Start Slow

July 25, 2011!  That was the day that I took my first steps - literally - to start this journey of a healthy life.

When I started, I weighted 270 pounds.  I decided the best exercise for me at the time was walking because I knew anything else would probably kill me.  

I woke up at 5:00 am, put on my "workout clothes" and was out the door, determined to lose weight.  As I started my slow walk up the street, I thought I was going to die.  I couldn't get enough air into my lungs and I kept thinking, "I should've brought the cell phone because I'm going to need to call my wife to have her come get me."

As difficult as it was, I walked up the street and back (about 1/2 mile) and then went home and tried to talk myself into doing it again tomorrow.

The next day I walked a little further up the street.  And even further the day after.

By the end of that first week, I was doing about 3/4 mile.  I still couldn't breathe, but I noticed a change happening.

I decided to go for a mile the following week and then I started adding a little jogging into the mix.  Then it got to the point where I was jogging as much as I was walking. 

It's now six months later.  I have lost over 30 pounds.  My workouts are a whole lot more than walking 1/2 mile now.

And that's the point.  Too often, we are so impatient to see weight loss or run that marathon that we get discouraged when the change doesn't happen immediately.  We forget that it takes time to make lifestyle changes.  

Don't be hard on yourself.  Take it slow and you will see a change.  It may not come tomorrow, but it will come.

Don't give up.  You can do this.