When we’re stuck in a sedentary lifestyle, but know we’d like to start moving more, it can be incredibly difficult to know where to start. I mean, there’s the gym, there are classes, there’s the local running club, there’s any number of personal trainers. How do you choose? And what if all those options feel just too daunting. I mean, what if you feel like you’re going to be the least fit person there by a mile, and that everyone’s going to be laughing at you? What if you feel that your size means people will think you shouldn’t be in those places? What if you know that right now an hour of activity is going to be way too much? What if you simply don’t have the time in the day to go somewhere, do the fitness stuff, and then come home? What if, quite frankly, you have no interest in doing any of those things and you’d much rather start on your own terms?

So, where do you start? Start with something. It actually doesn’t matter what you start with, what matters is that you start. You  might choose to start with a 10 minute walk in your lunch break. You might choose to start by taking the stairs rather than the lift. You might choose to start by doing some bicep curls with tins of beans while the kettle is boiling. Then the next day, you might find that the sky didn’t fall on your head, and that you can do that thing again.

Fast forward a few weeks and the stairs are a bit easier, the shopping doesn’t feel quite as heavy, you notice you can walk further. Hang on. You’ve just got a bit fitter. You didn’t need any specialist equipment. Nobody watched you. Your size didn’t get in the way. And maybe, just maybe, you’re feeling a bit better in yourself. Maybe just maybe people are commenting that you look better. Maybe just maybe your clothes are fitting a bit more comfortably.

All that, just because you had the courage to start.

If you want support getting started, join my Embracing Fitness Community on Facebook. I’ve got your back on this one.