You’re a champion at lifting potato chips to your mouth and watching sitcom marathons on your big television, but you’re belly is failing to fit into your jeans. It’s time to stop being a couch potato and start doing things to get healthier.

Here’s how to get off the couch and back in life.

Exercise Daily

The bad news is that it’s best to exercise regularly. The good news is that you shouldn’t do it for longer than about an hour at a time. Engage in a modest to high intensity activity for one hour, adjusting to your immediate fitness level. Check with a doctor if you’re overweight or have health issues before engaging in high intensity exercises.

However, if you can stick with running, weight lifting, yoga, or another activity that challenges muscles and the cardiovascular system, you’ll have a better body, healthier outlook, and more energy to do things other than watch television.

Stay Challenged

Don’t get lazy after reaching a fitness plateau. Find ways to keep your body challenged within the given timeframe; a two-hour long leisurely jog is not effective despite its duration. It’s much better to double the distance within one hour or adjust the trajectory to inspire exhaustion within one hour.

If laziness or lack of commitment is an issue, start slow but build upon intensity and degree of challenge. Fitness is not a fad but a lifestyle that requires continuous assessment and modification to produce the best results. Additionally, supplements and health products like blackline elite, provide added energy and help produce more muscle.

Eat Healthy

It’s would be difficult to find a person who looks fit but gorges on pizza, hamburgers, and fries. Healthy, fit people stay away from fried, fatty foods and fill their stomachs with fresh, healthy foods. Healthy meals feature a variety and copious amount of vegetables and fruits rather than cheeses and fried chicken, etc. Additionally, being healthy requires more than reading the label on a food container. Many ‘fat free’ products are riddled with artificial ingredients and alternative fillers. Get in the habit of buying fresh vegetables and fruits at local vendors and making meat and chicken a side dish during meals rather than the main course. Americans have a habit of serving and eating large portions, much more than the body needs.

Travel and Excuses

Those with hectic schedules, do a lot of traveling, or good at making excuses have a hard time staying healthy due to inconsistency. Staying healthy and fit necessitates daily commitment, yet one should exercise at least three to four times per week to maintain results and optimal levels of fitness.
Some seek exercise partners, maintain an exercise journal, or use a variety of exercise and fitness applications to ensure consistency and provide more reasons to stay dedicated. If you travel for your job, or have a tendency to ‘start then stop’ a variety of interests and tasks, prepare a solution before starting your journey of fitness.

Start Slow to Increase Interest

Starting slow is required for those in poor health. However, the sentiment of starting slow is beneficial in increasing interest and staying healthy. Thinking that working out and being healthy is a ‘punishment’ makes future commitment less likely. Provide time to reflect on improvement and the body and mind transformation. Maintaining a journal helps one see physical improvement (tracking repetitions and sets) as well as mental benefit (thoughts are clearer and more positive).

Begin exercising one or two days per week; eat a salad or make vegetables the main course of meals several days per week; and, ensure a good night’s rest most of the week to start. Gradually increase the commitment as you begin feeling the rewards of smarter choices and living.

Reward Yourself

Being healthy does not mean staying away from pizza, chocolate, ice cream sundaes, and other food indulgences. Moreover, it doesn’t mean you’ll never be able to relax on the couch and watch television again. Reward yourself with guilty food pleasures and days off. Exercise is a pathway to better health and an improved life. It’s not the opposite of the things we love; we just have to curtail enjoying things that are bad for the body.

Being healthy is rewarding – those who look younger, have more energy than peers, and maintain a happy disposition know. Yet, the enjoyment of guilty pleasures does not subside; they must be limited.

You’ll soon be off the couch and on a fitter road to a healthier you, minding the above suggestions involving a modified diet replete with fresh foods and vegetables. More, you’ll begin devoting one or more days to a one-hour, intense workout. Finally, you’ll begin tracking your progress and daily commitment as you get more involved in your healthy transformation.

Dean Mulligan has dropped over 20 pounds in the past nine months, so he wants to show others how to do it, too. An avid writer, he enjoys sharing his insights with others online. Look for his helpful posts on many of today’s top websites and blogs.