The first step is the toughest

A longtime friend of mine began today the same process that ultimately changed my own ways: he started seeing a personal trainer.

My friend has been overweight since I've known him, and the last couple of years he's packed on more pounds. He's a teacher so I'd imagine he takes some abuse from students about his weight, and although I'm not sure his ultimate motivation for seeking out a personal trainer his schooling life probably played a role in his decision.

Now, it may seem simple; seeing a personal trainer and getting in shape may seem like logical steps for someone who battles weight problems. But it's not quite that straightforward. There are lots of reasons to get healthy and try and lose weight but there are more reasons to not. At least, that's what you tell yourself when you have more than 100 pounds to lose. That's what I used to tell myself.

"What's the point? I'll never lose all this weight."

"This isn't really going to make a difference."

"It's far more work than it's worth."

It's not easy to get over that mental roadblock. It's difficult. Challenging. In more ways than one. Basically, you are being asked to change the way you look at food, change the way you look at exercise, and do it quickly, like as in yesterday.

It's more comfortable to just do nothing, to stay in the comfort zone you've built up for yourself and forget about losing weight and just indulge. There's no difficult decision there.

So for my friend to have broken through, signed up for a trainer and worked out that way for the first time is fantastic. As I told him, the hardest steps were the ones he already took. For the rest, all you have to do is follow instructions, place your faith in the trainer and be true to yourself. It's really that simple.

It may not seem like it at times but it's true.