Learn about ways to make losing weight and staying healthy a part of your everyday lifestyle.
In need of a major lifestyle change? If you are, it means that you are ready to take the first steps to get your health and fitness in check. Of course, this can be a lot harder than it sounds. Changing your habits can be extremely difficult and often takes a couple of trials before you are able to successfully change your behavior.
If you know you need to change your habits—but aren’t quite sure how—then we highly suggest you keep reading. We’re going to be talking about different strategies you can use to get on track and stay on track when it comes to your health goals. Your goals can be anything from losing 10 pounds, eating healthier, or making sure you get some form of exercise every day. But, don’t get ahead of yourself—setting and achieving your goals is something that takes time and practice. Plus, if your goals are too high, then you could be setting yourself up for failure. Luckily, we’re here to help you get started and set you up for success. Let’s get started!
1. Set Realistic Goals for Yourself
The biggest challenge when it comes to goal setting is to make your goals achievable and quantifiable.
Though it may be tempting to set a very high goal for yourself when it comes to health and fitness, this is not the best idea. While you may have the absolute best intentions while you are setting your goals, you may also be setting yourself up for failure.
The first thing you need to do when you are setting goals is to quantify them. While your intention could be to “get back in shape,” you should first define what getting back in shape means to you. It could mean rehabilitation to heal from an injury, it could mean prioritizing weight loss results, or even building additional muscle mass. Before you begin your journey to get fit, you need to know exactly what you are working towards—that way you’ll know when you get there. If you don’t start out by setting quantifiable goals, then it is far more likely that you’ll get lost while you’re on your fitness journey.
You also need to prioritize setting incremental goals so that you can track your progress. When you set goals in increments as opposed to one large lofty goal, you can reward yourself along the way instead of at the end of your journey. As you achieve these smaller goals, you’ll also gain more confidence in the fact that you can achieve your ultimate goal. When you move through each goal, you can then move the goal post and begin working toward your next major achievement.
2. Find New Ways to Exercise In Your Daily Life
When you can plan exercise within your busy schedule, you’ll feel better overall.
One of the top reasons that people are unable to achieve their fitness goals is because they are too busy. Being busy is something that we can all relate to—whether you’re a new parent or have an especially demanding job—it seems like getting daily exercise is impossible. Though it may seem impossible, it is actually pretty easy to find time for light exercise in your busy schedule if you plan for it.
For example, you could start with something as simple as taking a walk during your lunch break at work. You might also find a quick 15 minutes while your baby is sleeping to do a home workout—no equipment required. You never know, you may eventually find yourself looking forward to your daily walk. As you break a sweat, your body will release endorphins that will help make you more alert and productive throughout your day.
There are also some gadgets that you can incorporate into your daily life that make it easier to exercise with a busy schedule and allow you to track your progress. For example, there are compact elliptical machines that sit underneath your desk while you work. Using the compact elliptical, you can pedal while you sit and easily track how many calories you burn. A compact elliptical is especially ideal for people who spend the majority of their day seated. It is also an excellent way to get into low-impact exercise. If you previously had an injury and need a way to ease back into cardio, then a compact elliptical could be the right device to help you reach those goals as well.
You can also implement a smart watch that is able to track your steps and the amount of calories you’ve burned. A lot of these wearable devices can also track your gain or loss in altitude, so you can see the difficulty of your walk or run. Though these devices aren’t the key to getting or staying in shape, they do give you new opportunities to implement exercise into your daily life.
3. Be Kind to Yourself
When you practice compassion, you are less likely to give up on your goals.
Staying focused and motivated to reach your fitness goals can be very difficult, especially on days where exercise seems out of reach. It is on these days that you need to be the most kind to yourself. Getting into negative thought patterns makes it even harder to reach your fitness goals. When your daily tasks seem impossible to complete, it may be tempting to give up on your goal altogether.
Should you fall back into one of your old habits that impedes your fitness progress—whether that be skipping the gym or unhealthy eating habits—it is important that you trust yourself to get back on track. This takes practice and is definitely one of the most difficult aspects of achieving your fitness goals. When you learn to be kind to yourself in moments where you fall off track, you’ll eventually find it easier to bounce back no matter the circumstances.
4. Build A Community of Like Minded People
A support network is an excellent tool to help you stay motivated.
Working toward your goals can feel isolating—especially in social scenarios. It may seem like everyone else is living their life without restriction while you dutifully set aside time to change your eating and exercise habits. That’s why it is so helpful to surround yourself with people who are on the same page. Then, when you don’t feel like getting exercise or are tempted to give up on your diet, you’ll have a community around to hold you accountable.
It is also beneficial to have people around you who understand your journey. You might be able to gain some advice from people who are further along in achieving their fitness goals.
There are a few ways to find a community that will support you as you get fit. For example, you could join a class at a gym and meet like-minded people there. You could also find a local community group on social media. You may be surprised by how many people connect on sites like Facebook to discuss their progress.
Whether your community is online or in person, getting a bit of support from someone who shares your goals is never a bad idea. You may even end up establishing friendships that encourage you to stay healthy in the future—like a friend you walk with once or twice a week.
Setting and sticking to your goals isn’t easy, but reaching your goals is one of the most rewarding experiences. It is completely normal to struggle with staying motivated and on track—the key is not to give up on your big goal in the process. By implementing the tips discussed in this article, you can persevere through times where sticking to your fitness plan seems unimaginable. As you achieve your incremental goals, your big goal will seem more attainable every day!
