If you haven’t exercised or tried to eat clean in a while (or ever), the first day of a 30-, 60-, or 90-day fitness and nutrition program can feel intimidating. The thought of embarking on a weight-loss journey can seem scary. It doesn’t have to.

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Read on for more tips on how to get started with nutrition and fitness. With these simple suggestions, you can begin to prepare your body and mind for a healthier lifestyle before you even break a sweat or eat your first green vegetable.

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Lets Begin:
1. Figure Out How Many Calories You Should Eat
Knowing is half the battle, right? Use this simple method to determine approximately how many calories you should try to eat each day, or consult your fitness program’s nutrition guide, and begin to make small adjustments to reach that daily goal. 

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If you want to maintain your weight, and you have a:

• Sedentary lifestyle (desk job): Current weight in pounds x 12 = Maintenance Caloric Needs

• Moderately active lifestyle (server in a restaurant and/or doing one of our entry-level programs, like Country Heat or PiYo): Current weight in pounds x 13 = Maintenance Caloric Needs

• Highly active lifestyle (construction worker and/or doing one of our elite programs, like P90X or INSANITY): Current weight in pounds x 14 = Maintenance Caloric Needs

 

If you want to lose weight:

• Subtract 500 calories from your maintenance caloric needs (equation above), and that’s probably a good deficit for weight loss. But make sure that number stays at 1,200 or above. Anything lower can be dangerous in the long term.

 

If you want to gain muscle mass:

• Add 300 calories or so to your maintenance caloric needs (equation above) - but make sure you’re also doing a solid weightlifting program like Body Beast so those calories have a place to go.

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Using a nutrition tracker can be extremely useful in helping you figure out how many calories are in the foods you eat and where you’re overindulging.

 

2. Stretch
Get your muscles stretched and ready to move! If you haven’t used your muscles in a while, do some gentle stretching to wake them up and get familiar with the current limits of your flexibility. Knowing where you’re tight can help prevent injury.

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3. Start to Move More
You can begin to make an effort to move your body more every day. Take a walk, stand (or do squats) when you talk on the phone, take the stairs, park a little farther away from your destination, and stretch during television commercials.

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4. Drink Water
Being dehydrated can make you sore even if you don’t exercise. Set yourself up for success, and minimize initial muscle soreness, by drinking plenty of water in the days leading up to the start of your fitness program. Get in the habit of drinking enough water every day.

 

Start by finding out how much water you need. Beachbody recommends using body weight as a general guide to get you started. Drink your body weight, divided by two, in ounces. So if you weigh 150 pounds - that would be 150 divided by 2, which equals 75. That’s 75 ounces of water you should be drinking every day.

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5. Throw Away Junk Food
Empty your desk, cupboards, fridge, freezer, car, and secret snack stash drawer of foods and drinks you know you shouldn’t be eating. If you want to reach your fitness goal, prevent temptation by removing junk food from your house. If the packaged foods are unopened, donate them. We know you spent good money on those Ding Dongs and Doritos, but they’re doing the opposite of helping you reach your health and fitness goals.

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6. Build a Healthy Pantry
Now that you’ve eliminated the processed junk food from your home, replace it with good-for-you staples that will help you create healthy meals every day. Keep things simple. There’s so much information out there about different diets. Make sure that your new eating plan and meal preps are uncomplicated, that they’re doable for you. That will help you stay with it.

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7. Set Up Your Workout Space
When considering how to get started with fitness, look at your surroundings and make some decisions. This could be as easy as moving the coffee table in your living room, or as elaborate as setting up a dedicated gym in your garage or basement. You won’t need much space to exercise, but it’s a good idea to figure out where you’ll do it and make the space usable and inviting for the workouts you’ll be doing.

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8. Plan an Outing That Involves Exercise
A great way to get into the spirit of exercise before you actually commit to a fitness program is to plan activities with friends that get you moving. Invite friends or family for a hike, go ice skating, or organize a softball or flag-football game.

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9. Find Your Reason Why
If you’re really caught up in the numbers on the scale, or the dress size, and what’s happening with the tape measure, chances are those things won’t really motivate or inspire you in the long term. Find a new purpose. Find a new reason ‘why’ you show up every day to work out. The reason ‘why’ has got to be so powerful, so strong that you’re not going to quit, you’re not going to fail, and you’re going to be consistent, and show up five to seven days a week for the rest of your life.

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10. Build a Support System
When considering how to get started with fitness, remember that getting fit doesn’t have to be something you do alone! Announce your commitment to get healthier and stronger to your friends, family, and coworkers. Join our Facebook group to help you stay motivated when your resolve starts to slip or you feel tempted to make unhealthy choices.

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11. Make Time in Your Schedule
Figure out when you’ll fit exercise into your daily schedule and begin to make adjustments to reserve that time slot every day. Will you work out in the morning? During your lunch break? In the evenings?

Schedule exercise time on your calendar and commit to it as an important meeting with yourself. You wouldn’t skip a meeting with your boss just because you feel tired or grumpy, would you? No, you’d be there on time with a smile on your face and do your best to impress.

With BODi, you can take your workouts anywhere and play them at anytime. So no matter your schedule, you can have your favorite trainer motivating you to reach your goals.

 

12. Start Slowly
You don’t have to go full speed on the first day. I know you want results fast, but if you’ve been spending the last few months (or years) sitting on the couch, you may either injure yourself or be in so much pain that you can’t walk the next day if you push too hard. That certainly won’t motivate you to keep going. You should be exercising at a level that makes you feel good, not cause pain.

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On Day 1, just do the first ten minutes of a workout, then add a few minutes each day until you can do the full workout. Ten minutes of exercise a day is better than no minutes. It’s very tempting to begin an exercise program with a lot of enthusiasm, but try your best to go at a reasonable pace.

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source: BODi Blog