Jeff’s Journey, Part 5 — Show Up, and Keep It Simple, at the Gym

Show Up, and Keep It Simple, at the Gym

I didn’t beat myself up over my Friday Fumble. I learned a lot from it, after all, and I reminded myself that changing eating habits is a major psychological challenge. Research shows that it takes an average of 66 days to form new habits, and that dopamine-releasing bad ones are extremely difficult to break.

Besides, my new exercise regime was leaving my missteps in the dust. The pounds dropped off quickly after I started my new diet and milking my seldom used twenty-year old gym membership for all it was worth was a great way to keep the momentum going. Best of all, my workout plan was SO SIMPLE. How simple? There were really only two elements to it:

Just Show Up

Did you know that four out of five people don’t actually use their gym memberships? We don’t see results because we don’t show up. #Duh, right? So I showed up. For the first four months, I lived on the elliptical trainer. I would commit to one hour in the gym, and nothing less, every day. I put in the work and saw results.

Do the Math

I didn’t invest in the latest smartwatch or heart rate monitor that pairs with my smartphone. Instead, I did the math. Math was my saviour, as I knew exactly what my calorie intake and burn needed to be each day. I tracked my body mass index and weighed in every couple of days. I did all this through a simple spreadsheet. It was arguably my most important file that I updated every single day. It was easy, and it worked.