As it is with many things we must do in life, there is no grand order in which you must complete the tasks that lead you to better fitness. The first step is mentally committing to a new lifestyle that is healthier for your body. After that, it doesn't matter whether you start exercising or dieting first. A lot of people assume they should start eating right before they start working out. You want to dip your foot in the water before you dive in.
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Understandable, but health isn't a pool of freezing cold water. Let's start with a more positive approach.
First, throw out the sacrificial mindset that puts food on a pedestal and characterizes healthy living as the grim reaper. It's not torture. You're not leaving your nice, comfy mansion to go live in a destitute shack. It's more like you got lost and now you're returning home even if it seems unfamiliar at first. Don't think of everything you have to give up. Think of what you stand to gain. At the end of the day you're only sacrificing your health by procrastinating.
Second, change the way you think some more. Dieting is not always the best idea. Diets are hard to stick to. What if your diet isn't the problem? You may just need to be more active. You want to "get the diet down" before you start working out because you don't want to completely throw your life away just yet. You're not ready, right? Well, whether you're ready to commit is on a person by person basis, but even if you're not ready to go cold turkey and follow a strict diet it doesn't mean you can't start small. You don't want to do both because it's too hard. It doesn't have to be. You don't have to do all or nothing. You can commit to one way of eating cleaner and exercise moderately at the same time.
Don't buy into the big scary healthy lifestyle stigma. It's not unattainable and surprisingly it's not that hard. Small changes over the long term are actually more effective than short term get there quick scheme because once you get there you have to stay there and that's half the battle. It's a personal goal like any other and all you have to do is take a step in the right direction.
What we're saying is, don't make it more than what it is. There's no step 1, 2, and 3. There's no right or wrong. There's healthy and unhealthy and all you want to do is start moving toward healthy. Think of every day as an opportunity to improve forever, not a new day to start over. You're not giving up anything. Today is the day you stop giving up, stop giving up, and start giving effort.
