Terri Ramsey Beavers There are very few people out there who don’t like to stay in good shape. Seriously, what’s not to like? However, life too often gets in the way and we either lose the drive to pull ourselves together or we don’t have enough time. So, we let ourselves loose, one bad habit leads to another and, in the end, we end up asking ourselves how is it possible that we strayed so far from what we originally intended.
The truth is that making a healthy and fitness-oriented lifestyle is just one step away. As soon as you make the decision to turn things around you have already ahead of 90% of the world population out there.
Well, we are glad that have you here, making such a commitment. Now, let’s take a look at some of the next moves you should take.
Find your North Star
A long time ago, ancient seamen used the North Star to navigate their ways across the vast oceans. If you want to see your fitness goal through you will need to find your personal North Star. So, instead of changing your strategies and outcomes, try to make the change your personal core. Find the reason why you are doing what you are doing, and explain to yourself how working out improves your life and what you are losing by neglecting your health. Make these things more important than any distractions holding you back. When you adopt this healthy, laser-focused mentality you will see half the job ahead of you done.
Show up for every workout
If changing up the very core of your personality is the foundation for your efforts, turning the exercises from a chore to a daily routine would roughly translate to setting up the support wall. And like any other routine, this beefing up this one will require continuity. With that in mind, we suggest that, for a while, you don’t focus on results but rather on showing up. Not feel like running? Show up at the field and see what happens. Do a mile or don’t do anything. But, you need to develop a habit of showing up without exceptions. Once you pass this hurdle, just believe in the system and the results will eventually come.
Get your nutrition in order
By that, we don’t mean give up the things you like. That would create unvented mental obstacles. So, if you are, for instance, an Aussie, feel free to indulge in your snags and roast lamb. But, you will also need to learn a couple of things about how to balance these meals with veggies and fiber-rich food as well as see where you can buy some fitness supplements in Australia. Essentially, if you are trying to lose weight, your goal should be to create a caloric deficit and burn out more food than you ingest. As long as you keep that critical factor under control, you can occasionally blow off some steam with some meals you truly enjoy.
Give yourself enough time
Remember, you are not competing against anyone or pursuing some unrealistic goals – you are simply changing the course because you enjoy it. Pushing yourself too hard or trying to reach some unrealistic goals in an impossible time will spread your willpower too thin and eventually tear down the fortress you worked so hard to build. If you, on the other hand, work out because you enjoy it and appreciate a healthy lifestyle, you really have nothing to fail at – each new day will be one enjoyable step toward your goals. So, take it slow, fall in love in love with the race, and you will eventually get to the finish line.
Tie your new habits to things you already enjoy
This simple trick will create positive mental reinforcement and make adopting new habits much faster and easier. So, what exactly are we talking about? Well, if you, for instance, enjoy checking the news, try doing ten pushups before you pop up the phone. Like reading books but never having enough time? Get yourself an audiobook app and listen to your favorite classic on a 10-mile run. Wanna go shopping? Go to the mall on foot and avoid the annoying search for a free parking spot. The opportunities for these hacks are virtually endless and they are limited only by your imagination and will to constantly challenge yourself.
Eliminate bad habits
Last but not least, we would like to remind you that while you are developing new, healthy habits, you should leave the old ways behind. And just as we suggested that you don’t use willpower to meet your fitness goals, you shouldn’t use that strategy now, either. Instead, do that because you are aware of all the things you are losing while indulging in bad habits and a deep belief that you are no longer that person. Things like cigarettes, alcohol, artificial sugar, or emotional eating aren’t solving any of your problems – they are simply providing a temporary release. The true change, once again, comes from within.
We hope these few suggestions will help you get a general idea about the strategies you can use to make a change for the better and adopt a healthy, fitness-focused lifestyle. As we can see, being healthy has very little to do with weights, but it has everything to do with how you look at life and what you hold dear. And the changes at this basic, core level are incredibly hard to make. Love yourself like you love the air you are breathing and all other things will come naturally.