Starting Your Fitness Journey
Starting a fitness journey can be an intimidating process. If you’ve already tried and failed before then you know how discouraging it can be. I always tell my clients that getting started is almost always the hardest part. There are a lot of questions that you may have swirling around in your head, like:
Where do I begin? Gym membership? Trainer? Group classes?
What exercises should I do?
How do I avoid getting hurt?
How do I know what or how much to eat?
When will I start seeing results?
While there is a lot of good fitness information on the internet, there is just as much (if not more) bad information and poor advice given to people every day, and it’s important to learn how to sift through the garbage to figure out what works for you.
To begin, let’s ask ourselves a few questions:
What fitness goals have you set for yourself? Short-term? Long-term?
Have you tried getting in better shape before? What worked and what didn’t?
How is your diet? Have you put much effort into eating better?
How active is your lifestyle? Are you on the move a lot? Do you sit a lot?
You may or may not have answers to these questions yet, but they are important to ask from the get-go so you aren’t wasting a ton of time and effort.
So where should we start? We’ll be taking a look at the two most important factors to consider when embarking on your fitness journey: nutrition and exercise.
Nutrition
It goes without saying that your diet is the one of most important factors in determining your bodyweight. Food contains energy in the form of calories, and when you consume more calories than you burn off, those leftover calories will be stored as body fat. This is called energy balance.
Remember this: calories in vs. calories out.
When discussing food and calories, we’re talking about the “calories in” part. But what exactly should you be looking for when deciding on foods to try and foods to cut? There are a few things to consider when choosing which foods to include in our diet:
Nutrient/Caloric Density
Macronutrient Contents
Food Quality
The nutrient and caloric density of a food refers to the amount of calories and nutrients (vitamins, minerals, carbs, fats, protein, etc.) in that food. Ideally, we want to avoid foods that are calorically dense while lacking nutrients, while striving for foods that are more nutrient dense with fewer calories.
Food quality (where those calories come from) is also very important to consider when choosing which foods to eat and which to avoid. Overly processed “junk” foods are not created equally to more natural foods, nor do they have the same effects on our bodies. In the future, we’ll also dive into ingredients to avoid, but choosing higher quality foods will largely eliminate these harmful ingredients anyway. Choosing more natural whole foods will leave us feelings better, functioning better, and living better and longer.
Here are some tips you can try right away to start developing better eating habits in order to support your fitness goals and improve your results:
Stop snacking between meals
Chew longer and slow down while eating
Stop eating 1-2 hours before bed
Reduce meal sizes to prevent habitual overeating (don’t make as much food)
Drink more water throughout the day
Avoid processed foods that are high in calories, sugar, and fat, and low in protein
Get use to feeling a little hungry instead of eating the second your stomach growls
Exercise
This is another one that goes without saying. Put simply, moving burns calories, and moving more burns more calories, making it easier to reach a calorie deficit, which will lead to weight loss. A good training regimen will include both cardio and resistance training, both of which we will discuss. First, lets talk cardio.
Cardio
Start simple. Walk for 30 minutes a day.
Once walking is too easy for you, try speed walking or jogging.
Eventually you can bump up the intensity by running.
Try cardio machines, like the treadmill, elliptical, stair climber, or rower.
Aim for at least 90 minutes of cardio per week and gradually increase as your body adapts. If you’re new to exercise this might sound like a lot, but it’s a small investment for a longer, happier, and healthier life.
Resistance Training
While cardio is essential for health and burns a lot of calories, the importance of resistance training cannot be understated. Whether it’s bodyweight exercises, resistance bands, machines, or free weights, resistance training should be a key aspect of ANY fitness journey, regardless of what your goals are. This doesn’t mean you have to adopt a powerlifting or bodybuilding program, though. Simple bodyweight and band exercises can easily be done at home. If/when you want to take it to the next step with free weights and machines, consider getting a gym membership and (ideally) hire a trainer to assist you on form and technique for these exercises. Start with 2 days of resistance training per week. This can be done in between your cardio days or right before your cardio workout. Eventually, you’ll want to increase this to at least 3 days per week to really reap the benefits of resistance training. Anything over 3 days is icing on the (low calorie) cake.
Here are some tips to increase your success with training:
Workout with a friend to keep each other accountable
Make sure you sweat during every session
Have a light snack (like fruit) 1 hour before your workout
Pack your gym bag/clothes the night before to eliminate potential excuses
Consider hiring a trainer to maximize your results, optimize your time, and minimize injuries
Don’t sit around and talk too much during workouts. Get in, kick ass, and get out!
Sleep for 6-8 hours per night to optimize your recovery and energy levels.
Conclusion
While there are many factors in each person’s life that can make the weight loss journey a challenging one, it’s not impossible for anyone. Be ambitious, set your sights high, create short-term and long term weight loss goals to stay on track, and consider posting your journey on social media so your friends and family can watch. This will make you feel obligated to keep trying, and it may flip a switch in someone else’s mind to encourage them to lose weight and live a longer and healthier life. And always remember, if you need more guidance or if you have questions, you can always email me at zack@zntraining.com or message me on social media. Good luck on your fitness goals, and try to have fun on the journey!
