[PhoenixAzul]

As someone who has gained and lost a significant amount of weight in the past few years (went from 215 to 160 now (well chuffed!))...hearing people around me say i'm fat was just plain hurtful. It didn't make me motivated, it made me upset and frustrated which was counterproductive to getting done what DEFINITELY needed to get done.

I needed a goal. saying "lose weight" is too broad, for me at least. I picked something that was relatively achievable...finishing a sprint distance triathlon. It was hard doing my first one, physically and mentally. But two great things happened that day. 1) Saw a lot of people of a lot of different ages, sizes and health levels having FUN doing the same thing 2) caught the tri bug. I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to go FASTER. So I trained. And what do you know? Exercise= weight loss! The fact that I enjoyed the exercise made it a ton easier!

What I also learned during the loss was that my diet sort of changed itself. I didn't do any of those stupid fad diets or pills or any of that crap...I ate the food I did because it FILLED me. And guess what? Fast food and other junk didn't fill me up after a ride, but pasta and vegetables DID. I didn't train to eat, I ate to train. Upped the H20 intake as well, which, in and of itself, will not cause weight loss (contrary to popular belief), but it did help me hydrate and not feel as tired, which meant I could be out there training.

So what's the short of this? Find a goal, small one (notice I didn't go out and say, "I'm going to win Ironman Kona"). Set yourself up for success initially, and gradually set the goal higher.

5k walk for breast cancer. Sign up together. Wow, wasn't that fun? Why don't we try to do a 5k run next month? Want to run after work/on lunch together, I'd appreciate the company and pacing?

I think that a lot of people are intimidated to exercise by super fit people because they think they can never get to that level. I hate the term "working out", because it implies that it is work, and who likes going to work? Exercise in a positive environment (supportive, not one of those single's bars with treadmills) will make it enjoyable, and something you can look forward to doing, and therefore get easier. Realize that fitness does not happen overnight, it does not happen because of one choice, it does not happen alone. It's a process, somewhat painful, but ultimately worth it.