First an apology, you may be reading this post under false pretenses. The title suggests it’s going to be about how to get fit without exerting any effort or getting a sweat on. This is not possible, as we all know.

It’s actually a post about the most minimal form of cardio exercise there is – RUNNING.

Why minimal? Well all you really need is – YOU!

My life was so busy that I didn’t have time to do biking, hiking or any other physical activity that I enjoy. I had gained 40 pounds in the last 10 years. At 220 pounds I was out of shape, unhappy with myself and not able to keep up with my son.

I had to do something. Like many people I tried every fad diet plan and every diet pill that promised quick weight loss. I did lose weight quickly. But then I would gain it back just as fast.

Then I decided to try a boot camp style workout. It was high energy and explosive exercises (like flipping tractor tires) intended to maximize the number of calories that you burned.

With the launch of Minimize Yo’ Butt this last Monday though, I would like to talk about the goals that some of us have for this challenge, and inject a dose of common sense that I had to learn the hard way.

The common sense is: “Ease into it.”

You owe it to yourself to make this work, and that requires taking the time to do it right. Toward that end, I have one tip, one warning, and some closing advice.

A little over a year ago, I was forced to give up gluten. After over a year of (not so) fun tests, my doctor and I figured out that gluten was causing — or at least seriously aggravating — some disgusting alarming health issues that started when I became pregnant with my second son.

In case you’re not familiar with the gummy protein called gluten, it’s found in wheat, barley and rye, which means it’s in much of the food you and I consider staples: bread, cereal, flour and donuts. What? OK, maybe donuts aren’t considered a staple.

Gluten gives bread its elasticity and provides that nice chewy texture to baked goods that you’ve grown to love.

I’ve been minimizing my life for quite a while now. The journey started with downsizing my possessions. I got radical with clutter patrols and learned to discern between unused junk and real treasures. I hauled, tossed, donated and gifted until I was a seasoned professional.

Then something amazing happened. I was de-cluttered! At least from the random ephemera that surrounds so many people’s lives. It was time to declutter something different.