*Insert broken record here* Eating healthy and exercising won’t help you if it’s only temporary. So here’s some trainer advice on sticking with your goal and keeping your motivation levels high!
- Make it nonnegotiable. Don’t tell yourself that you can cop out (or that it’s okay if you don’t make it happen).
- Make it actionable. Be clear about what you’re going to do to reach your goal. For example: “I’ll go to sleep 30 minutes earlier so I can wake up and exercise in the morning.” The point is to be CLEAR, and then DO IT!
- Set a deadline. Pretend you have a reunion to attend if you don’t really. Pretend you’re getting married…again. Whatever. Just mark it on your calendar and stick to it.
- Schedule it. Write workouts or other healthy actions in your planner and treat them like appointments. I’ve been doing this for over 3 years now and I swear by it. Write it down for every day and give yourself 1 rest day if you stuck to 6 of them.
- Find solutions for your usual excuses. Oooh, busted! Write down your most common reasons for not doing something healthy, and brainstorm strategies to deal with them. Example: The Problem – You’re too tired. The Solution – Go to bed earlier.
- Do it daily. The more something is part of your everyday life, the less you’ll have to think about it (see #4, above).
- Change your focus. Look at what you’ve accomplished as opposed to what you still have to do. Pat yourself on the back once in a while! Oh…and purchase some new workout shoes once in a while…as a trainer I see a LOT of people wearing shoes they’ve had “forever” (i.e.: lawn mowing shoes. Sound familiar?). It’s amazing what a new pair of shoes can do for people and their feet!
