8 Ways to Get Motivated
Posted Monday, May 4, 2009 to PROCEDURES > Body
Posted by
Tom Pousti, M.D.
Weight Loss San Diego
All of us have talked about wanting to lose weight, have spent $100's of dollars on products and fitness magazine but just can't find the time to get started and the excuses just keep coming. It is not a matter of we can't or don't have time, it's a matter of MOTIVATION! Below you will find 8 different way to help you start your journey to a healthy and fit lifestyle and help you stay motivated along the way!
- Make working out a priority in your life.
The things that are most important to us are given the time and dedication it requires. Working out is the same. It needs to be scheduled and put in your calendar so that you make the time to go. Just like anything else in life we need to make sacrifices to make certain things fit into our life. Try getting up a little earlier in the morning and walk around your neighborhood for 15 minutes to begin with. Then from there add 10 more minutes and so on and so forth. Before you know it you are up and moving and MAKING time to benefit your body. Remember working out is a lifestyle change not a quick fix.
- Set attainable goals.
Try to set goals that work for you and not your friend. Everyone’s body is different and the time and dedication people have are different. The more realistic you are about your goals the less likely you are to fail. This in turn will encourage success and motivate you to keep moving forward. Try setting a long-term goal and short-term goals throughout the process. The short-term goals will help be your gauge in attaining your long-term goals. It is here where you adjust your activity level and food intake so that you stay on track.
- Start off slow.
The first day of working out our adrenaline is pumping, we have our new sneakers on and our ipod is full of new workout songs, but what happens to many of us is we go to hard to fast and regret it the next couple of days, sometimes a week. Make sure you listen to your body and workout as if you haven’t worked out before. If you haven’t worked out for a while your muscles will be de-conditioned and don’t need much for a workout the first couple of week. Try doing a full body workout 3 times a week for the first couple weeks, then start splitting your body parts up.
4. Vary your Routine
Our bodies are very amazing machines! It only takes our bodies about 3-4 weeks to figure out what we are trying to do and it will begin to plateau. We want to make sure we are constantly shocking our body and introducing it to new and different types of exercises. You can do this by changing your sets, reps, weight and intensity. Also, try to find a fun class that you and some friends can go to. Before you know the class will be over and you will have burned 100's of calories while having fun.
5. Keep a journal
Keeping a journal helps you hold yourself accountable. It's also a good reminder of where we began and where we are currently. It is very easy to forget what it was like when the journey began unless we have some reference point. Your journal can consist of the different exercises you do, the types and amount of foods you are consuming and how you were feeling that day. Taking pictures of your progress is another way to journal. Its amazing how easily we forget what we looked like in the beginning and to see the transformation that begins when we've been consistent and dedicated to a healthy lifestyle.
6. Use a buddy system
Having a friend or a family member as our support and workout buddy really helps on those days you really don't feel like going to the gym or working out. Not only are you holding eachother accountable to start moving, but you are holding eachother accountable while at the gym. Having someone there helps give us that extra motivation and push. For those who are competitive this might help you achieve your goals faster. You don't want to see your workout partner progressing any faster then you, do you? Remember to keep it healthy and fun since this is a lifestyle decision not a New Year's Resolution.
7. Get enough sleep
Lack of sleep is the quickest thing to destroy your workout routine. You are more then likely to overeat to get the energy lost from sleep and possibly skip the gym. Lack of sleep also slows down our metabolism and doesn't allow our body to properly burn fat. When you are sleeping your body is going to work repairing any tissue damage and burning fat. If you don't get enough sleep this will delay the fat shedding process. Make sure you are getting enough water throughout the day as well. Dehydration can bring on much fatigue and trigger us to eat when we are actually thirsty.
8. Be patient!
The longer it takes to come off the longer it is going to stay off. We live in a society where faster is better but that method doesn't apply to the body when losing weight. There is a healthy way to lose weight and an unhealthy way to lose weight. Losing weight at the rate of 1-2 pounds per week is a very healthy rate and the success of keeping that weight off is very high. Losing anymore weight then that can start to become harmful to the body and is weight that more then likely is to come back on down the road. Making healthy lifestyle habits don't just happen overnight. It's like that saying "It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks." So don't expect to lose the weight overnight and don't expect the process to be easy. Remember, good things in life never come easy but they are always worth it in the end! It can be the one thing that saves your life!
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