My Diet and Fitness Program for All Your Fitness Needs

Fitness: Today’s Missing Ingredient

March 23rd, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed

Unfortunately, modern conveniences tend to minimize the amount of activity that we get as a society. Many of us drive everywhere, we have food delivered and we spend alot of time watching television or playing on our computers. None of these activites require much physical movement. We don’t even have to get up and walk to the television anymore in order to change the channel.

If we are not careful, our fitness will decline and so will our health. With obesity constantly rising, it’s more important than ever to incorporate some kind of fitness program into our lifestyle. A complete fitness program includes nutrition, exercise and similar healthy habits.

The easiest way to start or improve our fitness program is to make small changes to our everyday lifestyle. Starting small will make fitness and exercise easier to include in our lives and will not require significant sacrifice and motivation. Small fitness improvements made today, that become a regular part of our lives, can have significant life long health benefits.

Motivation, Motivation, Motivation

Even if we start by taking baby steps towards improving our fitness, we still need motivation to accomplish our new goals. Motivation is needed to get started and to maintain our new habits and lifestyle. There are many ways to motivate yourself, so pick whichever method works best for you. Here are a few fitness and exercise motivation strategies:

focus on getting into shape for beach season, and wearing your old favorite bathing suit;
if you have a special occasion, (ie., wedding, birthday, reunion, etc) use that as a motivating deadline for getting into shape;
find a partner with similar goals and create a support system;
reward yourself with your dream vacation, give yourself something to look forward to;
think of activites that you really want to accomplish, that require increased fitness;
create fitness goals with deadlines, both short-term and long-term; and
focus on your goals at least 3 times a day and visualize yourself as the new you, etc.

These are just a few suggestions, but really think about the benefits that you want to obtain from your fitness program and why they are important to you. The more emotionally attached you are to your fitness goals and benefits, the more likely you are to accomplish them. Unfortunately, few people are motivated by the mere fact that a fitness program will enable them to live a longer and healthly life. Everyone is motivated by different factors, only you can decide what will work for you.

Starting a fitness program can be as easy as walking 30 minutes, three times a week. If you do not walk now, this small change can really improve your overall fitness. You can accomlish this by walking every morning, walking after dinner, walking to and from the bus station instead of driving, taking the stairs if you are only going up or down 3-5 floors, going inside instead of using the drive through, etc. When you begin to focus on fitness and exercise, you will find small ways everyday to include exercise in your everyday activites.

Seek Advice

If you are ready to begin your fitness program but are not sure what types of activity will be most beneficial, get advice from a professional. You can consult with your doctor, a fitness trainer at your gym, or review fitness guides and information on the internet.

You should always speak with your doctor before starting any new fitness program. Have a complete physical examination and let your doctor know what you are trying to accomplish. Depending upon your current fitness level, he may offer some guidelines that you should follow.

Pick a fitness program that is right for you and get started as soon as possible. Remember, it only takes 21 days to begin a new habit. Once fitness becomes a priority and a habit in your life, exercising and eating right will start to become second nature. Just do it!

The more often you exercise the easier it will be to get to the gym. The most important part is getting started.
To Your Health.

MyDietAndFitnessProgram.com

Why Putting Fitness First is Important

March 17th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed

If your like most people, you tend to take your health and fitness for granted. It’s not until you start gaining weight, have a medical emergency or reach the age of 55 or 60 that you start to think about fitness. Sometimes waiting for a medical emergency or late in life before improving your fitness can prove fatal.

Do not let this happen to you and your family. You need to put your health and fitness first in life and begin making changes today. Although you may not see an immediate significant impact from implementing a fitness first program, it will pay off in the long run. It is the best way to ensure a long, healthy and happy life.

The fitness first plan is simple and can be implemented by making small permanent improvements in your diet, exercise and fitness program. It involves living a healthier life style so you can reap the rewards today and especially later in life.

Living healthy when you are younger provides numerous benefits such as:

live a longer more productive live;
minimize your risk of developing health problems later in life;
allows you to engage in the activities you want later in life versus having limited mobility;
can slow the aging process; and
enhances your overall sense of well-being; and more.

A fitness first plan will differ from person to person because we all have different fitness goals and our bodies function differently. However each plan includes a balanced and healthy diet, an exercise program, good sleeping habits, limited alcohol consumption and the removal of bad habits such as smoking and drugs.

Designing Your Fitness First Plan

Although this may sound selfish, you are the most important person in your life. You need to take the time to learn as much as possible about your body and current fitness level, so you can design the fitness first plan that is right for you.

Your plan should leverage and maintain your strengths while minimizing or eliminating your weaknesses. For example, some people have more flexibility with their diet because their bodies process food efficiently, while others need to adhere to a very strict diet. You may have tremendous lower body strength but minimal upper body strength. You may have great muscle tone but lack flexibility.

Your fitness first plan should address your specific problem areas to ensure good overall health and fitness. It’s also advisable to design and/or review your plan with your doctor, a personal trainer, a nutrionist and/or other specialist.

When developing your fitness first plan, the following steps may prove helpful:

analyze your current state (i.e., diet, exercise, body fat percent, habits, etc.);
design your long-term future state;
develop your initial short term plan to begin moving from current to future state;
review your plan with specialists, as needed;
monitor your progress regularly; and
implement additional improvements, as needed.

Your fitness first plan should motivate you to focus on your fitness today so that you can accomplish what you want in the long term. The greatest benefits of the plan will be experienced 5, 10, 20 or 40 years from now, depending upon your age.

Your fitness and health should be your number one priority. If you do not take care of yourself who will?

Your fitness first plan should also be fun and include activities that you enjoy. A happy and healthy lifestyle is not meant to be an overwhelming burden. It enhances your life.

Sure it takes work, but the work can be challenging, interesting and (at least some of it) fun.

To Your Health,
MyDietAndFitnessProgram.com

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