Who is Your Wing?

I’ve been asked many times to do a blog about working out.

Personally, I’m a workout nut: I do yoga; I run on the treadmill, I hike hills, I swim, and I do weights. Why do I do all of this? Because I’m vain and I like to look good!

Well, that is true enough, but I also like to stay in shape and feel good about myself. One of the benefits of working out is being able to feel better about yourself. You can look at yourself in the mirror and be proud of who you are.

You don’t have excuses. Many people don’t like their bodies but they don’t do anything about it – they live in Excuseland, where anything and everything prevents them from meeting people.

Working out is really healthy for your body. You can extend your lifespan and it makes you feel great.

Even better: going to the gym, going hiking, and going to yoga classes gives you the opportunity to meet more people! Much more can happen when you work out besides just looking fantastic and feeling great.

For everybody out there that doesn’t work out, let me make a suggestion for you: you don’t have to go on a rigid workout plan where you lose 20 pounds TODAY; you want to go on a workout plan where you gradually lose weight. You want a workout plan that makes you feel good.

You also have to figure out what type of workout is best for you. If you don’t like to run, don’t! There are plenty of other things to try. There are classes, there is yoga; there are all types of workouts and all types of things to do to be active. Find what is best for you.

You also have to set realistic goals. Don’t try to lose 30 pounds in a week! It’s not going to happen! You want to start taking weight off and keeping it off over a gradual period of time.

This means that you’ll have to work out regularly, and change your diet. Diet regimen is very important; you really are what you eat. It’s very important to maintain a very clean diet. Lay off of the processed foods. It takes a combination of the right foods and the right type of exercise to keep the weight off.

Keep in mind that just like dating – just like learning how to meet the opposite sex – you have to keep it up over a period of time. You can’t just expect miracles to happen instantaneously. The longer you keep it up, the longer the effects of this lifestyle will last.

I’m going to share a story with you: when I was 18 years old, I was a “tall drink of water” – that’s what my mother used to call me. I was one of those really skinny water glasses – the ones that don’t hold all that much water at all. I was just a tall drink of water.

I wanted so bad to not be so skinny anymore. I tried everything to put weight on. In college, I used to make bread sandwiches – I’d take two pieces of processed white bread, put a piece of processed American cheese in between, and eat the entire pound of cheese and the entire loaf of bread in one sitting, hoping to gain weight.

The only thing that happened as a result of this was the unbelievable stomachaches I would have every morning when I woke up! I didn’t gain any weight; I would actually become ill and LOSE weight!

Then I decided to begin working out. I started very slowly and then began to increase the weights. I kept noticing the subtlest changes in my body, and every day I kept motivated and continued at it.

That’s the thing about life – staying at it and keeping motivated will create amazing results for you. It is when you quit and don’t push yourself that you don’t get very far.

So work out! Find the right workout plan for yourself that will really suit who you are and what you are about, and get ready to feel great!