How to stay motivated for healthy living Diet and fitness

I started my fitness programmes many times and left it sooner or longer. Many people like me start fitness programs but stop when they get bored or results come too slowly. Maintaining a workout regime is often more difficult than actually starting one. If it would not be, why so many people would become over weight? While we all know being overweight invites problems like Diabetes, blood pressure, cardiovasculardiseases and others including Cancers.

The culprit is often our approach to staying motivated to exercise and healthy eating. However at present I follow strict schedule of diet and fitness due to the inspirations I got from many health and fitness freaks. Here are some tips to help you stay motivated to a fitness routine.

Change your perspective

What does a healthy lifestyle look like? For some people, it looks like a lifestyle without any kind of fun, boring workouts, avoid going out to restaurants and eat boiled vegetables. What kind of fun is that? Remind yourself why you are choosing a healthier lifestyle. Was it to improve your health? Was it to feel better about yourself and your body? Whatever the reason, remember that only you can make it happen.

At first, it may look like you have to give up everything to lose weight, but what you gain from those changes is much more meaningful and satisfying. Not only will your body change, but your mind will change as well. Change your perspective. Don’t blame busy life or it’s boring nature as an excuse. Take inspiration from everyone you meet—even people who can’t be physically active. It reinforces why you may be lucky being physically active.

Set small, measurable goals

Small, measurable goals that will help you get to your overall large goal. Make sure it’s realistic and you can actually adapt your life around meeting the goal. Figure out what it is you need to get from your workout, besides the obvious physical benefits. In other words, decide which workout environment you would be the most comfortable in. The same goes for a diet plan. Choose a food plan that you can actually live with. For instance – I will eat 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day.

 If you havent exercised in a while, a short-term goal might be to walk 10 minutes a day five days a week or 15 minutes aerobic workouts for 6 days a week. An intermediate goal might be to walk 30 minutes five days a week. A long-term goal might be to complete a 5K walk.

Keep a food and exercise journal 

This is extremely helpful to track how much you’re eating – sometimes you don’t realize how many small bites here and there add up. Dieters who keep a food diary lose twice as much weight as those who kept no records. But while keeping a journal holds you more accountable for how you treat your body, sticking to a fitness routine is different from sticking to a healthy eating routine. Personal trainers recommend these tactics to keep you motivated and inspired to work out.

There is nothing more motivating than seeing your progress after each exercise session. Journal your progress and challenge yourself to improve even a little each week. Keep records (even if your health instructor keeps a record) of your current physical assessment (your health conditions, your current weight, current waist inches), your workout plans and sessions and progress each week.

Here one thing is worth mention, at some points your progress may be stable or stagnant. You may start feeling bored. I will recommend to stop checking progress at this point. As it will be the biggest demotivation. Just go on for one or two months, then check.

Schedule a regular workout time

If its hard to find time for exercise, dont fall back on excuses. Schedule workouts as you would any other important activity. You can also slip in physical activity throughout the day. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk up and down side lines while watching the kids play sports. Pedal a stationary bike or do strength training exercises while you watch TV at night.

Some of the most committed exercisers do it every day before the sun comes up or late at night when the kids are in bed. Sit down with your weekly schedule and try to build in an hour each day to be good to your body. Write your workout on your calendar, set up day care, and rearrange things around this one hour as if were any other important appointment you have to keep. Or use technology like daily e-mail reminders, workout journaling websites or iPhone applications to keep you on task,

Think fun and variety

By nature, humans need change and variety to stay motivated. We also need to have fun, even while we’re working hard. Do both! Try new foods. Eating steamed and baked foods daily can get old. Look for new healthy recipes online, in cookbooks or magazines so you don’t get bored with eating healthy. Find a diet or exercise buddy. Or enlist a friend to join you in your healthier lifestyle endeavours.

Make sure you include activities you truly enjoy and look forward to doing. Think movement thats more like recreation and makes you forget youre working out like dancing, or playing sports with family and friends. Or try a workout DVD to help you shake up your routine. Workout variety also challenges your body in unique ways, which may introduce you to new muscle groups you didn’t even know you had. This way youll have someone to share your frustrations and triumphs with on your road to better health.

Reach out to others for support

Get support from friends and family to help you stay focused on your goal of a healthier lifestyle. In order to stick to a fitness program, we need buy-in and encouragement from other people. It’s easy to hit the snooze button when it’s just you, but much harder to leave a friend waiting at the track. Consider joining a social networking site or online community with fitness trainers and nutrition experts and support from other people trying to lose weight and maintain healthy eating and exercise routines. People who get this kind of online support are proven to lose three times more weight than people going it alone. Team up with a friend and hold each other accountable for eating healthy.

Be flexible

Are you afraid? Afraid that you wont stick with it, so why start anyway? Think back to the last time you stuck with something and saw it through. Remember how good it felt? Focus on how good youll feel when you complete that first workout. Focus on how good youll feel about yourself once healthy eating becomes a regular habit. In any case, dont let fear of failure stop you from even starting.

So what if you skip a day or two? Dont beat yourself up over it. The important thing is that you get back to it. Get rid of "all-or-nothing" thinking. It is a form of self-sabotage and the surest path to failure. Know that there will be days when you just wont feel like exercising or you just cant resist that ice cream. Know it, plan for it, and plan to move past it. Keep in mind the 21-day rule. If you stick with something for 21 days, it will become a habit. Keep a journal for the 21 days or mark it off on a calendar. Before you know it, your healthy habits will be your lifestyle.

Make yourself a winner

Are you goal-oriented? Reward yourself. Keep a log of your workouts. Simply mark it on your calendar and when you have X number of workouts per week or month on your calendar, treat yourself (Not an edible treat of course specially if you are for weight loss or even it may be rewarded in moderation) It could be a book, a new outfit, or an exercise video. Whatever you choose, it should make you feel good about yourself. You earned it! 

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