Discover the 'why'

Step 3: Get started! 

Document and share your progress of what you’re doing to lead a healthy, active lifestyle.  Let others know that you’re making a change. This will help to keep you accountable, but it might also provide you with some support to keep you going!

As you start out on your journey, I really want you to think about something.

Why?

You have set your goals and begun your journey, but why?  Why are your goals, your goals?  If you can’t determine the why part to each one of your goals, you will lose track of why you started in the first place. 

So, what are your health goals, and why?  

During a meeting, a trainer asked if someone would share their health goals with the group.  A guy raised his hand excitedly, and announced, “I want to lose this gut that’s appeared!  I’m ready to lose weight!”  The trainer responded by telling him that’s a great goal, but why?  The guy proceeded to talk about his son who was just a toddler, and how important he was to him.  He said that his own dad died very young of a heart attack, and it changed his life. The guy didn’t want his son to lose his father at a young age.  He said that he wanted to lose the weight so that he could live to see his son grow up.  He wanted to be able to play with his son without being short of breath.  He wanted to set an example for the next generation. 

There are so many benefits to living a healthy, active lifestyle.  Everyone wants to lose weight to look good or feel good.  But what about the impact your lifestyle is having on your health?  Are you putting your health at risk day to day?  And how is your health, current and future, affecting those around you?

Someone who is 40% overweight is twice as likely to die prematurely as is a normal-weight person.  Obesity is linked to numerous  serious medical problems:

·         Heart disease and stroke

·         High blood pressure

·         Diabetes

·         Cancer

·         Gallbladder disease and gall stones

·         Osteoarthritis

High blood pressure is also known as the silent killer because of the harmful effect it has on the body, without having any symptoms.  What is your blood pressure?  Is it normal? Have you had it checked recently?

 

Step 4: Discover the why

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/