I’ve been working out my entire adult life, and I want to share a funny — but true — story with you about how I started working out. It’s going to sound goofy to a lot of you.

There was actually one movie that pushed me to want to start working out. It wasn’t Rocky. It wasn’t Dirty Dancing.

It was the movie Flashdance. Yes, I actually went to see the movie Flashdance when it came out.

I watched all the dancing scenes, noticed the way the bodies were totally toned and ripped, and it motivated me in a very bizarre way. Maybe it was all the booze I drank in college, but I remember arriving home after seeing that movie and suddenly started to pound the weights.

I haven’t stopped since. Give or take about five pounds, I’ve basically been the same weight my entire adult life.

I consistently work out. I do cardio four days a week. I lift weights three days a week.

I used to do yoga before I blew out my back. I have now found that being tighter actually keeps me together better.

A lot of people have trouble starting to work out. You gain five or ten (or twenty or thirty) pounds, and you look at yourself in the mirror not liking the way you look.

What a lot of people do in that situation is to head straight for the microwave and eat even more. Others will sit on the couch and say, “I’m going to start exercising next week.”

Here is the truth. If you don’t like the way you look and if you can’t embrace your own body, then nobody you date will either. That is why I call this “The Dating Diet,” because it is all about you feeling great about yourself and your body when you’re dating.

There’s nothing that turned me off more when I was dating, than when a woman insisted on making the room completely dark the first time she got naked with me. I would be looking forward to seeing her naked body, and all she wanted to do was leave the room completely dark because she felt insecure about her body.

How you feel about yourself is so important. So if you feel you’ve been slacking, you need to push yourself.

Start going to the gym, and do just 20 minutes of cardio in the beginning. Then the next week, move up to 25 minutes of cardio, and increase to 30 minutes of cardio the week after that.

Just get started. Whatever you choose to do, start slow and build up.

If you’re not feeling great about yourself and feel uncomfortable at the gym at first, then pick a time to go when there are fewer people there until you feel more comfortable.

Write down all of your excuses. “It’s too cold right now to go to the gym.” “I’m too comfortable on this sofa, and don’t want to miss my favorite shows.” “I didn’t get up early enough today.”

Write down your excuses, and realize that all of them are just that — excuses. You must be dedicated.

Now I’m going to ask you to do something that will really be a challenge for a lot of you, but I want to push you a little bit. Stop reading this blog, go to the bathroom, get undressed and look at yourself from all angles in the bathroom mirror.

What do you like about your body? What do you dislike about your body? What you change about your body? What do you need to accept about your body?

If there are parts of your body you don’t like that you can change through diet and exercise, it’s time to commit to work toward getting those body parts to look how you will love them. If there are other parts of your body that you don’t like that weights and cardio won’t change, then it’s really important to embrace and love who you are.

The first thing I would tell this guy is to re-read that blog. I herniated a disc in my back about a year ago. I can’t run anymore, and can only do fast cardio or spin classes. I can’t do yoga like I used to, but yet I still go to the gym. I just do less.

I work out with lighter weights and more repetitions. I do less aggressive cardio.
The point is that I’m still going.

In order to feel great about yourself, you have to continue to do things that make you feel great. I know that if I don’t work out for a week, I really don’t feel good.

I don’t feel great about myself. I don’t feel my most attractive.

So it doesn’t matter what my partner says. It doesn’t matter if she thinks I look hot. I still need to feel great.

It is really about practicing self love every single day. Make a list of things that make you feel really good.

If you can’t do your regular workout regimen, then you need to think about what you can do. You need to think about what’s possible for you.

There is nothing I would love more than to be able to sprint down the beach. It would feel so great to feel the wind in my face as I run from my house down to the water and back, but I can’t do it.

I do what my body allows me to do and I make the best of it. I do that so I can still feel really good.

So to the guy who sent me this question, I hope I answered it! As you guys know, I write a new blog every single day and a lot of my ideas for the blogs come from things around me and from your questions. I am always interested in your questions, so keep posting them in the blog!

IT ENDS TOMORROW! I am offering something AWESOME just for my readers. On March 31st, I’ll be re-launching my “Become A Master Communicator” program on my site at its regular price. Until TOMORROW, though, you can grab this product at the special introductory price (Come March 31st, you’ll NEVER see this price on this product again!). Also, anyone who grabs this product by tomorrow at midnight PST, gets a slot on my upcoming “How To Succeed As A Master Communicator” Teleconference where I’ll be answering YOUR questions live on the call! CLICK HERE to grab your copy now!