So what’s the best way to get from here to there? How do you get to fit from fat, to active from lazy, to healthy from hopeless? I suggest you begin with the idea that you would like to become fit, not just lose weight.

There is a very big difference – fitness, unlike when people go on a diet to lose weight, is a lifelong goal. So, you are not going to be looking for immediate and dramatic results, but rather long-term, life-changing benefits. If this is not thrilling to you, that’s ok. It doesn’t sound exciting to me either. You will have to trust me on this one, though – the small steps toward total (mind and body) fitness will bring grand benefits in the end.

You will see that if you practice the steps I am about to lay out for you, immediately you will feel better. Soon after, your body will change, and then you will be hooked.

Step 1: Embrace small, subtle changes
Be more compassionate and gentle with yourself. If you are not insistent on immediate results, you can allow yourself to accept, and even embrace, small, subtle changes – rather than only being satisfied with dramatic, instantaneous shifts. Take it slow and easy, implement realistic and doable changes.

Take one or two things out of your diet each week, and add as little as 10 minutes of walking per day, three times a week, to your exercise routine.

Step 2: Make minor changes to your diet  
Here’s how to set yourself up for success with dietary changes:

• allow yourself to reduce sugar intake by cutting out candy, and reducing desserts to weekends only, rather than cutting out all sugar right away
• reduce overall caloric intake by only eating what is on YOUR plate (no grazing from your children or spouse's meal)
• take out fried foods for a day and eliminate one trip a week to the fast food drive-through, a week at a time

Step 3: Do not allow yourself to fail  
No berating, no condemning and no starting over. This is a program that will have its good days and bad. Accept that there will be times when you won’t live up to your own expectations, but remember, this is a long-term, life-changing, life-benefiting program, not a quick sprint. And in life, life happens, and sometimes it gets in the way of what you had planned. Have a sense of humor and rearrange your schedule when necessary, instead of giving up, accepting failure, pigging out and eliminating exercise for a week, and then promising to begin again on Monday.

Step 4: Visualize your success
Use your mind as much as you use your body by mentally projecting into your life exactly what it is you want. This is a very important piece of the puzzle, one that most people forget to use entirely. Picture yourself in your new body, and living in your new life. See yourself enjoying healthy meals, stopping when you have had enough to eat, and exercising regularly (with a smile on your face).

See it, feel it, get it. You don’t have to be a student of meditation or committed to a method of mind conditioning to make this work. Just remember to see yourself in a positive light. In your thoughts, imagine the shifts that you are working toward and soon, you will be the consummate positive thinker that projects good things into your life and others.

Step 5: Don't wait to get started 
You need not wait until your doctor tells you that you should lose weight or begin a walking program. You certainly do not want to wait for a medical scare to get your body moving, or change your diet. Do the right thing now. Take responsibility for your health, your fitness, your happiness and your life by taking that important self-assessment now.

Simply ask yourself, and answer honestly, do I eat well? Do I overeat? Am I overweight, and unhappy with the way I look and feel? Have I been promising to change my diet, stop smoking, or start an exercise program for months/years? Well, now is your time, right now - do not put it off any longer.

Make minor adjustments to experience life changes, little by little, week by week. You really do have everything you need to live a happy, healthy and fulfilling existence. Make some shifts, take note of your efforts, and reap the rewards.

Happy Trails, and Happy Holidays everyone.

– Debbie Rocker