Getting Fit is Tough? – Then Wear a Cup
You Can Let Go Now Fellas © Tim Pannell Photography
I know what it’s like to be so heavy that it hurts just to get out of bed in the morning. Joints that scream and whine as I walk.
I guess being a ninja is out of the question for me. I couldn’t sneak up on anybody for an assassination attempt without my knees and ankles popping loud enough to alert an entire neighborhood.
I’m proud to say, I no longer have that problem. It’s not that I’ve lost ALL my weight. I’ve lost almost half of my goal. It’s just that all the working out, bike riding and P90X has helped strengthen my muscles which has strengthened my joints.
I wake up and get out of bed in the morning PAIN FREE. That is significant.
Ok, so what if you’re heavy. Get over it. If other people give you crap about being fat, that says more about them than it does about you. Don’t get healthy and fit because of others. Get fit and be healthy for yourself.
The judgmental looks and comments from people get old quickly and sometimes it can cause us to look for unrealistic approaches to weight loss to avoid those situations as quickly as possible.
I know it would be nice to take a magic pill that would help you lose 50 pounds overnight, but it’s just not realistic, and it’s definitely not healthy. If you’re heavy, you need a “life change” moment, not a get skinny quick scheme.
What if you only lost 2 pounds every month? That sounds like a pretty sucky goal doesn’t it? That’s hardly any weight at all, you must not be trying hard enough if that’s all you lose…….
At the end of 1 year you would have dropped 24 pounds, at the end of 2 years – 48 and the end of 3 years 72 pounds. Tell me again that 2 pounds a month is insignificant.
Here’s the cool part……..if you lose all that weight that gradually, the idea that you’ll put it back on is ridiculous. You will have been successful at changing your lifestyle.
No gimmick diets, no get skinny quick pills here, I’m talking about real change of attitude and choices and preferences. Change for life, not just for swimsuit season or somebody’s wedding.
Just resolve to start today by doing something, anything to be more active and to eat healthier foods. Don’t wait until tomorrow or next week. Do it now.
If you think it’ll be too hard, let me tell ya, it’s a lot harder to do nothing at all and progressively experience more and more pain just getting around doing your daily routines.
Think about what you will gain by eating healthier whole foods and how much more energy you’ll have for things that are important to you if you spend even just 30 minutes a day with a fairly intense workout.
In reality, getting fit isn’t that tough unless we insist on making it difficult. I know what I’m talking about here because I’ve done just that for over a decade. I made things overly complicated to justify my lack of action.
Make some healthy choices about the food that you will no longer eat. Make some healthy choices about the kind of exercise that you ARE going to do continuously and commit to it for life.
At least commit to a lifelong journey towards a healthier you. You can change things up as your weight changes or other circumstances change. Just don’t settle for doing nothing because you think it’s hard. If it’s tough…….wear a cup!
5 Reasons I Love P90X Workouts
P90X Intensity © Tim Pannell Photography
P90X……How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
1 – I love the intensity! No standing around, no sitting down, no walking. Did you ever meet somebody that was extremely fit, ask them what they do to stay in shape and have them say….”walk”? I didn’t think so.
2- I love that the P-90X workout routine shifts and changes everyday for 2 weeks straight. No boredom here. It’s perfect for any of you that have A.D.D.
3 – I am gaining muscle faster with P90X workouts than anything else I’ve tried throughout my life. I’m transforming my body and having a blast doing it.
4 – I have almost no cartilage left in my left knee…(that sounds funny doesn’t it?). It was painful just walking ever since I can remember. After just 2 months with P90X, both my knees are pain free. That’s absolutely a fitness miracle!
5 – I have as much energy throughout the day now as I did when I was a teenager. I get up at 5 am and go to bed after 11 pm and I’m holding my own doing it. You’d think with all the working out, I’d be more tired and sooner. It’s just not the case.
I could go on and on, but I’ll end with this. If you’ve struggled with weight loss for a long time, by long time I mean decades, and no longer believe you can actually get back into shape…..this is the workout for you.
It’s changed my life, literally. I’ve been as heavy as 310 lbs. I’m down to the 260 range now and know that I’ll hit my target weight of 210 in the coming months.
I couldn’t even come close to keeping up with the P90X DVD’s the first few weeks I followed them, but I can now. I felt like there was nothing else I could do. Nothing worked.
I got even more interested once I saw the P90X discount from joining the beachbody club. I just got to the point where I ran out of excuses and I had to do something about my overall health. I ha nothing left to lose, except the weight.
Fitness…Pre-Visualization
Pre-Visualize © Tim Pannell Photography
OK, any of you chubby hubbies out there. Close your eyes for a minute and picture yourself. How do you look? Are you fat or skinny in your mind’s eye?
Sports psychologists talk a lot about pre-visualization. Before you throw your pitch, before you shoot your free-throw, before you hit your tee shot, you visualize it first.
This act of pre-visualization causes your body to believe that it’s already successfully completed the task. Through consistent practice and with a repeatable routine, athletes commonly improve their performance percentages.
As someone struggling with their weight and or self image, the ability to see yourself as already healthy and already fit will help in your overall fitness strategy.
Don’t picture yourself as you are. Picture yourself at your ideal weight and high fitness level and begin to get comfortable with that and use it as motivation.
I officially started working out on May 1st 2009. I’m stronger than ever, healthier, and am burning fat. I’ve lost 12 pounds and my body fat % has dropped by 10 points.
I am now riding my recumbent bike for 1 hour a day and doing up to an hour of P90X.
The plan I started with 7 weeks ago is finally coming together. I started out at 275 lbs. I actually gained 8 pounds over the first 2 weeks, which was to say the least, frustrating.
I kept at it. I knew that if I just continued with my 5-6 meals per day and P90X workouts I’d eventually get my body’s metabolism turned around. I went from 2,400 calories/day down to 2,000 calories/day after the first 3 weeks.
I waited about 5 weeks to introduce cardio with my stationary bike. I now weigh 271 lbs. but most importantly, I have energy like crazy, my attitude is better and I’m having a great time working out again.
I was in Hollywood last week on a photo shoot and a friend and I hiked up one of the canyons off of Hollywood Blvd. and we went all the way to the top. I stopped 2 or 3 times for less than a minute each time, but it wasn’t difficult.
If I tried that hike 2 months ago my heart would have exploded out of my chest.
I’m able to see myself as I will eventually be. I don’t care how long it takes because I’m enjoying the ride and that’s reward in and of itself.
If you’ve started a fitness program and you’re not seeing results right away, don’t give up. Visualize yourself at your ideal weight and keep plugging away at it. It takes a little time for your body to get on track, but once it does the results become obvious.
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