How To Get Started With Your New Diet Program

Okay, so your're really motivated, read some articles, done your homework and now your finally ready to begin a diet and exercise program. But you still have this one same nagging question in the back of your mind, "How do I get started?"

Being lost in midst of all of these variables is not a hard thing at all. There is so much information, knowledge, opinions and guidelines out there that it can be confusing and overwhelming. Sometimes, we don't know how to put it all together. Well, if you are reading this you are in luck! Here are some tips to get started with your program.

Before we get into this let me make one thing clear! You are doing the right thing! It is virtually impossible to know everything there is to know about diet and exercise. If everyone waited until they knew everything in order to get started no one would get started. What we first need to do is to construct a plan. Our plan will be simplified but will be enough to get you on the right track.

1. Take Action. Just get going. This is the most important step you will ever take. Start slow and small but just get started. Go for a walk, go to the gym, pass on dessert or second helpings but just do soemthing. Jump in and know that you cannot go wrong. A program of good exercise and diet is a life change and there will be adjustments along the way. There are not "rights" or "wrongs" so just get started.

2. Set your goals. You need a goal. You need rewards along the way. If you don't know what you want or what you are doing you will be less likely to get where you want to go. You also will not have the same determination as you could have. If you don't have a picture of what you want in your mind you will be less motivated. If you are not working towards a really coveted reward your motivation will sag. Here are some sample questions you can ask yourself. How much weight do I want to lose? What exactly do I want to look like? Do I want a smaller waist? Do I want bigger arms? What measurements am I looking for? What sort of time frame am I looking at?

When you have done this it doesn't hurt to write your answers down to some of these questions as a reference for later. We as human beings can forget easily! Also, if you have to, record some of your current statistics that relate to your questions like measurements or your weight for example. Then you will have something to compare to and your results can be measured more effectively. Motivation aside, some will even take photographs of themselves. They are also great for motivation as well. In the future I will include articles on motivation.

3. Start to construct your menu and food options along with the quantities. For some this is the hard part since they don't know how much or how little food to take. They also don't know how to make smart, healthy food choices. I will help you and give you a few sample formulas. The most accurate guideline that I have found (and actually have used) over the years is to multiply your current bodyweight by 10. That's how many calories you should be taking in for the day. Also remember that your true weight is when you get up without any clothes on. So if you weigh 165 pounds for example you would be able to take in 1650 calories a day. Try it!

The second way to do it is to take a piece of paper and record everything you eat for three days. Then after you do that get a calorie counter and total it up for each day. Add them together and then divide that number by 3. This will give you an average of the number of calories you usually would take in. Now you then subtract this number by 500 and that would be your caloric allowance for one day.

You can do it! Just get started!