Losing weight and getting fit is difficult. Not just because of all the outside sources, but because it is just hard trying to put your body through all the work that is needed to get into shape. You need to be able to focus your mind on the tasks at hand.

Sometimes when we make the choice to get fit, we are coming from a not so healthy mental space. We can acknowledge that getting fit, and exercise will help with our depression and our energy levels, but that doesn’t make it easy to start. It also doesn’t make it all that easy to continue to do what needs to be done to get fit. We want the changes to happen over night and that’s just not the way things work.

If you’re coming from a place where you’re already depressed and your energy level is low, then you may want to come up with a plan before you even start. There are tools that can help you do that, in this day and age there are even apps that can help you to do that. There are recommendations that you sit down with a personal trainer for the first time. Sometimes speaking with someone face to face to draw up a plan is actually more helpful than looking up the information on the internet. Also if you’re able to hire a personal trainer then you have someone that you can check in with.

If you’re not able to hire a personal trainer, because let’s face it, not everyone has that kind of money, then search through the personal groups online to find support. You can’t do this journey alone. You need someone that will be able to poke you every once in a while to get out the door and do whatever exercise you have chosen for that day.

Apps on your phone are helpful though for keeping track of progress. There are a lot of little tools as well that can sync to your phone that can check your steps and calories burned to show you what you have done that day. Seeing how you are doing day to day will help you stay motivated. As long as you remember that the changes will not happen overnight. Give yourself a few weeks before you start to decide that what you are doing isn’t working for you. If you do decide that, go back to the groups and find something else. There is always another option. No two people are made the same.

Through all of this though, you need to make sure to also take care of your mental health. Check in with yourself to make sure that you’re mental health is not deteriorating. Nothing is worth it if you’re not healthy mentally as well. While mental and physical health are linked, you may need to take things slower to make sure that you are taken care of. This is why support is so important.