6 Tips for Staying Motivated to Exercise

Exercise is always a do-it-yourself venture. No other person and no machine can do it for you. Hence, it is important to have motivating factors so that you will stick with it.

This is what people who are overweight should learn to understand. However, although this sounds simple, in actuality it's not at easy as it sounds for the almost 55% of Americans who are overweight.

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 want to enhance their physique and appearance. And the truth is it is never too late to be fit.

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In the past 50 to 75 years, 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. People tend to flick a switch and machines do the hauling, lifting, pushing, and pulling for them.

While many do try to lose weight, instead, as many health experts have seen, people tend to lose their way, especially when it comes to dieting. They tend to go back to their old eating habits even after learning about healthier eating. They tend to return to sedentary ways even though they enjoy exercising.

But despite the momentum toward weight gain, you can stop it from happening, experts say. And there are plenty of good reasons to avoid excess pounds, reasons that go beyond vanity or social appearance. There are many reasons in order to keep you motivated to exercise and stay healthy for the rest of your life.

6 Ways to Help You Stay Motivated To Lose Big
#1. Have an explicit goal

A simple statement like, “I want to lose some weight,” is an ambiguous and an indefinite statement. It will not  motivate you to start doing exercises right away.

What is important is to be precise on your goals. It would be better if you set a specific number of pounds that you really want to lose. Envisage what you will look like after reaching your desired weight. Doing this will inspire you to lose weight. In fact, maybe even more than what you had planned. The idea is to use that figure to assist you to remain resilient and dedicated.

#2. Develop a strategy

Strength of will does not work alone! To lose weight and stay with it, your strategy must comprise of both exercise and diet, and not just one of the two.

Try to start motivating yourself by throwing away your clothes that have bigger sizes. This will put you in a situation where you only have your sexy clothes and that you have to make a choice by staying motivated to exercise or not wear any clothes at all. Which do you prefer?

#3. Make little, calculable measures

Put into 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.

The idea here is to opt for a more positive and attainable goal and not get defeated by a goal that is too large. Reward yourself (in non-food related ways) for attaining each small goal on the way to your larger one.

#4. Monitor your results with a partner

It would be better to have somebody willing to take note of your progress or development. This will inspire you to keep on doing what you have started. Having somebody to listen to your achievements is definitely a better prize than just achieving your goal alone.

Besides, having an extra hand to support you and cheer for you when things start to fall short will help you keep going through the tough spots. Simply hearing somebody believing in you is one of the greatest motivations to keep you exercising.

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

#5. Construct a vigorous, but sensible timeline

What do you plan to achieve in a year? Try to suit your objectives to the longer term, and do not expect to see drastic results overnight. Having a long-term plan will help keep you from giving up on your goals quickly. Remember that the idea isn't to lose x amount of pounds and put them all back on next year. The goal should be ever-increasing long-term health, and that includes achieving and maintaining a healthy weight - for the rest of your life.

#6: HAVE FUN!

Finding new, fun ways to exercise that you enjoy and like to do often is an essential key to staying motivated. If you hate your exercise program, no amount of goal setting, tracking, or rewards is going to make you stick with it for the long haul. At some point, you're going to give up and go back to your old habits. Making new habits means finding healthy things that you enjoy and incorporating them into your life - both with diet and exercise. We provide a variety of ideas for fun ways to exercise on this blog and on our website. Not everyone likes the same activity, so we try to share a wide variety of ideas and suggestions. Check back often for more, try out some new ones, and find some activities that you like and will stick with, and you will meet with success.

The bottom line is that staying motivated to exercise entails a lot of hard work, which is contrary to what most people want to believe. But only through changing your lifestyle by making these habits permanent will you see the lasting health benefits - and keep that weight off...for good.