become until I saw a photo of myself and how my belly protruded far beyond my centre.

Seeing this photograph helped me to define a personal goal - "loose the gut". I printed it out and have it pasted on my wall so that I can be motivated not to look like that again (at least not before 55).

Something else which helps me to stay on track is that I often browse through "Mens Health" magazine which always has a cover model showing off his abs and telling the story of how easy they are to get and to maintain. Although they are models they seem very ordinary. Their reason, I'm sure, for staying in shape is to remain employed as models.

If you do want to make a serious change about the way you look, define your personal goal. Constantly remind yourself of what it is you are trying to achieve.

Fit and Healthy

Welcome to this blog. I hope that it inspires and motivates you to loose your tummy and to stay in shape.

I hope to shed some light on nutrition and provide some fitness tips.