What is the easiest way to ease into a health-freak lifestyle?

[Jxstatic]

As many of us have noticed... The people that decide to randomly pursue a healthy life style look foolish in a way, mainly because you don't think of a 300 - 400 pound person as an avid jogger, or someone who goes anal over what their every-3-hour meal consists of. (In terms of 'healthy')

I've always kept dieting and healthy eating somewhere between the back of my mind and my everyday worries, but recently I've been bracing myself for a very big change in life. It's nothing compared to fighting for a country but it will certainly be hard to adapt to.

That brings me to the question...

What is the easiest way to ease into a health-freak lifestyle?

-What to expect
-What to sacrifice
-What are some events or setbacks that you did not expect
-What is too much/too little in terms of Exercise, Rest, Fuel, etc.

Those were just some helpful topics that I feel will really help a lot of people get started on their journey.

Thank you!

[painfullystupid]

I don't have much of a life outside of cardio, lifting, and sleeping. (work excluded)

I'm anal about getting the wrong carbs and I've completely altered my day-to-day routine. (which used to be watching tv and playing video games)

-What are some events or setbacks that you did not expect
Injuries from being too zealous in training, but I just rest and go back to the pushing myself hard.


-What is too much/too little in terms of Exercise, Rest, Fuel, etc.

Don't know. I'm always tired. I know it's from lack of a proper diet, (carbs are baaaaaaaad, even the good ones.) But I'm cutting so I don't care much. I'm too stupid to stop. I hate myself enough to want to change myself, and that's not going to happen by going easy. I see results pretty much weekly so I'm not changing my routine until the results stop coming.

[Grummy]

As many of us have noticed... The people that decide to randomly pursue a healthy life style look foolish in a way, mainly because you don't think of a 300 - 400 pound person as an avid jogger, or someone who goes anal over what their every-3-hour meal consists of. (In terms of 'healthy')

I've always kept dieting and healthy eating somewhere between the back of my mind and my everyday worries, but recently I've been bracing myself for a very big change in life. It's nothing compared to fighting for a country but it will certainly be hard to adapt to.

That brings me to the question...

What is the easiest way to ease into a health-freak lifestyle?

-What to expect
-What to sacrifice
-What are some events or setbacks that you did not expect
-What is too much/too little in terms of Exercise, Rest, Fuel, etc.

Those were just some helpful topics that I feel will really help a lot of people get started on their journey.

Thank you!

A lot of what to expect depends on how you are now. If like me you are quite badly overweight, then you can expect mixed reactions, some will laugh at your attempts to improve fitness, others will back you 100%. If you're already fairly fit, then you can expect a more mundane reaction from others again some will support you freely, but others will just not understand why you want to do this and will not really care. For yourself personally expect to find yourself having much less free time, and having a much reduced social life. Going out every weekend for piss up with your mates for example will be well out of the window. You'll have to watch what you are eating and drinking at all times, so romantic meals out with your beau will have to be carefully planned for so as not to upset your strict diet plan. Similarly sharing a bottle of wine in the evening whilst watching a movie will also be a no go. Ultimately you need to expect a great deal of sacrifice.
As for what those sacrifices are, well I've highlighted the most common, less social life, a heavy limit on your favourite foods and drinks etc.
I can't comment on events or setbacks really, I haven't had too much experience with them, but common things again I would expect are special occasions such as birthdays or weddings, times when you want to enjoy yourself and let go. those days would need to be strictly planned for if they're not to interfere with your training schedule.
the last one is a difficult one. Everyones body is different, so different people have different tolerances and thresholds, what might be too much cardio for me would be too little for you, what would be too much rest for you, would be just right for me etc. This is just a case of finding your own balance. The only thing to be sure of is to not over exert yourself. If you feel yourself getting overly fatigued or your muscles are aching badly, rest and take stock, and use them as your thresholds.

Good luck mate.