Two questions for you if your goal is getting in shape fast. Do you want that fitness to happen quickly, or do you want it to last. I’m not saying those have to be mutually exclusive. But for many people—possibly including yourself—they often turn out that way.
Why? Because getting in shape Fast often requires a crash diet AND frequent strenuous workouts, which you may be unable to maintain over the long term. So you go off the monster diet and ease way up on the workouts, and what happens? That weight you so arduously lost comes right back. And often brings along some buddies as well.
Now you’re further from your goal than when you began! Not to mention discouraged and pissed-off besides. Why even go there? Try “Plan B” instead: small (but steady) steps that can also get you to that great body. Here, we call such steps “turtle tracks” or sometimes "personal kaizen."
Small Steps Rock
And they can get you in shape, too. Although you may not be "getting in shape fast," you're doing so in a way you can sustain. Here’s how small steps might work for you.
Let’s say you decide that your (slower) getting-in-shape-fast strategy will include two elements: diet and exercise. Using the turtle-tracks approach, you might set one long-term goal for both components of your plan.
* Diet. Perhaps you decide to work toward a vegetarian diet during the next six to eight months, since people often slim down when they eat that way. (Click here for a discussion of a vegetarian diet.) Maybe you also set a weight-loss goal for that period.
* Exercise. You also decide that within six to eight months, you’ll be walking/working out for at least forty minutes five or six times a week. And that you’ll be doing it without gasping for breath.
So, about that exercise plan. Because you really want this weight-loss effort to work, perhaps you kick-off with a single modest goal: maybe exercising for ten minutes a day. (If exercise is not now a part of your routine.)
You can probably find time for ten minutes of exercise—if only just marching in place while you watch television. Or even while standing at the kitchen counter reading. After four or five days, maybe you step it up to fifteen minutes…and then to twenty, etcetera.
Raising the Bar
Working in ten or so minutes of exercise every day may not be that big a deal. But upping the ante with more time and more vigorous exercise could be something else.
So, let’s look at the time factor. How are you going to find another half-hour or so for exercising? Given your busy life and so on…
* Get up earlier, perhaps, and exercise in the morning? You’d probably need at least an hour to suit up, exercise for thirty or forty minutes (eventually), and be ready to dress for work. Can’t imagine getting up that early? Click here for a cool strategy.
* Join a gym. If your finances permit, perhaps you could join a gym and work out in the evenings and during weekends. True, you might be tired in the evenings, plus the dues could stress your budget. And, if you have a family, you may not want to sacrifice that time with them. Worth considering, though, if you know you’d actually use your membership.
* Exercise at home in the evening and on weekends. This one could be a winner—again, if you’ll do it. It’s cheaper than a gym, and you don’t have to get up any earlier in the morning. Perhaps invest in some exercise clothes, as well, to help put you in the proper mood. And get hold of an exercise video targeted to your level.
Now you’re on your way to getting in shape “fast” but also doing it in a way you can sustain. And sure, this was an example, while you’re operating in real time. But the principle remains the same: all you really need to do is set your target and start taking steps.
