When should I start getting fit?

Have you ever put your health and fitness off? Either short term or completely?

Perhaps you’ve thought to yourself “I’ve got a social weekend, so why not wait til Monday?”

Or “Christmas is couple of months off, so January is a good time to get into it”

Or even “this is going to be a busy year with Work, so next year is my year for fitness”

IÂ’ve been guilty of this sort of thing before and itÂ’s something I see so often.

I have had a large number of emails over the last few weeks from people asking if they should start a training plan now or wait until January.

The magical month of January…..

Approximately 80% of New YearÂ’s resolutions fail by February, so donÂ’t leave your health in the 20% balance.

Being healthy isnÂ’t something you should you start and stop. There isnÂ’t a set length of time that will keep you fit forever. ItÂ’s something you have to work on continuously.

IÂ’m not talking about 6 pack abs here or a massive deadlift. IÂ’m talking health, vitality and longevity.

Why wait to be healthy?

We get one chance at this life and if we are continually waiting for the right time something happens, something gets in the way. If we donÂ’t start or put it off, we never get to where we dream of being physically.

Health and fitness doesnÂ’t require perfection either. One of the most common reasons people donÂ’t start is because they believe they canÂ’t be perfect with training or food.

I have a week holiday

I have Thanksgiving approaching

I have Christmas coming

If you are consistent you donÂ’t need to be perfect every day. You can enjoy being fit and healthy and also enjoy social occasions.

Why you shouldnÂ’t put it off another, week, month, year or decade.

Mentally

Habits are hard to make and break. We all know how hard it can be to break unhealthy habits and build healthy habits. A day of unhealthy eating can easily spill into a full week. A week of low activity soon turns into a month of struggle to find motivation.

Motivation is short lived when it comes to a healthy life. You need to build healthy habits to ensure you maintain it long term. Habits take time to develop so make a start now and stick with it!

Physically

Getting out of shape makes it harder to get in shape and to stay there.

Increasing your level of bodyfat can have a long-term influence on your body composition. It can make it harder to drop fat in the future.

Leptin is a hormone that reduces a person’s appetite by acting on specific centres of their brain to reduce their urge to eat. Leptin is produced by fat cells and is secreted into our bloodstream.

Because leptin is produced by fat, leptin levels tend to be higher in people who are overweight than in people of normal weight. However, despite having higher levels of this appetite-reducing hormone, people who are overweight aren’t as sensitive to the effects of leptin and, as a result, tend not to feel full during and after a meal.

Insulin is important for the regulation of carbohydrates and the metabolism of fat. Insulin stimulates glucose (sugar) uptake from the blood in tissues such as muscles, the liver and fat. This is an important process to make sure that energy is available for everyday functioning and to maintain normal levels of circulating glucose.

In a person who is overweight, insulin signals are sometimes lost and tissues are no longer able to control glucose levels. This can lead to wait gain and even the development of type II diabetes.

You will see here now how important it is to try and keep lean for hormonal health. These are just a couple of the hormones effected by weight gain, there are others from testosterone to growth hormone.

When putting off your health it is easy for things to get out of control, and before you know it you have left yourself a big job to do.

Age also has an effect on getting in shape, as we age it can become harder to build muscle as well as drop body fat. We typically lose muscle mass with age and the beneficial muscle building hormones decrease.

But one thing that can overwrite all of this is consistent exercise. Weight training will help maintain muscle mass, this paired with keeping healthy and active can also support our hormone function as we age.

Why you should start today not tomorrow?

If you’re worried about getting started and fear not being able to achieve your goals, I understand. But I am here to tell you that you can. Don’t let doubt or fear of failure stop you starting. 

Progress is the sum of each dayÂ’s efforts combined. ItÂ’s nothing magic. ItÂ’s the plan to succeed and commitment to get started and stick to it.

So, what are you waiting for?

What are you going to do today to ensure your goals are something you are working towards? Not just dreaming about.

David