Getting started

I can tell you where and how I started and how I was approaching it mentally. Your mileage may vary, but I hope this is helpful.

For me, I started with a gym membership. I found a beginner lifting routine online and mentally prepared myself to "work up" to the frequency that was laid out. For example, I had picked out a 4x a week program, but spread that out over 2 weeks. I needed the rest due to the soreness from deconditioned muscles. I told myself all I need to do is show up. No expectations to complete the full workout. When I was done, I was done. No pushing. None of that "no pain, no gain" *kitten* because that's how you find yourself injured and locked out of what you want to do.

Over the course of a month I hit the stride of the routine and by the end of that month, I was completing all exercises for the day. From there, I started looking for fitness channels on youtube and educating myself on nutrition. Macros, recommended protein, calorie deficts, etc were all topics I needed to learn about. I was slowly climbing up the hill and into the lifestyle. I created a tailored workout playlist. I cut out soda entirely except as a treat here and there. And on and on I go. I got to the point where I found MFP because I wanted a food tracker so I could make sure I was being consistent. There too, I had to take it slow. I'd track common meals first and they were easier to plug in later. Counting calories has become easy now. It's all become routine now. Also, be kind to yourself. Everything doesn't have to be perfect no matter how far you get into it, unless you're livelihood is based on 3% bodyfat and 390 lbs of lean muscle. And that's not 99.9% of us.

Thoughts > actions > habits > routine

And regardless where you do start - it's crawl, walk, run. Taking off into a dead sprint so to speak is setting yourself up for failure.