How to stay motivated on the road to health and fitness

By Carol Klingsmith, RN, CES

It’s easy to be motivated with that New Year’s resolution, but what about the rest of the year. Following are some helpful hints for finding that motivation during the remainder of the year.

Start by deciding if losing weight or getting healthy is really important to you. You may think you want to lose weight, start exercising…but if it is not among your top priorities, you will not commit the time necessary to make it work. Instead, take it off your list and save yourself the stress.
Take a look at the barriers that get in the way. Are you unable to exercise because you work all day and when you get home everyone vies for your time? Then put your exercise shoes and clothes in the car and don’t go home until you’ve had your walk (20 to 30 minutes). Decide what things stand in your way and then devise a plan to work around them.
Notice how much time you spend being inactive. Most people underestimate the time they spend in sedentary activities. I use a monitor called a Cal Trac, which tracks the number of calories I use everyday. You can also use a good quality step counter. I live in a two-story house and always thought I was very active. You can imagine my surprise on the days I did not exercise and monitor showed a whopping 147 calories burned. No wonder it’s so hard to lose weight.
Add movement to your life. Don’t feel that you have to have planned, hour-long exercise sessions. Find ways to combine exercise with family activities (tag with the kids), social times with friends (dancing is great). Park a block from work. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk to the post office to mail that letter.
Set realistic, measurable, short-term goals. If you only goal is to lose 100 pounds, it will be quite some time before you will feel successful about reaching your goal. Instead, set a realistic, measurable, short-term goal. Depending on your fitness level, your goal may be to walk one mile in 20 minutes, three times per week. At the end of one week it’s easy to determine if you have met your goal. Try to set a goal that challenges you, but is obtainable.
Create a plan. On Sunday write out your plan for the week..Exercise Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 5:15 p.m. for 20 minutes.
Make the plan a commitment to yourself. This means that come Hell or high water you will exercise three times this week. If something happens to your Monday, Wednesday or Friday workout, you will find a way to fit it in somewhere else.
Recognize success. Reward yourself for the small successes. Don’t wait until you lose the 100 pounds. Reward yourself for showing up for your exercise sessions.
It is important to progress your training to avoid plateauing. Once you start a program, you might find yourself on a “plateau” where your fitness level does not seem to improve. When this happens, it is easy to get discouraged. At this time a change in your program can help get you over that plateau.
Get help when needed. Whether it’s getting someone to exercise with you, so you’ll show up Or working with a personal trainer to help you get over that plateau.
Be consistent. This is the most important factor. Exercising even after the excitement of the new has worn off. It’s like the water in a stream that erodes the rock. It’s the small amount of work day in and day out that will get you the results you desire.

About the Author:

Carol Klingsmith is a registered nurse, Gold Certified Clinical Exercise Specialist and Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant with the American Council on Exercise (ACE). She writes a monthly column, The Wisdom of Wellness and is one of the authors in a soon to be released book, titled "101 Great Ways to Improve Your Health." Her website is www.carolswellness.com.

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How to stay motivated on the road to health and fitness

By Carol Klingsmith, RN, CES

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