If you’re like most people, exercise is not on the top of your list of favorite ways to kill time. Sure, we try to convince ourselves that we actually find hours on the treadmill or elliptical machine to be peaceful and relaxing. But the truth is, we’d rather be sitting on the couch with a half-gallon of chocolate ice cream. But the stark reality is that the number of people who are either overweight or obese is growing worldwide. In fact, according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) latest projections, by 2015 approximately 2.5 billion adults will be overweight (body mass index, or BMI, of 25 or higher) and 700 million will be classified as obese (BMI of 30 or higher).
If you are in this group, or on your way to being in this group, there are some serious health issues you need to be aware of, including increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers. So what can you do? Two things: diet and (gulp) exercise. Yes, there’s no getting around it. Whether you want to improve your overall health or just look better in those tight jeans, you’ve got to exercise. We’ve all been there, we start out with the best of intentions, gung-ho to get fit. We hit the gym, pound the pavement and crank up the cardio. But somewhere along the line we hit that darn wall. These are some tips to help you stay motivated and burst through that wall like it wasn’t even there.
1. Have an Explicit Goal “I want to lose some weight,” is an ambiguous and an indefinable statement. You could lose two pounds or twenty pounds and not know if you’ve reached your goal. Be specific with your goals. Determine your target body weight and identify a number of pounds you need to lose to get there. Other goals could include a target BMI or waist size. The point is to be specific and realistic. As you get closer to reaching your target, you will remain motivated to keep going. You may even reach your goal and keep going because you have now made exercise a part of your daily routine.
2. Develop a Strategy Most of us can’t rely on willpower alone. To lose weight and keep it off, you need a solid strategy consisting of both diet and exercise. They are two sides of the same coin and the two necessary ingredients for successful weight loss. You need to incorporate these into your daily routine. With food, you need to make a plan (maybe weekly or monthly) for what you are going to eat each day. With exercise, same thing. Think through your schedule and slot in exercise “appointments” and stick to them. If you have a doctor’s appointment scheduled and something else comes up, you’ll most likely say, “sorry, I can’t make it because I have a doctor’s appointment.” You need to treat your exercise appointments the same way.
3. Baby Steps Big goals may get us excited at first. But our excitement usually turns to frustration soon after we set out on our way and that big lofty goal looks a million miles away. It’s important to not bite off more than you can chew. Getting back to the first tip above, make your goals explicit and attainable. Then, as you achieve your goals, you continue to adjust them, enabling you to consistently meet milestones and create a sense of accomplishment.
4. Monitor Your Progress Keep a daily, weekly or monthly log of your activity. When you first start out, you will be able to walk or jog so far, or lift so much weight, or do x number of sit-ups. If you write it down each day, you’ll be amazed at how much more you can do after only a few weeks of your regimen. This is an incredible way to keep yourself motivated by being able to see how far you have come in a short period. Just be cognizant of the fact that over time, your progress will be less than it was when you started but it is still a great sense of achievement to look back and see what great strides you have made since you started.
5. Construct a Realistic Timeline You’ve identified your goals. Now it’s time to set a timeline. How far do you want to go in a month? Six months? A year? Having a timeline creates that extra amount of positive pressure you need to keep on track. It’s all too easy to procrastinate but if you have a target date, you can’t procrastinate forever and reach your goal. It may even be a good idea to pick a date that coincides with an important event, such as a wedding or reunion.
6. Reward Yourself When you reach a milestone you deserve a reward. You’ve worked hard to get there and you should enjoy the moment. So attach rewards to your goals and you will be that much more motivated to get there.
