If you have the wrong attitude about fitness and healthy eating, you’re already setting yourself up for failure.
Who has thought about the following when doing fitness exercises?
- It’s boring
- It’s painful (I’m hurting all over, think I’ve pulled something)
- It’s punishment for my bad diet
- I’ve not got the time
- It’s an difficult obligation
- I’ve no time to train, I’m too busy.
Do any of these sound familiar? Then let me help you with some tips on how to “stick with” your program:
- Nobody likes pain, being bored, being committing to an unachievable, obligation etc. do they?
- Don’t just throw yourself into a fitness program that’s weightloss orientated.
- Work out your own attitude to exercise. See if the list of thoughts above are true or just lies that you have been telling yourself for years?
Use positive mantras to remember why you want to succeed, such as:
- I need stress relief from my workday
- I want to boost my energy and mood
- I want to make time for myself
- I can find time to get my body fitter and rest my mind
- I’m going to improve my quality of life
- I’m going to make myself more attractive
- I’m going to improve my health
- I’m going to extend my life span
Dispelling the exercise myths
There are some important points about exercise and lifestyle that we all should really understand.
- Diets don’t work. Stop wasting your time following fad diets, but plan more realistic changes to your diet, like smaller portions on your plate and using smaller plates also.
- Willpower won’t work. Willpower will work short term, but long term results require planning, discipline and finding the motivation for yourself every day.
- Motivation will not magically happen. This is a hard one as motivation can change from day to day. You’ll need to recommit your goals each day, if necessary, like changing some of your fitness, lifestyle plans and attitudes, to find new ways to motivate yourself over the course of your training. Don’t stick at the same workout, because it’s becoming more comfortable and easier, but moreover, change it so that it always tests you.
- Exercise and eating healthily won’t always be easy to stick with. Even I find this hard, but you’ll have to work hard on this every day. However, you will feel good when you do manage it.
See more great advice in our Health and Beauty section!
