No-one can lead, motivate or inspire you to shape up unless you have made the decision to do so.
The first step is recognizing that you are negatively affecting your health by not exercising or eating a proper diet. Getting out of this stage has to come from you, no matter how difficult it is to admit it, so stop kidding yourself. You can do this! You CAN feel more energized, you CAN start changing your mindset – find your power today!
Start by going to the doctor. If you are obese, they will likely tell you that this means disease risk factors have increased drastically (hyperlipidemia, coronary heart disease, type II diabetes, hypertension and chance of a stroke) since you hit this body weight.
There’s a big difference between wanting to lose weight for esthetical reasons, and having your doctor confirm that your body composition is a health risk. If you, or someone you love, have ballooned into a size that has become restrictive to carry out normal activities, don’t wait for a health scare to do something about it. The facts are scary enough to motivate you to step 2.
The second step is to get medical clearance to begin exercising. Start gathering information; consider the benefits of taking control of your health, cleaning up your diet and starting to move more.
If you are obese, water exercise is even better than walking – you will love the freedom of movement in water that allows the joints to move naturally, the weightlessness makes water non-injurious and therapeutic to the joints. Range of motion and flexibility will also benefit. Combined with a low fat diet, lean tissue is preserved and enhances your metabolic rate through building muscle – burning extra calories both during your swim and after.
Many mistakenly try losing the weight first before starting to exercise, but even fifteen minutes of gentle walking per day will boost your confidence, mood, range of movement and desire to eat healthy foods. Consider it to be movement, not exercise. All mammals need to move, and you’re a mammal.
- (C) Cat Smiley, 2012
