Three Steps to Shape Up this Season

As the weather changes and you think of the joys and challenges that the season brings, do you wish you were in better shape?  I guarantee that if you take these three steps, you will shape up this season.  You will enjoy better nutrition, be more fit, and feel better about yourself.  I think you will be surprised how simple these three steps are:

Step #1:  Eat More!  Yes, that is what I said … eat more.  Your over all nutrition will greatly improve when eat more fruits and veggies every day.  Instead of limiting foods or giving up certain foods, just put your mind on this one goal: eat more fruits and veggies.  You will be amazed how this positive focus on what you want to do (rather than what to avoid) will increase the quality of your nutrition.  The more you eat these healthy foods, the less you will eat junk food.  This happens automatically.  All the vitamins, minerals, and fiber in fruits and veggies will help you feel better and brighter.

Step#2:  Ya gotta love it!  Whatever exercise you do, choose it because it feels good.  If you love walking, then walk.  If you love gardening, then garden. (See links for garden sites below.) This is one of the best workouts because it includes strength training, flexibility and aerobics. Do you enjoy the camaraderie of a fitness class?  Do you like swimming?  Is it more enjoyable to workout at home or with people?  Whatever you choose, make your own enjoyment part of your decision.  If you don’t enjoy your exercise, you will not continue for long.  You want to choose a workout that you love so that you can stay fit for a lifetime.  (Some of the members of my fitness class have been working out with me for ten years!  That is because they really enjoy themselves in our class.  Before that, they had never stayed with a workout for more than a few months.)  If you want to stay with your fitness plan, ya gotta love it.

Step #3:  Redefine success!  Instead of measuring your success on the scale or with a tape measure, measure your success by the ACTIONS you have taken.  Keep track of your actions on a calendar.  Put a gold star on your calendar when you exercise that day.  Post a green star on days when you eat more fruits and veggies.  What are your healthy living choices?  Select a color star that you will use for that choice.  You are a success when you see stars!  With this new definition of success, you will look at your calendar to appreciate your progress.  Your calendar full of stars, not your scale, will tell you how successful you have been.

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I said that these three steps would help you shape up.  Let’s talk more about what that means.  Being “in shape” means being FIT, not fitting into a specific size of jeans.  Fitness is the result of your actions, not your measurements.  When you think of fitness this way, you can succeed today, no matter what your body size.  Any day that you eat more fruits and veggies, you have succeeded.  Any day that you participate in enjoyable exercise, you have succeeded.  You don’t have to wait for a future body change.  You are living the change and feeling yourself get healthier right now.  You can be satisfied and appreciate yourself today.

When you shape up this season, you will feel stronger, be more flexible, and have more stamina.  Your success is based on your lifestyle, not your looks.  Anybody can succeed.  All it takes is one small action followed by another.  No one is excluded.  All sizes and all ages can feel better today, with these three simple steps.