From the couch to the track.

I'm still pretty much a couch-potato, but not for long! :)

It has been a little bit over two weeks now that I started my diet journey.  I got some serious help from a fitness website, My Fitness Pal. This website, such as many others out there (the former My daily plate, now a part of Lance Amstrong Livestrong website; and plenty apps and websites) allows you to log in daily calories and exercise, meet some fellow dieters, potentially make some new friends, find awesome recipes and diet tips, and encourages you to stick to your program until the goal is reached.

I believe that the key to success lies in the support system, and that’s where this website makes wonders. Tracking MFP friends’ progresses, I figured out that the best way ever to shed pounds is to run. From fast walking to jogging, the walk-run scene is the one that creates diet winners (and iron men, so please do not underestimate this one. Ever.).

NOT this iron man (although...)

THESE guys

Again, you can find online tips, about what to eat, how not to get injured, and best of all: how to start running. From scratch. Better yet, from the couch.

The official name of the most popular beginner and now infamous program is C25K (Couch to 5K). It says it all, right? It is a pretty easy program, based on the simple and yet so true idea that when you run too far, or too fast or both, too soon: you fail. If you’re not ready for it and running is too painful, you just cannot go through this pain and this miserable afterward feeling, so you just drop it. Back to square one and being a potato couch. I’ve heard and said that I’m not a runner: I could barely run to save my own life. But if you think about it, running doesn’t require any special skill (not talking marathons here!). You don’t have to learn how to, you don’t have to practice a special movement. Come on, my kids run at least 2-3 hours a day! And stop in the middle to jump and dance!

To be totally honest, I cannot run for more than 10-20 minutes at once, without being out of breath and close to collapsing. But this program starts you with sequences of running for 60 seconds, walking for 90, and repeating it to total 20 minutes. I say it’s doable.

Running is just a matter of designing a training plan, and sticking to it. Thanks to the C25K website, all the work has been done, you just have to do it. More info on the official website.