1. The biggest question I have gotten so far is, “How do I start??”. Set yourself reasonable goals in small steps or SMART goals. SMART stands for: Specific: Answer the 5 W of Who, What, Where, Which, Why. Example: I want to walk 3 times a week for 20 minutes for the next 2 weeks with my dog. Measurable: How do you know when you reach that goal? Also be specific. Example: I want to loose 2 inches off my waist in 30 days. Attainable: How are you going to reach that goal? When the goal is important to you, you will find ways to attain them. Realistic: Make sure that you are Truly willing and able to do what you have set out. Have you told yourself to do 1 hour of running a day when you have not ran for 10 years? A more reasonable goal will be 20 minutes of walking for the next 2 weeks and bump it up from there. Timely/Tangible: Something that you can see the end too. Keep the times shorter (1 week, 1 month, 3 months). If the goal is to finish in a year, it gives you a lot of time to put it off. Also make sure it is something that you can feel and keep you excited about! 2. Is weight training important? YES! Very important to young and old, male and female. Lifting increases your resting metabolism or makes you burn more calories when you aren’t moving. It can reduce chances of injury, make you stronger for regular life and a tighter leaner package all around. A note about weight training: Muscle weighs more than fat so the scale can trick you here. Muscle also takes up less space in the body than fat. Lets say that fat is the side of a loaf of bread, then muscle is the size of a carrot (Just talking size here folks, not weight). 3. Should I do an Hour of cardio a day? No, that’s not necessary especially when just starting out. (See SMART goals). 20 minutes a day to start is great (even 10 minutes at a time) and work up to a minimum of 30 minutes a day for just general heart health. After a few months, you want to continue to challenge yourself with your cardio. Increase the treadmill speed, increase the level on the elliptical for example. The more you do it, the more efficient your body becomes and the leaner you will be! 4. As Spark people talks about, food is VERY important. As they say, you are what you eat. Drink your min of 8 glasses of water daily, track your food and make changes as you learn and grow. Think of weight loss as a challenge. If you fall off one day and miss something, brush yourself off and hop right back on. Sometimes going backwards teaches us how to go forwards.
