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Can you push yourself to exercise daily especially when you can’t find the time, your just too tired or you simply don’t feel like doing it?
Well, most people don’t. So, if your answer is yes to all of my questions, hats off to you! You’re one of the few superhuman beings on this planet! 😛
Kidding aside, I get it. A lot of the times, life gets in the way. With all the projects and online tasks we do as an online freelancer, we sometimes become so glued on our computer that we can’t even get up from our office chair all day. We unconsciously neglect our fitness and health.
Truth is, we all have that desire to stay fit and healthy. It’s just that we’re preoccupied with a lot of things, or maybe it’s not our priority.
Becoming fit not only refers to body structure or body weight but also to our overall state of health and well-being. In this post, I’ll be sharing with you my journey to losing weight. From being clinically tagged as Obese Class 2 to achieving my normal body weight, I’m so inspired to help you get and stay fit too. So, here are the 3 Practical Steps to Stay Fit As An Online Freelancer
If you’re like me, you probably tried multiple ways but your efforts to lose weight were to no avail. Why does it seem like nothing’s working? There’s a lot of possible reasons. You might be good at starting things but you can’t seem to follow through. Or sometimes you can’t help but become impatient because you’re not seeing any result.
Just like most of you, I failed so many times. Even though I fully prepared myself towards my fitness goals, after a few weeks, I still fizzled. Aside from motivation, preparation and commitment, your success depends on another thing - DECISION.
As for me, my decision was triggered when something bad happened to one member of my family. I would not go into the details but that event was truly an eye-opener for me. It made me realize that the LAST THING we should take for granted is our health. As they say, “whatever is taken for granted will eventually be taken away.”
We all know that obesity can lead to a lot of serious illnesses. One of them and the most common is diabetes. More than the illness itself, what struck me is its complications. Upon checking my health insurance, I figured that it’s not considered a critical illness and is only subject to 20% claim if due to its complications! (You might want to check this too if you have health insurance.)
When I found out about my health insurance policy, my decision to put a stop on gaining weight and begin with a healthy lifestyle grew even stronger.
So the next thing I know, I found myself researching about losing weight. I literally keyed in, “How to lose weight?” on Google.
Out of the 112,000,000 results, here are the most helpful links (in my opinion) that I’ve found:
How To Lose Weight As Fast As Possible
Intermittent Fasting And Lose Weight
Walking Workout For Weight Loss
15-Minute Walking Workout For Weight Loss
You may find those links valuable but I recommend that you research too and try to figure out what will work for you based on your own schedule, preferences, and lifestyle.
After doing your research, the most important step is to implement the things you’ve learned now, not later, not tomorrow, but NOW. Stop making excuses. Stop telling yourself that you can’t do it, that it’s difficult, that you don’t have time. Instead, surround yourself with positive thoughts. Tell yourself that you can do it! Because you really can.
As cliche as it may sound, our health is truly our wealth. Our bodies are like investments. If we’re not fit to work, then how can we earn more? Yeah, perhaps we can earn more but if we abuse our health, we might end up spending most of our hard-earned cash on hospital bills or medications anyway.
As stated by Robin Sharma, “One of the saddest things in life is to get to the end and look back in regret, knowing that you could have been, done, and had so much more.”
To give you a specific example, allow me to share the things I did.
I personally followed a low-carb diet which means no rice, bread, pasta, sweets, and soda. I only drink water with lemon or I sometimes add apple cider vinegar in it. I consume real food like fruits, meat, and vegetables.
I reduced my sugar intake. According to studies, sugar makes us hungrier than we actually are. That’s why it’s important to cut back on it. Doing so will prevent you from eating more than what your body needs. To be honest, It was extremely hard at first but hey nothing worth having comes easy, right?
I also did Intermittent Fasting (IF), an eating pattern where you cycle between periods of eating and fasting. Intermittent fasting can take many forms. I followed the most popular timeframe called 16/8 which means I fast for 16 hours and eat within the 8-hour timeframe. Best time for me to eat is between 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM and I avoid eating in between meals. I can go for 2 to 3 meals a day with a low-carb diet.
Aside from the healthy diet, I also make time for exercise. A simple jog or walk is better than no exercise at all. If you find it hard to make time for exercise, try waking up earlier than usual. Do it first thing in the morning for at least 15 minutes.
And throughout the day, especially if you’re tied up to your laptop, make it a point to stand up and take a 2-minute walk every hour during your working hours.
To track your progress, optionally, you may wear a fitness watch with a pedometer. It will automatically count your steps and measure your heart rate. I used one and it has been my useful companion on this journey.
Lastly, I sleep at least 7 to 8 hours a day and even take 15-30 minute nap at noon. As we all know, sleep is very important. We can’t be as productive as we should be without enough rest.
For sure, your journey will be different from mine and I can only hope that through sharing my experience, you’ll find a tip or two and be able to apply it in your life.
You don’t have to start big, just do it gradually and focus on improving daily. It will also help if you track your progress by documenting it to keep you motivated.
“An extraordinary life is all about daily, continuous improvements in the areas that matter most.”
— From the book The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod
If you really want to achieve your fitness goal, here’s my challenge to you.
First, take a photo (whole body) of yourself today and then look at it. After looking at your photo, smile and tell yourself that you’ll be taking another photo by the end of the year while visualizing your ideal body. After a year of hard work, take a photo again!
Allow me to share mine. Here are my photos in 2017 and 2018.
I’m really happy to see the result of my efforts and I look forward to seeing your before and after photos as well! Are you in?
If you’re up for this challenge, be sure to share this post. 🙂
I would love to hear your stories and be with you on this journey! If you have any question, feel free to comment on this blog post.
P.S. Yes, I occasionally eat a high-carb diet. You don’t have to be too hard on yourself especially if you’re attending parties or events. Just have everything in moderation and make sure to make up for it the next
