When it comes to losing weight, many people always look for a scientific study on the most effective workout methods. But, even good exercise science is useless if people don’t follow the advice. Finding motivation to exercise is more important than finding a new study on exercise science. Below are 7 tips to get and keep you motivated to pursue your fitness goals.
Tip #1: Set Goals
Setting goals is an important step for the achievement of success in any area of your life. If you want to lose weight sit down and write out your fitness goals.
Do you want to lose 5 pounds? Do you want to exercise more regularly? Do you want to eat a healthier diet? Having written goals makes it 10 times more likely that you will achieve your goal.
Tip #2: Prioritize Your Time
Your time is your most valuable asset, and good time management skills can make the difference between reaching your weight loss goals and failing to reach your goals. Consider writing in exercise as an appointment in your calendar. In addition, plan out your shopping list and meals in advance. Come up with ways to better use your time and commit the necessary time to improving your health.
Tip #3: Don’t Go For the Quick Fix
Patience is a virtue, but it is almost always lacking when it comes to weight loss programs. There are 2 main problems with seeking the quick fix. First, the tendency to want something for nothing leaves people disappointed and de-motivated. There is no way around putting in the work. Something for nothing does not exist!
The second problem with seeking the quick fix is that it often addressed the symptoms and not the cause of the problem. Go slow and steady because consistency is really important.
Tip #4: Think About Changing Your Lifestyle
Healthy Eating and Exercising Regularly are like taking a bath. You only experience the benefits if you continually do it on a regular basis. So many people say that diets don’t work because when people go off the diet they gain weight back. But, the word diet actually means “way of life” not restriction. Everyone is always on a diet, it’s just that everyone’s way of life is different.
Habits rule our lives. “Bad habits are easy to form and hard to live with; whereas, good habits are hard to form, but easy to live with.” Strive to develop healthy habits that you will embrace for the rest of your life.
Tip #5: Commit to Your Routine
Once you have goals, you must commit to your eating and exercise routine. Your level of commitment will determine your results. If you just kinda commit, then you’ll likely have low results. However, if you fully commit to your routine and put your all into it, your results will likely be much better.
Tip #6: Keep a Workout and Food Journal
Keeping track of your progress and activities is a great way to keep you moving in the direction of your goals. We all think we exercise more than we actually do, and we all think we eat less than we actually eat. A workout journal and food journal will help to give you a less biased opinion about your activities. The better you can determine how your plan is going the easier it is to modify it to reach your goals.
Tip #7: Forget About Moderation Strive for Excellence
Everything in moderation except moderation. I understand the statement “Everything in Moderation”, but the problem is that everyone has a different definition of moderation. For some people drinking alcohol in moderation is 1 drink a week, and for others it’s 4 or 5 drinks 3-4 times a week.
If you want to be successful in anything you have to strive for excellence in that endeavor, and do your best all the time. If a habit is bad for your health, then you should likely always avoid it. Here’s an analogy. Would you ever tell a child, “lying and stealing is okay but only moderation”– of course not. So why do we talk ourselves into doing things that we know are not right by using well it’s okay if I do bad stuff only in moderation.
Now, I know that no one is perfect, and I don’t expect my clients to be perfect, but striving for excellence is all about truly doing your best to make the best decisions all the time. You and your body deserve the best.
How you think determines what you do. And what you do determines how you feel. So set goals, prioritize your time, commit to long-term success, and strive for excellence.