Just start.

Sounds simple, right?

But why, then, do we have a tendency to put it off until tomorrow, or maybe Monday, or maybe even a new month?

I think it’s a two part answer:

The first part being that it’s easier to maintain the status quo. To continue doing what you’ve been doing because one day won’t make a difference, right? So let’s wait until tomorrow.

But then that tomorrow turns into the next tomorrow and so on, so that you never actually get started.

It’s inertia – objects at rest tend to stay at rest.

The second part of the answer though is a little bigger – it feels overwhelming to get healthy, or to get back on the wagon.

There’s exercise (do you even still have a gym membership? Do your leggings even still fit?), there’s the food aspect (say goodbye to all the good stuff) and there’s the time thing too (something’s gotta give if you’re going to spend hours at the gym each week).

A One-Part Solution

Now that we know the two-part answer to why we keep putting it off, I’ve got a one-part solution that takes care of both parts!

And that solution is to ‘just start’… with something SMALL.

Like, super small. Just five minutes.

For real, only FIVE minutes!

It handles the problem of inertia because it works both ways. Objects in motion tend to stay in motion as well.

So get moving for five minutes and see the impact it has on your inertia.

It also reduces the overwhelm of all the things. Instead of worrying about workout clothes, gym passes, workouts, meal prepping, depriving yourself of your favorite foods, and figuring out what will get neglected while you take care of your health, you’ve just got to find five minutes to move.

And I say move because I mean move… I don’t mean exercise. I’m talking as simple as walking for five minutes; dancing to two songs in the kitchen; doing a couple yoga Sun Salutations while your coffee brews.

It doesn’t have to be an all-out sweaty effort where you’re sore for the next week. I mean just start with five minutes and call it a success for the day.

Then do five minutes tomorrow, and the next day and the next day.

But Five Minutes Won’t Get Me in Shape

I already know what you’re thinking, “But Coach Mack! Five minutes isn’t enough! It won’t get me in shape and get rid of this damn muffin top!”

So let’s get real.

DUH! Five minutes won’t get you in shape. I’d be a crack pot health coach if I truly believed dancing to two songs will get you in shape and looking like a Pilates instructor.

But we’re not talking about getting in shape yet, we’re talking about starting, remember?

That’s the biggest hurdle to getting back in shape is getting started.

And with the five minutes of movement, we’re able to jump that first hurdle!

And we repeat it over and over because it’s just five minutes! And if you can’t squeeze five minutes into your day for a week, what makes you think you can squeeze an extra hour or 90 minutes from your day??

So we start small… like, REALLY small, and with the focus of getting started.

Soon enough, those five minutes will turn to ten; and that ten will turn to 20; and before you know it, you’ll be getting in a solid 30 minutes (or more) every single day!

Then that will trickle over into the food stuff and you’ll find you want to fuel yourself better because you’re moving better and you want even MORE of that good feeling.

So you start making better day to day food choices. Not all at once, but in little increments… you choose the wrap over the sandwich at lunch one day. And then the following week you pick the salad instead of the wrap.

And those five minutes and those little food decisions begin to add up. But none of it would have happened if you hadn’t simply started with those five minutes.

And if you’re super smart (like I think you are, because you’re reading this blog), I bet you can see how this is the reverse of how you fell off the wagon in the first place. It may have started with skipping one workout or yoga class; then you ate a donut with your latte instead of the egg bites. And those little decisions began to add up to a few extra pounds and the ball got rolling.

All we’re doing here is reversing the process with small swaps and small choices that begin moving the needle in the opposite direction.

And it begins with moving for just five minutes.

So, for real, now that you’re done reading this, go walk. Go dance. Go move.

Just start.