One of my fellow fitness colleagues sent me a great quote this week, and it inspired me to share it with you. It read:
“Live your own life, since you will die your own death.”
Is it a little morbid? Maybe. Is it true and to the point? Definitely! You see, your diet and exercise program is always a do-it-yourself venture. No one can do it for you. No latest fitness machine or DVD can do it for you either. These are just tools, to help build your program. In other words, it is important to have the right motivation, in order for you to exercise and eat healthy, and stick with your program.
This is very important for those who are overweight, to learn and understand. Of course, once we are overweight, we usually want to trim down for a whole lot of reasons, some related to physical condition and fitness, while others would want to enhance their physique and appearance. However it may be the case, the most important thing to remember is it is never too late to be fit.
Recently, a friend and I recently discussed how, in the past few generations, physical activity has become the exception rather than the rule, both at home and on the job. People tend to drive where others once walked, or usually, with a flick of a switch, machines do the hauling, lifting, pushing, and pulling, we once did daily.
The point I’m making is that since physical activity is not required as much for our daily routine, we tend to focus too much on getting everything right with our health and fitness programs, and set ourselves up for failure. On the other hand, we due to life’s modern conveniences (i.e. fast food restaurants, transportation, and sedentary jobs, we may fail to see the point of doing anything healthy at all.
However, many health experts believe that folks constantly get frustrated and lose their way, especially when it comes to dieting. They tend to go back to their old eating habits, even after they learn to enjoy healthy eating. They tend to return to sedentary ways even though they enjoy exercising. Despite the shift toward weight gain, you can stop it from happening to you.
First of all, there are plenty of good reasons to avoid excess pounds. As a matter of fact, there are reasons that go beyond vanity or social appearance. There are also many reasons in order to keep you motivated to exercise and stay healthy for the rest of your life. In fact, I will share 5 with you, to get you started.
1. Be very “specific” with your goals:
OK, I have to bust your bubble here. Simply stating, “I want to lose some weight,” is not definite enough, and just won’t do. Telling yourself such a general and unspecific statement, will not give you the kick in bum needed to start exercising and eating healthier right away. You have to get specific, I mean “really” specific, with your goals. How about setting a numeric set of pounds to lose in a certain time? Don’t misinterpret that question, and set out to lose 20 pounds in a week.
Come on now; ask yourself the following question, “Did you gain that extra 20 pounds in a week?” Most likely, you put some time and effort into gaining those pounds. Well, in order for something to change, do the opposite. Put the time and effort into losing those 20 pounds, as well. Take a few minutes at the beginning, middle, and end of the day, to close your eyes and envisioning what you will look like after reaching your desired weight. Doing so will help inspire you to lose weight. In fact, maybe even more than what you have planned in mind. The idea is to use that number and that mental picture to assist you to remain resilient and dedicated.
2. Develop a strategy:
Face it, willpower is overrated, and can give you a false sense of security. To lose weight and stick with it, your strategy must comprise of both, a healthy diet and proper exercise, and not either of the two separately. In fact, why not do the following, in order to start motivating yourself. Toss out your clothes that have bigger sizes, and you never want to fit in again.
In fact, instead of throwing those big clothes away, donate them to charity. Not only will you be put in a situation where you only have your sexy clothes, and have to make a choice to stay motivated to exercise or not wear any clothes at all. You also did your part by paying it forward, and possibly giving to those less fortunate. I call that good karma.
3. Remember, it’s the small battles that win the war:
It does not have to be all or nothing. Most people fail with their fitness program by trying to do it all at once, and leaving little or no room for error. Once one situation occurs, that does not match their fitness goals, many tend to feel really guilty, and feel as if they failed. Leave a little room for flexibility. This is a lifestyle, after all. If you fall off the wagon and have an unhealthy meal, don’t get shaken up about it. Focus on making the following meals healthier. If you miss a workout, no worries. Get back on track the next day.
There is no reason to feel guilty. You are doing this yourself, and only have you to really answer to. In other words, consistently practice actions that will suit your lifestyle. This means you have to implement moves that you and you alone will benefit from it and not somebody else. However, the idea here is to opt for a more positive and attainable goal and not just to shun away from being plump and chubby.
4. Find an accountability partner:
Don’t keep your goals to yourself. Be sure to inform those who genuinely care about you, know about your goals and what you are doing to achieve them. Once they are aware of what you are working on, it’s harder for you to back away from your goals, knowing the people who support you most are watching.
This will inspire you to keep on doing what you have started. Besides, it’s great having an extra hand to support you and cheer you on, when things start to fall short. Simply hearing someone believing in what you do is one of the greatest motivations to keep you eating better each day, and exercising for more.
5. Put an aggressive timestamp on it:
Ask yourself, “What do you plan to achieve in a year, 6 months, 6 weeks, a week, or even today? Break it down, and run with it. Try to set your goals to your calendar, and don’t look forward to seeing the results as one big event. The bottom line is that in order to stay motivated to exercise and eat healthier, takes strategic planning and a lot of hard work, which is contrary to what most people tend to think. The main idea is to change their lifestyle, because it is only through this way that they will absolutely change your weight…for the better.
Remember, in order to change your body, you have to change your mind. How do I stay motivated? I have a photo of a professional mixed martial arts fighter, and the Warrior Diet’s 10 guidelines to look and feel lean like a warrior, taped to my fridge. How about you? How do you stay motivated to stick with your diet and fitness program? Do you have problems staying motivated? Please share your comments below in the comments section. I would love to hear your thoughts.
Comments RSS 
