Losing weight isn’t easy, but many people have done it, so we all know this isn’t impossible, so why do we struggle with it so much? We struggle because it’s hard. It’s difficult to work out at least thirty minutes a day 5 days a week because we all have so much going on in our lives. We work long hours, some have kids to take care of, friends to keep up with, pets to take care of, the list goes on and on. By the time most people get home at the end of the day and have a minute to rest, the last thing on your mind is getting on the treadmill, riding the stationary bike or taking a run. It’s hard to gather the motivation to get your body moving when you are exhausted and you aren’t a naturally active person.

How about nutrition, how can you commit to eating healthy foods when there is a fast food joint on every corner mocking you with the ease of driving up to the window and having a steaming bag of food in your lap in less than two minutes. Really, think about that, you don’t even have to get out of your car and walk into the restaurant. It’s mind boggling when you think about how easy it is to just pick up a burger and fries. It gets easier still, you don’t even have to leave your house, you can order out and have it delivered. Amazing, for a phone call and a few dollars you can have a thousand calories of fat and grease delivered to you, you’ll probably burn all of five calories getting off the couch to answer the door. The next step will be having a mainline IV for this stuff so you don’t even have to lift it from the plate to your mouth. Getting fat is easy, all of the temptation is brought to your door in cheap affordable boxes with huge portions and coupons for more.

So with all the convenience food, the long work hours and the full days how do you make eating healthy, working out and losing weight easier? You take small steps towards making big changes. If you are severely obese you probably need to take drastic measures for immediate heath reasons, but in that case you should be under a doctors care. If you are someone who has a low to moderate amount of weight to lose, you can start by making little changes to kick start a complete lifestyle change. I’m sure you’ve heard many of these suggestions before but I think it’s worth hearing them again, after all repetition is the key to learning:

• Cut out soda
  We’ve all heard this a million times but it bears repeating, it has no nutritional value and it has immediate negative effects on your body, the least of which is weight. This stuff eats at your teeth. If you have to have it stick with diet, or seltzer water flavored with a little juice. There’s no sense in drinking your calories.
• Eat fruits and/or vegetables withe every meal
  They’re packed with vitamins and minerals, they are very low in calories so you can eat quite a bit to fill you up and they are portable. What more could you ask for? It’s just as easy to grab an apple to eat on the go as it is to grab a candy bar. You get the sweet you were craving and the apple with fill you up more too.
• Get Active in any way you can
  Not everyone has large blocks of time to dedicate to working out, but everyone can be active in one way or another. Take a few ten minute walks during the day, take the stairs instead of the elevator, run around with your kids, park in the far part of the parking lot, basically look for any opportunity to get your body moving. The simple truth is that losing weight and getting fit isn’t easy but it is necessary, so find the time to get some activity in your day.
• Don’t give up completely when you slip up
  I think this is the most important thing to remember. We all have bad days, we all get lazy or too tired and stressed but you can’t let derail your efforts. Just like in anything else in life you need to pick yourself back up and try again. Getting fit and healthy is not a race to the finish, it is a marathon you will be running for the rest of your life. Some days will be easier than others and hopefully when you get to a point where you are just maintaining it will have become such a part of your life it hardly ever feels like a chore. The point is to retrain your thinking, just because something is hard doesn’t mean it isn’t worth doing.

I keep saying to myself that this is the beginning of my journey but the truth is it’s not, I’ve been walking this road all of my life, only now I am heeding the directions on the map and trying to control the destination. I’ve lived 34 years of my life knowing that the way I was eating was leading me in the wrong direction and pretending I didn’t care. I’m done not caring, It’s hard work to follow the steps and keep on track but I am ready for the challenge.

I’d love to know what your tips are for some small changes that can add up over time. Leave me a comment, what have you done differently?