Quote:
Originally Posted by Cmike2780
Diet and exercise are both equally important....and both are equally challenging to stay on track with. One of the best things you can do is join a gym. Places like Planet Fitness is like $10 a month.
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Completely agree. I just joined Planet Fitness like 2.5 months ago and I joined with 2 of my cousins. Our motivation was to get in shape and look good for one of our other cousin's wedding so we made a little competition out of it between us. One pretty much dropped out after the first day because he was busy with work/school and the other went with me for like 2 weeks or so. I started getting used to going and then got into the habit of going by myself.
I didn't really change up my diet too much. Just tried to avoid as much unnecessary/unhealthy foods (cut out sodas, juices, fast food) as I could and try to eat a little more healthy (whole grain bread instead of white, more fruits). Eating like this and going to the gym like 3 days a week I lost a good 4-5 lbs after a month. I usually give myself the weekends as cheat days since I tend to go out to eat with friends.
At this point I talked to some friends/family who have been working out for a while about what my goals were and ended up completely changing everything. Went from weight loss as my main goal to building muscle as my main goal. I wasn't too far overweight to begin with, maybe like 30 lbs, but I was way out of shape. I started taking protein supplements and focusing my workouts more on lifting than cardio. 1.5 months into this new diet and exercise plan I've put on a good 3-4 lbs of muscle and went down 2 belt notches around my waist.
I ended up completely changing my whole lifestyle because of this and I'm so glad I did. I feel way better now than I did before, have a lot more energy, and am tired less often. I've gotten to the point where I feel like crap if I haven't been to the gym in a while, which helps motivate me to keep going back. Dieting is definitely a good first step, but you definitely need exercise to go along with it. You don't necessarily need a super strict diet or a really intense workout schedule to get into shape, just a nice balance of the two. The most important thing is to find ways to keep yourself motivated and keep at it.