If you’ve been reading this blog for very long you know how I’ve lost 20 lbs in the last couple of months on a low-carb diet. If you’ve been reading it for a LONG time you know I’ve done Body For Life before and made significant progress. Well, even though I’ve lost a lot of weight recently I haven’t gotten fitter.

It was time for that to change.

As with most things in life, your mindset is the first thing that has to change. You need to know what motivates you and do that thing when you need to make a change. My motivation is example. It is one of the most basic ways I learn new skills, and it is what gets me into action.

I did Body for Life because of all the before and after pictures in the book. It showed me it could be done. It gave me an example to follow.

So when I decided I had to start working out I went looking for examples to motivate me. I found those examples in the ebook, Fit Over 40. When you see pictures of men and women that are a decade older than you and yet look younger and fitter than you it’s inspiring.

I bought the book, downloaded it and the bonus materials a week ago. Jon Benson the author understands mindset is the most important part. So he spends a lot of time on it. He tells his story of the struggles he went through all through his life and how he ended up extremely fit at 40. (Turns out he’s also a ACU grad like me, which was a bonus.)

One thing he emphasizes is when it comes to fitness, there is no one way. Different things work for different people. For instance, some people lose weight and get fit on a vegetarian diet, others don’t. Some people need a balance of carbs and protein in their diet, others are carb sensitive and need a lower carb diet. Some people need to workout with weights every day, others can do body weight exercises. There is on one way.

So his book gives you 52 examples ranging in age from 40 to 70+. These people are also people who have made a transformation. They have been out of shape and gotten themselves into shape.

So got the book, read it, got inspired, and took action. Last week was my first week. One of the bonus materials was an audio with transcript for a 15 minute a day work out. When I heard it I didn’t believe it would really be 15 minutes, but it really was. It is 15 minutes of weight lifting 5 days a week. Totally easy and quick to do.

And it gets results. I’ve been sore and I’ve gained muscle according to my body fat scale. Oh, and lost 2 lbs of fat in the first week.

I took before pictures, but I ain’t posting them till I’ve got results. As I learned from BFL you don’t normally see results for 4 weeks, so I’ll think about showing them then. I have lost inches all over, but don’t think I look that different.

So if you are looking for a fitness program that you can do, check out Fit Over 40.