Its not till you get north of 45 and closer to the dreaded 50 year old mark that you start to take stock of your body. You look down and realize the decade of metabolic abuse you have subjected yourself to. And you finally come to the realization that its finally time to do something.
Here are 5 tips to get in your best shape at 45.
Its time! Your fat, sick, tired, or just plain fed up with being fat. And finally you have the desire to do something about it. But how do you start, what will make this time any different?
The truth? – only you can make it different this time. But these tips may help. They surely helped me. So lets begin…
Nail down your WHY…
Everyone needs a why. Whether you do it for:
- A spouse or loved one has told you to get healthy.
- You are concerned about your long term health.
- To help fight off a disease.
- Energy to keep up with your kids.
- Or any other reason.
Find your why and own it. Make sure its specific and not just “I want to get healthy”. For me I wanted to make sure I would live well into my old age. And that my health or fitness would not be the reason for an early death.
It helped that my spouse and I did it together, but I was committed either way. I was tired of weighing 260 + pounds. I was sick of being tired all day. I found my why made it specific and made up my mind and never went back.
BAD: I need to go on a diet for my 20 year old HS reunion.
GOOD: My blood pressure is high, I am obese, tired, and pre-diabetic. My wife is getting healthy and its time I get healthy for her, my family, and more importantly myself.
Discover WHO you are…
You need to take an honest assessment of yourself. Who you are physically and mentally. If you have issues that may hold you back from eating right and moving more then fix those. Are you a procrastinator? Do you suffer from low self-esteem? Lack motivation? Physically able to start a workout program?
Take stock of yourself, get a physical checkup, deal with your emotional well being. Getting to know yourself, and taking stock of what needs to be fixed well help you keep the WHY front and center and help you keep on the right track.
BAD: Just plunge in head first and gutting it out.
GOOD: See your doctor and get a physical, work on your mental health by seeing a professional or reading self-help books.
Figure out WHAT you are going to do…
Nothing is more frustrating then having the desire to get healthy, wake up ready to go, and not know what you are doing. Now is the time to set some goals of what you want to accomplish.
Everyone should know by now how to make “SMART” goals, so take the time to do some research on how you want to eat, move, and what you want to accomplish.
BAD: I want to lose weight.
GOOD: In 2 months I want to be able to workout 5 days a week lifting weights and doing cardio each day. Eating whole foods daily with a single cheat meal weekly, losing 10lbs.
Make a Plan of HOW you are going to achieve your goals…
You figured out what you are going to do to achieve your goals. Now make a plan of how you are going to get there. How are you going to eat. How will you move or workout.
Are you going to go slow, cold turkey, or full bore. Will you adopt a whole foods eating plan, KETO, or a Paleo eating lifestyle. Are you going to walk for your movement, hit they gym, or ride a bike.
How you are going to achieve your goals make them attainable. They become doable and when you figure out the how all you need to do is bust it out!!!
Make your WHEN right now!
You have your why and you are ready to go. By now you figured out who you are and that you can do this. You got the what and how nailed down and you are ready to go.
All thats left is to figure out the when. STOP… the when is right now. Dont delay get ready now and go. If you are ready and your when is Monday dont miss it!
Prepare for it, embrace it, get excited and take that first step. Then keep stepping, one foot in front of the other, and eventually you will end up where you need to be. FIT…HEALTHY…ALIVE.
Remember Arise above 45 and live the second half better than the first. If I can do it, you can do it as well.
