So you want to get healthy. You made the decision with a big smile on your face, relishing in the glowing feeling of confidence and optimism. You marched yourself right down to Foot Locker and bought a brand new pair of tennis shoes, chin held high in triumph. You purchased a membership at that swanky new gym down on the corner, the one where all the pictures are of strong, sweaty, beautiful people promising that you too can be strong, sweaty, and beautiful. That was three months ago, and your sneakers are still in their box.
Making the choice to change is the easy part, it makes us feel good, like we’re beginning a new chapter of happiness and energy in our lives. The hard part is actually following through. Most of us can’t afford expensive personal trainers, in fact we’re lucky if we even have a friend or co-worker who we can drag kicking and screaming down our fitness journey with us. So how do we get motivated, when the only person spurring us on is ourselves? How do we kick our own butts off the couch after a long hard day at the office, when it would be so much easier to grab some chips and a soda and catch the second half of an old Oprah re-run? Let me offer you some of my own personal anit-couch tips. Here are my top ten motivation techniques to help you find your inner Jillian Michaels and attain your fitness goals!
10.) Find your fitness age: There are dozens of free and easy quizzes online that you can take to calculate your fitness age. This may be a scare tactic, or an encourager based on your results. On one hand, if you see that your fitness age is matches your actual age, you may feel bolstered by the results and be more confident, entering the gym with your head held high. On the other hand, if your fitness age is older than you actually are, you may feel the pressure to hurry up and get healthy before it’s too late! Our life on earth is short enough, we shouldn’t let poor diet and exercise steal precious years away from our time with friends and family! Here’s an easy 10 question quiz that I used: http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/diet/259032/Quiz–What-s-your-fitness-age-
9.) Look into your future: There are many obesity related illnesses and diseases that could reduce your quality of life as you age. By doing a little research, you could find yourself scared right onto a treadmill! Consider the reduction of your lifespan, the hardship illness puts on your family, the costs of healthcare, and the decrease in overall quality of life and emotional well-being, and it just seems so very avoidable–because it is. Certainly family history and other factors determine your likelihood of becoming ill, but your diet and exercise plays a big role too, and may just save your life! Here are just a few of the major diseases and illnesses linked to obesity: type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure (hypertension), gout, congestive heart failure, stroke, breast/prostrate/colon cancer, incontinence, pregnancy complications, depression, and osteoarthritis, particularly in your knees.
8.) Think of your children: If you can’t get motivated for yourself, do it for your kids. Children look up to their parents, and learn by their examples. If you ignore your health, your children will follow in your footsteps. Your dangerous habits may not only hurt you, but may be putting your children in harm’s way as well: a parent’s worst nightmare. If you’re not a parent yet, but plan on having kids one day, keep this new research in mind: studies now tell us that a mother’s fitness level during pregnancy acts like an on/off switch for her baby’s health. A mother who eats according to the food pyramid and is physically active ( using a doctor recommended fitness plan of course) literally turns on a gene in her baby’s DNA that predisposes him to be more active and healthy. Conversely, an unhealthy mother turns the gene off. Help yourself, help your kids.
7.) Take a picture: A picture is worth a thousand words, so how about two? Take a picture of yourself in your bathing suit. Print this out and tape it on your mirror or in your fitness journal. This is your starting point, what you will refer back to as the pounds melt off. Have you ever watched “Biggest Loser”? They use this technique with very emotional results. It’s satisfying to watch yourself transform and seeing with your own eyes the results of all your very hard work. The second picture I’d recommend is one of your ideal body. Find a celebrity or fitness guru whose physique you want to imitate. My goal body is Jessica Biel; she’s fit but feminine, strong but sleek. Keep that picture in your gym bag, on your fridge, in your fitness journal, or anywhere that you can be reminded regularly of your goals. (Side note: be realistic in your choices. Chose healthy, strong role models, not stick thin supermodels that probably eat 1500 calories a week and get knocked over by a light breeze. That’s so unattractive.)
6.) Grocery shop carefully: We all know this one: NEVER grocery shop hungry! You will only end up with an empty wallet and a cart full of junk. Instead, try to grocery shop at a time when you feel motivated, like after a gym session or a healthy lunch date with a friend. Shop when you feel good about the changes you’re making in your life and you’ll be strong enough to resist the brownie aisle, and head for the fresh fruit instead. This way you’re strong enough to make the right choices at the time of purchase, and if you’re having a weak moment around dessert time that night, there’s no junk in the house and you have no choice but to pick up a yummy apple or banana instead.
5.) Keep health magazines in the house: Visual cues are key reminders of your goals. Having a few health magazines on your coffee table are a great way to keep motivated. They’re also great for those days that you just don’t feel like going to the gym, because they offer a variety of exercises which do not need equipment or spotting and can be done in your very own living room. Fitness magazines can also act as great conversation starters, and may encourage your friends to join you in your pursuit of health.
4.) Make it easy to make time: Keep a gym bag packed and ready to go by your front door or in your car. If you have your gym shoes, clothes, and water bottle all packed up and ready to grab and go, it will make it harder for you to find excuses. I keep mine in the car, so that when I have a break in my busy schedule, I can hit the gym at a moment’s notice. I know if I have to go home to get ready, I probably will get trapped by my to do list (or more likely my comfy couch). Preparation makes it easy to say ‘yes’ to the gym!
3.) Measure and document: Print out a blank chart or make a custom one, heck, draw one on a scrap piece of paper, just take the time to document! Just like with the photos, having a written record of your improvement over time is a great motivator! Information which your chart should include: weight, BMI, size of waist, size of arms, size of hips, size of thighs, size of neck, size of chest, length of time spent doing cardio and which type of cardio, name of exercise used including weight moved, number of repetitions, and number of sets.
2.) Keep a list of your goals in sight: Your goals may be simple or complex, but no matter what they are, daily reminders of them will help encourage you to keep going strong. Keeping your own list of goals on your fridge or in your office is important because no one else has these specific goals; this list is all about YOU. There is nothing more exhilarating than the day you reach one of your goals and can cross it off!
1.) Reward yourself: When you do get to cross off one of your reached goals, reward yourself! Treat yourself to a night out at the movies or a nice restaurant, a pedicure or a massage. That treat will be so much sweeter when you think about all the hard work you did to earn it!
Now go find your inner personal trainer and get motivated to make healthy changes in your life! Until next time, I wish you well.
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