You will find plenty of articles telling you what kind of shoes to use, which jersey you should buy or which brand provides you with the best gears, you will find all that easily in abundance with one click, but real battle lies somewhere else, it lies in the mind. The struggle of waking up in the morning, the struggle of fighting with staring and judging eyes of others, because let’s face it, if you are an overweight runner people will at times judge you by your looks, not by how you perform on the field. So now the question is should you stop running outdoors, hide in the comfort of your room, trying only the indoor exercises where you don’t expose yourself to the ogling eyes of others. Well, no as it’s not the battle outside that you need to win but the one inside.

1. You are a runner, not fat runner, simply a ‘runner’

I believe a runner is someone who has the passion for running, irrespective of the fact that he/she is fat or thin. So kindly stop calling yourself a fat or an overweight runner because you are simply a runner. Its very important how you define yourself in your own mind, because if you treat yourself as somewhat less than others then don’t expect others to consider you any higher. So tomorrow when you wake up in the morning, getting ready for the run while tying your shoelaces or before setting your foot on the field, don’t call yourself an overweight runner, instead take pride in being a runner.

2. Every step counts

You must have heard the quote ‘Journey of thousand miles start with a single step’. I don’t know how many people believe in the power of a single small action but I have tremendous faith in every little step that takes me near to my goal. The human body is a complex mechanism affected by both physiological and psychological factors, so I understand at times it is really difficult to make your body perform at its highest level. At such times instead of completely giving up and doing completely nothing, try to at least work at a level at which you are comfortable in that present moment. Consistency is about working every single day continuously, the intensity may vary from day to day as it is completely human to be a bit out of strength at times.

3. Choose smart fitness wear to feel good

Many people choose running clothes solely on the basis of comfortability. I agree comfort is a big thing but it is not necessary that only sloppy or ill-fitted clothes can make you feel comfortable. Choose fitness wear that makes you feel comfortable and also equally smart, not in the other’s eyes but in your own eyes. The idea is that when you stand in front of mirror in the morning checking yourself just before leaving the house for run, you should not see a dull boring personality trying to hide behind those baggy clothes because human brain is lot about perception, what you perceive through vision plays a major role in developing thoughts about yourself. When you wear smart, well-fitted clothes you see hope, a room for improvement for yourself and then you long to improve yourself, even more, pushing yourself harder on the field, all because of the hope that you saw in yourself.

4. Do not seek validation from others

It is very important to understand that humans have a tendency to seek approval or validation from others. Through validation we seek a sense of approval from others, if the approval is positive then we feel our confidence soaring high but if it turns out to be something harsh or negative then we feel a sudden dip in our confidence level. My only concern is that why should your level of confidence be based on others approval or disapproval. Therefore Simply don’t judge your success rate by the others statements. You are your own hero, don’t ever let anybody else make you believe in anything else.

5. Accept your current fitness level

Often times I have seen people pursuing unrealistic goals and obviously unrealistic goals are unrealistic expectations from our own self which rarely comes true. The result of unrealistic goals is nothing more than a broken heart and a sunken feeling and all this happens because we fail to calculate and accept our current fitness level. It is very important for any individual who is trying to climb the ladder towards higher fitness level to make realistic goals and follow them diligently. Properly calculated goals with diligence and determination are bound to give you the results that you desire, but for all this, first, you need to accept your current fitness level so that calculation of further goals based on current level does not give you ambiguous results.

6. Its okay to stumble

Have you ever been in those situations where you feel that you have been doing everything right according to the plan, proper diet, bone-tiring workouts, self-control and every possible thing and then one night while watching your favorite series you end up binge eating, gorging on the full pack of Pringles of your favorite flavour, only to feel extremely guilty next day. Suddenly you start cursing yourself for not controlling your eating habits and then you feel completely derailed and disheveled. If you feel so then relax, it proves nothing more than the fact that you are a human being. No matter how vigilantly we try to walk, there are times when we stumble badly and even fall at times. It’s completely okay if that happens, although the frequency of such acts should be controlled as much possible and if it happens at times then instead of feeling completely lost, try to regain your calmness and think straight. Now that you cannot bring back what you have done, you should focus on remedial measures. What you can do is, let say you had a full pack of Pringles last night, so now in the morning you can start your day with some lemon juice in warm water then to compensate for the extra calories you had at night you can have a low-calorie breakfast accompanied with a healthy lunch later in the day with just some liquid at night in place of solid dinner and obviously plenty of water throughout the day. This way you can compensate for the calories you had last night and in a matter of a day, all those guilt-ridden feelings will be gone and you will feel that you are back to the ‘battleground’ again.