No excuses

This whole journey of mine was, and continues to be, a huge lesson in self-discipline...the ability to motivate oneself despite the circumstances.  Think about it...if the combination of your current diet, amount of exercise, and sleep has you overfat, obese, and/or with measureable health issues (high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, metabolic syndrome, etc.) chances are your conditions can be reversed with lifestyle changes.  Lifestyle changes are hard because they require self-discipline.  It takes hard work, determination, motivation, and downright stubbornness to embrace real change to habits that have sometimes taken years to develop.

As a society, we are becoming more technologically advanced and at the same time more sedentary.  In many circles of American society, exercise has become an extracurricular activity.  For those of us that don't work jobs that require a significant amount of physical labor, unless we exercise regularly, we develop bodies that none of us are proud of...poor posture, extremely limited range of motion, weak shrunken muscles, often times pockets of unwanted body fat, and myriad health issues.  The big box gym has become a symbol of getting fit in this country and the truth is going to one of these establishments is not for everybody.  If you have a membership at a big box gym and use the services, good for you...keep doing what you're doing.  Some folk can't or won't go to a gym.  That's still no excuse to not exercise.  If exercise is a priority in your day (which it should be) you can do many non-gym things...getting outside and moving around jogging, walking, riding a bike, playing ball are always available (weather permitting); and if you are stuck or wish to be indoors, calisthenics are a wonderful way to get into and stay in shape. Push ups, pull ups, dips, sit ups, crunches, leg raises, V-ups, squats, lunges, jumping jacks, reverse push ups, and bridges can all be performed with minimal equipment and right at your bedside.  I regularly do calisthenics either when I'm on travel or when I need a break from lifting weights.  Typically I do something like 10 squats + 50 jumping jacks + 15 push ups + 35 crunches for 3 rounds with little to no rest.  Takes less than 10 minutes and I usually end up winded and with a mild sweat going.

Establishing an exercise regimen is the cornerstone of The Program, and it's imperative that you do so in order to see the results you want.  Although diet is often times the harder component to control (at least mentally), your diet is there to support your activity level.  I've gone to an extreme and built my own home gym in my garage so I can execute my exercise program any day of the week, any week of the year period.  I'm that committed to exercise being a part of my lifestyle...

I don't expect everyone to do this (although I advise anyone to), but a serious committment to an exercise program is key to controlling your body fat levels.