What is your fitness success story? How many have you heard? Look at all those on television. Believe it or not, everyone who is physically able can change his or her lifestyle with good nutrition, and especially strength training to lose weight.<\/p>\n

Perhaps you\u2019re a mother of several children who has spent more time raising her kids and neglecting herself, putting family first, that you wish you were the younger healthier you. Or, maybe, you\u2019re the guy to built his business and slowly became increasingly overweight over the years and out of shape putting the business first over your own needs. Let\u2019s change that and get you going on the road to improvement.<\/p>\n

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Regardless of what success story you see on the news, TV, with your friends or elsewhere, there is a commonality among them that all can learn from and achieve similar lifestyle goals. We want you to say \u201cI did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

What did you do or want to do? Well, you want to get your body back! You want to live a healthier lifestyle, have more energy and look and feel great. When you were in your 20s and 30s you could eat and drink lots of things and likely were never bothered about weight gain and sagging midsections or butts. Now, you\u2019re in your 40s or older and everything that used to be the old you seem to be gone. It does not need to be that way. What\u2019s missing? Time has taken its toll, but now you\u2019re going to make time and commitment work for you.<\/p>\n

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No longer will you be the frumpy you or the guy with the sagging beer belly. You\u2019re going to take your life back! How hard is it? It is not as difficult as you may fear, but it will take some effort. I want you to follow the eight principles below to become as much of the old you and even a new you, but with renewed vigor for the future, as you can. These principles are common to almost all success stories in health and fitness. Trust me, the rewards will be more than you imagine.<\/p>\n

1. You are going to have a positive attitude. Attitude is everything! Let nothing stand in your way as you begin this quest. Sit down, make some mental notes of where you used to be and where you want to go. Do not let others dictate \u2013 this is for you. Stay the course and stay positive. Be positive in all you do and it will spill over into other areas of your life.<\/p>\n

2. Change your lifestyle because you need to. Obviously the old one didn\u2019t get you where you want to be, but it did get you to where you are now. It\u2019s time for the proverbial engine overhaul as you take stock of where you are. You haven\u2019t been exercising or eating well. Those are the first two things to change.<\/p>\n

3. Be determined to stick it out. You must learn alternatives for everything. You\u2019re on the road and need to eat out \u2013 choose wisely. The weather makes it unable for you to get to the gym to work out \u2013 workout in the home or office. Even if it\u2019s not the caliber you want, it will keep you moving forward. Determine right now not to let anything \u2013 weather, schedule, etc. \u2013 keep you from your goal. Never become discouraged. Maybe you lost only \u00bd pound instead of 4; that progress, keep moving.<\/p>\n

4. Develop a support system. Find workout friends at the gym, home, work, or social media. Tell them all about your goals. Believe it or not, they\u2019ll help hold you accountable and cheer you on. Just stay away from dream killers and Indian crabs \u2013 they\u2019re everywhere \u2013 avoid them at all costs. You may become stuck along the way, but we all do at some point. Find a way around the problem. Ask your friends; while the advice may not be perfect it may spur great ideas from you.<\/p>\n

5. Start slowly. Do not try to totally change your diet or try to workout 8 hours per week in the gym. Starting too fast in the gym will result in great soreness and you will not want to go back. Both will be self-defeating. Start making daily nutrition changes, small ones that you can stay on top of. Eat a grilled chicken sandwich instead of a burger. Slice 100 calories there and 200 here. It adds up. For working out, if you have not been for some time, begin simply by walking and gradually increase your time and intensity \u2013 begin with only 2-3 times per week so that the necessary time can be fit in. As you do this, the changes will be small, but constant. And in a short period, you\u2019ll be amazed at your progress. I help a friend recently and just small changes like this helped him lose 18 pounds in 10 weeks, adding small amounts of exercise here and there. It works; it always has.<\/p>\n

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6. Never give up; be persistent. Winners Never Quit; Quitters Never Win (coined on team shirts at the University of Colorado where I worked for 10 years with Doc Kreis, Donnie Maib, and Dave Plettl). Make it your motto to. No matter what, those who have a success story ride out the difficult times. No setback is too small or large to overcome. Maybe you got sick and lost an entire week of exercise. It happens and while you may have gained a couple of pounds during that time, those who succeed get back in the saddle and keep going. Every day can bring new opportunities, whether they set you back or propel you forward, it\u2019s part of the process. Thus, enjoy and look at any obstacle as a challenge, just as you would your workouts. Deal with it and forge ahead.<\/p>\n

7. Listen to your body. Those who succeed become more aware of what their body is telling them. You\u2019ll feel fat in areas you didn\u2019t notice before, mostly because you\u2019ve burned off a lot of the unwanted fat. More importantly, by feeling it, you\u2019ll do something about it. Instead of eating that hot and sloppy burger, you\u2019ll become more conscious of what\u2019s going into your body and thus, make better choices. These choices will help you lose pound after pound \u2013 all because you\u2019re now listening to your body and what it tells you.<\/p>\n

8. By involving the others steps above, which are quite natural, the entire process helps to encourage and promote better self-motivation. Developing that positive attitude from the beginning will flow into all the other steps, helping you to improve your lifestyle one day at a time. The more motivated you become, the less you rely on others, including your support group, you just do it!<\/p>\n

What are you waiting for? Start today and enjoy a happier, healthier, less stressed you.<\/p>\n

Following are some tips to help you begin:<\/strong>
\n1. First, set a basic nutrition decision making process. Choose to eat more veggies, the proper portion size, and more vegetables. There\u2019s an article about this on our website. For the nitty gritty, set a breakfast time and routine. This should include foods you enjoy, but are healthy. For example, for breakfast you could have a couple of egg whites on whole wheat toast, protein drink, fruit juice (4 ounces), etc. But, you need to begin your day with breakfast to initially boost your metabolism. For lunch try a tuna sandwich, turkey, cheese, or peanut butter. So many choice \u2013 select a healthy one you like. Then, for dinner the choices also are endless; a nice salad topped with beans, nuts, or avocado, broiled fish and green beans, broccoli, and a pork chop (trimmed), etc.<\/p>\n

2. Plan a workout time and an initial 2-3 days only as a starting point. Choose simple exercises that make it more enjoyable for you. But, do something different each time, i.e., choose to work a different body part, different cardio exercise, etc. Next, choose a set time, preferably the same time, for each workout day \u2013 this helps to develop routine and habit, like so many other things you do. Don\u2019t worry, as you continue, you\u2019ll learn to enjoy the challenge of working out and begin to push yourself more. It\u2019s a natural process and will become part of your lifestyle.<\/p>\n

3. Do not go haphazardly to the gym and wander around from machine to machine. Get a trainer to help you if you need to and use a workout program, checking each exercise off and keeping track of the weight lifted, time spent for exercise and rest, total time in gym, etc. Following a stricter regimen will help you stick with it and minimize time spent in the gym. Try the \u2018my workout\u2019 section of the website where we professionally develop a 4-week program just for you based on your needs. They are not canned and will change for every program as you progress.<\/p>\n

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4. Stay away from you biggest food temptations. Perhaps you enjoy, beer, wine, chocolate, ice cream, cookies, donuts, etc. You can have them, but only as a reward for you hard effort. Thus, choose one that you really like and have it on the weekend. Really savor it as you think about how you\u2019re getting rid of that sagging butt or beer belly. The key is moderation.<\/p>\n

5. Finally, think about what you\u2019d really like to do, i.e., why you want to have a new you. Maybe it\u2019s to show you midsection again with a midriff shirt and low cut pants or for the guy, it\u2019s to wear that muscle shirt and slacks that currently don\u2019t fit. Work toward that goal, don\u2019t stop, keep pushing forward.<\/p>\n

Congratulations. Now, you can truly say, \u201cI did it!\u201d<\/p>\n

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