Start

Beginning the journey is often times overwhelming.  When thinking about health, a lot of people immediately think getting into shape is one item on their new year's resolution list, but there are often many other "priorities" that come before that.  You know, things you have to do before getting to the gym even becomes a possibility.  What some call priorities (haves), I see as road blocks.  For example, many people think that they have to stop eating _____ , have to get a gym membership, have to buy a new pair of expensive shoes, have to lose sleep because there is just not enough time in the day, have to lose a few pounds through dieting first.
 
Basically what we are doing is sabotaging any chance of getting into shape by making it seem like the gap between here and there is uncrossable.  It seems when folks think about getting in shape, they image a version of themselves looking like a Greek god and say to themselves, "Ya right that's impossible." Why such a huge goal?  Let me simplify with this; Start.  Forget about what unhealthy food you have ingested over the course of the past week.  Forget the people who doubt you and always try to find a way of cutting you down subtly or outright (I call 'em haters, but more on them in a future post) Forget about all the excuses you give yourself and start! What you will notice is that once you get into whatever sort of workout you choose, you will shed some bad habits along the way.  Your body will crave water, healthy food and get this, a consistent workout schedule. 

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Is this what "in-shape" is to you?

But you know the drill, you wont be fooled by what I have stated so far, because you know that once you start working out, all the bad habits don't just magically disappear.  It might take a year before you start to find somethings you use to crave at least moderately of disgusting 50% of the time. Now I'm curious though.  What sort of purpose do our bad habits play?  Sure cigarettes, coffee and alcohol can be hard to kick because of their addictive qualities, but do we crave Oreos (which are actually vegan) because we are addicted to them?  I say probably not and the reality is that we will crave unhealthy foods because their sugary, fatty or nutritionally void qualities provide us with a psychological comfort.  A child can get pretty peeved when they don't get a cookie because in their mind, their immediate happiness is tied to having that cookie. 

The deeper question for us adults is posed, "What is the particular food or drink fulfilling in us?"  Will another cup of coffee make your day better?  Will starting your day with some doughnut holes really bring comfort to your morning?  I find for myself that when I don't let myself be fooled into thinking that a sugary snack will make my day be brighter, I actually have a better day.  This is because I'm not fighting the sugar crash for the next couple hours.  I have also found that when I really don't want to go for a run, those are the days when I need it the most and afterward, I'm awake and ready for that day's challenges. 

So here's a couple questions.  What is your roadblock? What can you not start your day without? Share below!