The 4 Simple Steps To Getting Fit And Feeling Fantastic

Ash Thomson • Jan 04, 2023

A post about getting fit and getting on with life

So much of life seems simple in retrospect. Sporting achievements, career, success, raising kids – you name it. And often the achievements we receive the highest accolades for secretly feel like by-products of just getting on with a healthy life.


I've got this medium post a friend wrote years ago and I love it. In fact it's not just a blog post it's a treatise to life itself titled “How to Lose Weight in Four Easy Steps.


And those of you who know me know this is not gonna be that kind of blog post - although apparently my friend did lose a lot of weight.


How? Easy.


Step 1: No Beer
Step 2: Portion Control
Step 3: Have Your Heart Broken
Step 4: No Fruit Juice


Most of the article is about Step 3. Here's a brief summary: “Your world shrinks down to 4 things: work, training, what you eat, and sleep. Your body changes slowly then all at once. You hit your goal weight, pick a new one, then hit it again. You go out and buy new clothes. You receive wave after wave of compliments.” It’s easy after you’ve done it.


I’m summarizing mostly because I want you to read the article yourself (and so I’m linking to it again) - but the real message is in the end of the post. Again a very rough summary:


“You realize it’s been exactly a year since you started working out. You think of all those miles you’ve run and those pounds you’ve lifted and the chicken salads you’ve eaten. It doesn’t seem that bad. And you realize that it’s not about hitting a goal weight, or finishing a half marathon. It’s about being able to wait. Waiting, being patient, and trusting that if you’re doing the right thing then life will slowly inch along and things will get better. Real change takes time.”


Isn’t that great?! The secret to leading a healthy life, the life you want, is in the day-to-day routine. It’s the little things it takes to achieve great things.


Getting up early to get some exercise before work. Taking the stairs. Drinking mineral water in the pub. And how in the daily routine of being yourself, committing to goals and just living life, you realize that your goals were easier to obtain than you had imagined. You really just needed to have goals.


This is common sense for some but should be hopefully motivating for others. When it comes to leading a healthier life, commit to changing your future for yourself. Maybe nobody will notice your little sacrifices but who cares - who are you doing this for?


The real satisfaction will be in how much better you feel and the confidence you get from realizing that you alone were responsible for the change.


Have a great day!


Åsa

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