Fitness Guru's Top 10 Tips To Staying Motivated
- July 24, 2000
by Greg Landry, M.S.
Exercise Physiologist

While on the road to weight loss, fitness and health, it's easy to get discouraged. In fact, discouragement is what leads many people to give up -- even when they're near a point of significant progress in their overall plan.

To help you stay the course as long as you want or need, I've compiled these "top 10" points of encouragement.

1. It does get better -- and often very quickly! Many people who are significantly overweight or have been sedentary for a long time find any activity -- even walking a few hundred feet -- to be very difficult and uncomfortable. Many physiological changes happen very quickly once you start moving. Walking, for example, starts getting easier and more comfortable within a couple of weeks. Keep moving! Every day will be a little better. Be encouraged!

2. I love this lady's story. If you're like me, you'll want to cheer for her... even if you're seated at your office computer. Margie weighed 296 pounds when she started walking in her Madison, Wisconsin neighborhood. She says she started by walking half a block twice a day. It was incredibly difficult at first. After the second day she had decided to quit, but a neighbor encouraged her to continue. Every day she walked the same route; once a week she increased the distance walked. She says there were many days when she wanted to quit, but she wanted very badly to lose weight and be healthy. After several months the people in her neighborhood started noticing her consistency and her progress and started offering compliments and words of encouragement. She said that after a few months of walking, the experience went from painful to enjoyable. About 10 months into her walking program, she began her morning walk as usual, but she noticed people out in their yards. As she passed each yard they were clapping and cheering for her: "Go Margie!"... "We're proud of you Margie!"... "Congratulations Margie!" She said tears of happiness flowed throughout her entire walk that morning as over 100 people cheered her on! Be encouraged!

3. The visible signs of progress in a weight loss program are often very slow to come. Healthy weight loss takes time and that can be very discouraging. Be encouraged to know that for each day that you exercise and eat healthy foods in moderate quantities you have made progress. It might not be measurable that day, but you have made progress and it will be measurable over a period of weeks and months. Be encouraged!

4. Katherine was 43 years old and had been sedentary for 20 years. The scale had not changed in those 20 years -- she still weighed 136 pounds. But she knew she had lost muscle and gained fat. Her waist was bigger and she couldn't fit into the same size clothes that she did 20 years earlier. What bothered her most was that she was always tired and never had energy. She decided to start walking and do some weight training but she quit after a week. She said: "It's too uncomfortable, I can't keep doing this." I encouraged her to continue and told her that it would get better. She "quit" three times during the next two weeks. Six weeks later she started to notice muscle tone and increased endurance and energy levels. She was encouraged. Eight months later she had gained two pounds on the scale but lost three inches in her waist -- and she walked a marathon! Yeeeeeeesss! Be encouraged!

5. The whole idea behind physical training is pushing your body to do a little more than it's comfortable with. Your body responds by making physical and physiological changes. These changes make you capable of doing a little more with a little less discomfort. Be encouraged!

6. Gerald lost 85 pounds after he started walking and weight training in New Orleans, Louisiana. Once he had lost the weight, he decided to do something that would allow him to fully appreciate his weight loss. For an entire day, he carried around a sack that contained 85 pounds of metal weights. Getting around during that day was a struggle and very tiring. At the end of the day he was exhausted! Life without the weight is great! Be encouraged!

7. Keep records of your progress. Every day write down the exercise you do and the positive changes you've noticed. Write down what you did, how long you did it, and any thoughts about your exercise that day. Keep a running total of your minutes. You can look back at what you've done with a great sense of accomplishment and you'll be motivated to do more. Be encouraged!

8. Daily exercise will change your life! I believe God designed humans to be active on a daily basis. Why? Because when you are, lots of good things happen. You are healthier; you feel better and have more energy; you are less likely to develop cancer, heart disease, stroke; you sleep better; you have a better outlook on life; your relationships with people are enhanced; your skin looks healthier; you are sick less often; your immune system is stronger; you lose fat; you gain toned, lean muscle; and you look healthier. Be encouraged!

9. Betty Jo in Tuscaloosa, Alabama wrote to me: "Greg, after 24 years of being married to a grouchy, pessimistic man who didn't enjoy life, I saw all that change over a period of about a year. Harold was the classic 70-pound overweight couch potato when he was scared into exercising and healthier eating habits by the death of his 46-year-old friend." Harold's doctor recommended that he start walking every morning and after a couple of weeks Harold told Betty Jo that he wanted to start eating better. Harold really took-off with this "health thing" and lost 72 pounds and become a new man -- inside and out. In Betty Jo's words: "I have a new husband. He walks for an hour every morning and he is a joy to be around. His enthusiasm for life makes our marriage fun." Be encouraged!

10. Progress and improvement generate encouragement. You can progress and improve and be encouraged to do more. Tomorrow morning put on your walking shoes and take a stroll... even if it's just a few minutes. The next day, do it again. Progress and improve. Be encouraged!

Author and exercise physiologist Greg Landry offers free weight loss, fitness newsletters and articles at http://www.Landry.com.

STAYING MOTIVATED

      One way to stay motivated is to constantly remind yourself that a worth-while pay-off lies ahead; a new, healthy, strong you is emerging. Effective, consistent exercise will not only improve your overall health and fitness, but will also improve your appearance, energy level, and social interactions. Also, look forward to the many psychological benefits as well: confidence, self-esteem, and relief from depression, anxiety and stress.
      If you are serious about your health and well-being, you will take action and begin an exercise program, and you will benefit in all these ways. Once you see the results, you will become even more motivated. Action creates motivation!

Set Goals

      Goal-setting is another great way of staying motivated. Goals focus your workout program and clarify what you are trying to achieve. As you attain each goal, you gain encouragement and further motivation. Here is how to achieve the goals you set and obtain the results you deserve.

1. Make sure your goals are measurable: A vague goal, such as "I want to be fit," gives you nothing to shoot for. Decide when and what you are going to achieve, such as "I want to lose 2 percent of my body fat by August 1st."

2. Be realistic: Make sure your goals are attainable. If you set your expectations too high, you will get frustrated and will be more likely to quit. Make sure, however, that your goals are not too easy; they should be challenging. When you achieve a challenging goal, your pride and satisfaction will create more motivation.

3. Set short-term goals as stepping stones to your "ultimate" (long-term) goals: If your long-term goal is to bench press 200 pounds in one year, then set short-term weekly or monthly goals of the weight you will need to bench press to achieve your long term goal--develop a plan. It is a lot easier to accomplish a goal one day or week at a time, such as increasing 2.5 or 5 pounds a week, than it is to think that you need to increase your bench press by 50 pounds.

Make It Fun

      Another way of assuring that you stay motivated is to make exercise fun. If you perceive your workout as a chore, you more than likely will not stick with it. Here are some techniques for making your workout something to look forward to.

1. Add Variety: If your weightlifting is getting tedious and boring, change one of these factors:

      Vary how often you do an exercise and the number of sets and reps you do.
      Find an alternate exercise; for example, if you always do the bench press using a barbell, try doing it with dumbbells or on a machine.
      Change the order of the exercises you do for each muscle group and the muscle groups themselves.

2. Include Friends and Family: Training with a workout partner not only makes your training session more fun, safe, and intense, but will also increase the likelihood of your showing up at the gym. Make sure you pick a partner whose goals and interests are similar to yours and who is willing to spot you correctly and motivate you to do your best.

3. Fight Discouragement: If once in a long while you blow off a workout because you choose to go out with friends, just accept and enjoy your choice--do not feel guilty. Otherwise, the sense of failure can make it harder to get yourself back on track. Focus on how much progress you have made so far, not on how far you have to go.

4. Expect and Prepare for Plateaus: If you feel you have reached a plateau and/or are bored, do not give up--this is a natural part of working out. Make sure to vary the exercises, sets, repetitions and order of your workout--continually search for new ways of making your routine fun and exciting.

5. Schedule your Workout: If you always exercise on the same days at the same time, your routine will become a fixture in your life, not a whim. Not going to the gym will feel unnatural. Including exercise into your busy schedule will be an adjustment, and staying motivated will be equally challenging. Change is difficult for many people. However, if you have the willingness to work through the initial emotional discomfort as you move step by step through a safe and effective program, you will find the confidence, commitment and determination that will ease the way.

      When you begin achieving great results, the excitement and fun you experience will make the change well worth the effort. Action creates motivation! Good luck: I hope you enjoy all the wonderful benefits of a healthy, active lifestyle.

      [ -- Copyright permission Global Health Fitness]

1. Plan, plan, plan! Make good choices. Shop for what you need.
2. Journal, journal, journal! Be accountable to yourself for your choices. Record everything you eat.
3. Get as much support as possible. Family and friends. Support groups in person and/or online.
4. Drink plenty of water. It actually helps you lose weight in addition to flushing out toxins and dampening hunger.
5. Try to eat some protein with each meal. It will help you feel satisfied longer, and enable your body to utilize more fat for energy.
6. Eat a variety of foods to provide proper nutrition and reduce cravings.
7. Try lots of new recipes so you won't get bored.
8. Eat enough in order to prevent your body from slowing down its metabolism and storing what you eat as fat because it thinks it's being starved! (Plateau tip: Eat a little more and see if that jump-starts your weight-loss.)
9. Learn about how your body works, especially in relation to nutrition and proper exercise, so you'll understand what's happening to it.
10. Include some fat in your diet. It helps keep your elimination system running smoothly, your skin smooth and soft, and keeps you feeling satisfied.
11. Remember that low-fat and no-fat foods may have more calories and less nutritional value than their full-fat counterparts.
12. Ease into exercising. If all you can do at first is a 5 minute walk around the block -- fine! Gradually increase your time and exertion level as your body allows.
13. Remember that 10 or 15 minutes of exercise done twice or three times a day is just as good as doing the entire time at once.
14. Add strength training to shape your body and also build muscle. Muscle weighs the same as fat, but takes up less space, so your body will look better (fat takes up five times the volume). Muscle also burns more fat, so you will lose more and eventually be able to eat more during maintanence
15. Ignore skeptics. Believe in your ability to succeed. If you make a real commitment to yourself to do whatever it takes you know you will succeed!
16. Make no excuses! You control what you eat. No one, no event, no problem can force you to overeat. Make wise choices everyday.
17. Keep your desire, your goal, your commitment in mind constantly. Displaying and keeping pictures of yourself handy (at different weights) will help remind yourself of what you're trying to do. Visualize yourself slimming down and finally being slim. Make a list of why you want to be slim, and another list of how you're "benefiting" from being overweight. Write a thoughts journal. Find other ways to keep your focus and strengthen your commitment.
18. Believe that you deserve to succeed. If others can, so can you!

Look, I know it's hard to find the time to exercise. We're all busy people; we all have so many responsibilities every day. But it's about deciding YOU'RE WORTH IT -- because you are -- and because you know regular exercise will give you the results you want. You won't get those results from exercising just 10 minutes a day or only once a week. My entire workout is a good 45 minutes every day. But don't let that scare you! You don't do 45 minutes all at once -- you build up to it gradually. Want to do 10 sit-ups a day? Start with one or two. But you've got to really DO IT and keep it up if you're going to see the results you want, on your body, in your head and in the way you feel.

So, what happened to your exercise program? You started exercising once, right? But then for some reason you got out of the habit. I want you to ask yourself: WHY DID I STOP?

Come on! You DO know why you started this journey, don't you? You just have to think back and remind yourself why it was so important for you to start. Instead of getting up in the morning looking down at your sneakers and thinking "I don't want to do this!," remember back to when you did want to do it, and why. That feeling must be stronger than not wanting to do it. And it can be again.

Just like anything else you do, the more you exercise, the better you'll get at it and the more you'll want to keep it up! That may seem hard to believe right now, but you've got to believe it! You need to do it long enough to be able to feel the results and see the results! Quit too soon, and you'll never know how good you can look or feel!

If you've fallen off the exercise wagon lately and need some help getting back on, here are some things I want you to try.

Don't wait till you "feel like" it.
Van Gogh may've waited till he felt like painting to pick up his paintbrush. But you may never "feel like" exercising. So, just make up your mind that you're going to do it anyway. I promise you, you'll feel good afterwards!

Any time you cat yourself saying, "I can't do this," say the word RESULTS.
What do you want? Weight loss? A healthier heart? Stronger muscles? More energy? When you know that getting into the exercise habit will help you achieve all these things AND MORE, then it will be easier for you to keep on sweatin'. Always remind yourself of the results you want to see, keep exercising... and in time you'll see them!

Don't miss too many days in a row.
If one day you happen to talk yourself out of exercising, then you've planted the Bad Seed, like in the Patty McCormack movie! One day missed leads to one week missed leads to one month missed, and before you know it, you've stopped exercising for good! Don't let that happen! I don't care what the reason was you stopped exercising. Whatever you do, get right back to it as soon as you can!

Ask yourself -- REALLY ask yourself -- why you're not exercising.
Some of you tell me there's someone who's sick in the family and you have to care for that person. Or you have a new baby, or you lost your job. Okay. But what do these things have to do with exercising? Uh-huh -- nothing. Exercise is about you getting yourself healthy. And remember, if you're feeling unhealthy, you're not much good to anyone else, right?

Try it -- you'll like it!
Make sure you read the Cinderella Stories in the newsletter [and/or success stories in magazines]. You'll see that one thing comes up over and over again: People start out ver-r-ry slowly with their exercise, and usually they can't do much at the beginning. But they keep at it, they keep sweatin', and in time they learn to love it and make it a habit. Like I said before, it's seeing the RESULTS that keeps people comin' back for more. So try it!

Exerpted from page 16 of Richard Simmons' All-Time Greatest Weight-Loss Tips (included with some recent subscriptions to "Richard Simmons & Friends" newsletter).

The information on this site is either from the author's experience or compiled from various sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy is not guaranteed. Any advice given is not to be substituted for the advice of your medical professional. Always get the opinion of your doctor before instituting any changes to your lifestyle.