Fitness Goals and Motivation

Posted on March 15, 2007 in Fitness by byronb

When you decide to lose weight and get in shape, you’ve decided to make a real change in your life. Remember that it’s not all about losing weight. It has to be about your health. Being skinny is not just a matter of your physical looks. The reason that body mass index (BMI) has become such a popular expression has to do with health. In order to be considered a healthy weight, you have to be a certain weight. If you are above a healthy BMI for your height, you are considered to be overweight. Recent research tells us that if you’re overweight, you are at more of a risk for things like heart disease and diabetes. Therefore, when you decide to lose weight, it needs to be about your health as well as your physique.

If you decide to lose weight, you must set reasonable goals for yourself. In other words, if you’re looking to lose twenty pounds, don’t plan to have it all lost in a matter of two weeks. You have to realize that what goes on very easily takes time and patience to take off. The healthy eating programs that are out there such as Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig are all fine for a time, but real life changes have to be made in order to reach your fitness goals and maintain them.

First you have to realize that this will take work and that you will be rewarded in the end with a healthier and more energized body. If you can manage to keep that thought with you at all times, you will be able to ward off the cravings for the foods that you have indulged in too often. You will also be able to get yourself to exercise as much as you need to. The work and your will power will be rewarded greatly at the end of your journey when you’re a whole new you.

There are some tips that can help you stay motivated in case having the picture in your head is not enough. Some you may have already heard, but as I’ve found them useful, I’ll bring them up again. As the commercial that’s been playing for two springs so far reminds us; in the summer, we all want to lose weight in order to fit into our bathing suits. Late winter and early spring are prime time to pull that bathing suit out of storage, or purchase a new one and hang it up as a daily reminder that you want to look good in it during the hot days of summer. You may also decide to set some weight loss goals in the form of losing a certain amount every two weeks or so. When you reach those goals reward yourself with something non-edible like a shopping trip or a pampering at a local salon.  Another motivational tool you may want to use is to dig out a picture of yourself at your ideal weight. As with the bathing suit, put the picture somewhere that you’ll see it daily. This way you will remind yourself daily that you were there once and you can be there again.

These are tools that you can use to help you on your path to a new and healthy you. Simply key in phrases like “health tools” into your favorite search engines to find calorie counters and more for helping with your plans.

Remember that weight loss is about more than looks. It has to be important enough to you to make some sacrifices now to obtain the goals you’ve set for yourself.

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