Life Hackery

It’s that time of year again: New Year’s resolutions are wearing thin and we are just about to give up on those life improvements that we were so adamant about just a few weeks ago. Gyms and fitness clubs report huge surges in memberships around the beginning of every year, but by mid-March the numbers always drop significantly. For a lot of us, fitness is something we know we should pay more attention to, but we just can’t find the time/energy/money/motivation. There are so many excuses, but none of them are a valid reason for neglecting your health.

ZenHabits has an excellent list of 17 Fitness Truths to Get You in Great Shape. These 17 items are mostly simple, no-nonsense things that you may not have thought of yourself but that make perfect sense when you read them.

Truth #1:

“Small steps. That you get fitter in stages, as you exercise more, is pretty obvious I think. You might start out just walking, but as you get fitter, you might add some slow jogging to your routine. And then eventually you’re running three miles, several stages later. However, this really applies to everything, including diet, and many people don’t realize that. You shouldn’t try to change your entire diet overnight — do it in stages. Small steps, one thing at a time, and you’ll get there. Just start eating more fruits at first, for example. Then cut out sodas. Then eat more veggies for dinner. Then change your white bread for whole wheat bread. Then cut out candy at work. And so on. The thing is, you get used to each thing after awhile, and so the changes don’t seem drastic. A year later, and you’re eating extremely healthily (that word again), and you can’t imagine going back to your old diet. Small steps — this is extremely key, to both diet and exercise.”

Read the rest of the list here.