Shake Your Money Maker 

One of the best things you can do for yourself is to exercise (for so many reasons but the reasons are another topic).  I know what you are thinking and that's because I was in the exact same boat.  I don't know exactly where you are with your weight or health, but I do know that when I was at my heaviest and my unhealthiest, I was feeling depressed, unattractive, frustrated, anxious in any social situation, isolated and trapped in my own body.  All diets I had tried had failed and all attempts on an exercise regimen had done no good- I felt that I was too far gone.  All of those feelings were real to me and effected not only myself but everyone around me.

So where do you start (besides a dramatic nutrition make-over)?  Buying the newest DVD series or exercise equipment off of a paid program on TV didn't do me any good, but at least I had the interest, the desire to change myself.  It turned out that all the exercise equipment in the world couldn't help me.  What I needed to do was move. What really did it was adding ANY movement to my habitual routine, any movement out of the ordinary.  I made small changes and they grew and grew and grew until I found myself in my own exercise program. 

     

What I mean is, at first I made little changes to my everyday habits such as: taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking as far from the store/post office/bank etc as possible, no longer asking my daughters if they could "grab" this or that for me-I got up and got it myself (just to tack on a few extra steps at every opportunity), pushing my weight up onto my toes- then down again(calf lifts) over and over while I standing at the stove cooking dinner, doing gentle stretching while watching T.V.  In addition, I started walking every other day- first for 5 minutes, then 8 minutes, then 11 minutes, then 16 minutes then, 21 minutes.  After that, I felt so good that I shifted my attention to distance and began increasing that and before I knew it, I could easily handle 2.5 miles at a brisk pace.  Every little bit really does help.  If you don't start somewhere, you will never finish- and you have beaten yourself.  Just take the first step- no matter how small, and build on it. 

                          

Here is how to succeed:  Be realistic, make a promise to yourself & stick to it, keep a journal.  If you set an unrealistic goal, you will fail.  If you fail, you will find yourself depressed and back in the vicious cycle-I know how that feels.  Break away from all that. 

• Make a realistic goal- a challenging one, but one that you can keep.  For instance promise yourself that four times a week (every other day) you are going to walk for 5 minutes (assuming that is outside of your normal routine- if you are already doing that or something similar...GREAT!  Increase that by 5 minutes).  
•  Schedule yourself an "appointment" with yourself to walk.  Be consistent with the time so that it becomes a ritual- don't do it at 6am one day, 3pm the next, 7pm the next.  Write your "appointment" down in your planner or on the calendar, hold yourself accountable (your the only one who will!)  Don't chose a time that competes with something else like your favorite show or when you usually start dinner- forcing yourself to change the routine you already have set for your self is not a good idea in the beginning.  You are more opt to follow through if you ADD this into your schedule, not rearrange your schedule to allow for it.  Don't allow anything to break that commitment to yourself, not a phone call, not a pop-in visit (chat while you walk!), not feeling tired or down (walking always makes you feel better)...nothing. 
• Keep a journal.  Pick up a simple note book and predate according to your new walking routine (ie 3/1/12 on one page, 3/3/12 on the next, 3/5/12 on the next and so on.  On each predated page, record your goal (activity & time) and what you actually accomplished.  This is also an excellent place to record your meal & snack choices (every nibble and bite too!) so that you can have a visual and be accountable for all your food choices and not just the meals and allotted snacks.  When you can actually see what you are doing for both exercise & food choices, you can see what is causing success or what is causing you not to succeed and make the changes accordingly.

You can do this!  Start small and build on it.  Why not give it a shot today?