Don't Exercise With An Emotional Chip on Your Shoulder

I hear it all the time, from people that I know and people that I don't know. Suddenly they snap, and say "That's it, I can't take being fat anymore! Tomorrow I am only eating apples and going for a 15 mile run!" or "That's it! I'm starving myself until I get down to my proper weight!" Well hold on there. It is a great idea to corral that emotional energy in order to start your journey towards being fit, but you need to approach any diet and/or workout routine with a methodical approach, or else you will be doomed to failure.

So something happened to you. Someone called you fat, or you saw a picture of yourself and couldn't believe how heavy you have become. Use that as a positive momentum builder, and start up a diet and/or workout routine. If you want the routine to succeed however, you must take it slow and steady, and gradually increase the pressure on your body.

If you have been sitting on the couch for years, eating potato chips, you can't suddenly expect to go out and do a 15 mile run with nothing in your stomach. Your body just won't allow it. It will completely shut down, and you'll just end up binging.

Start small. Start with making small changes to your diet. Keep track of all progress in a notebook. Give yourself two weeks to completely change your diet. Once you have done that, then start to focus on establishing some sort of exercise routine. Even if your goal is to lose weight and not gain muscle, your weight loss will be greatly accelerated by working out, and you will feel great and your energy will be boundless.

Getting into shape is a long journey, with the hardest steps being taken on the few first days, when you change your diet. Use that emotional chip on your shoulder as the impetus towards getting into shape, and don't let it drive you towards over-working your body, and plunging into sure failure. The body is a machine that deserves respect, but once you have it on your side, your body will love you and the foods that you are putting into it, and you will feel better than you ever have before.