1. Lots and lots of water! Skip the sugary drinks that are loaded with empty calories. They just make you bloated and waste your calories anyways. Calories are much more fun and fulfilling to eat then to drink anyways! Plus it is important to stay hydrated especially when participating in a work out program!
2. Keep a food diary! You the famous saying, “if you bite it, then you write it!” follow this saying and it will keep you honest! It is truly amazing how much more conscious you are about what you eat when you have to write it all down!
3. Count your steps! Use a pedometer and keep a journal of the amount of steps you take each day and try to beat your number everyday! (Keeping journals like these are a fun way to track your improvements and keep you motivated!)
4. Do what you love! Find an exercise program that works for you, whether it is taking zumba classes a few times a week, going for long walks, swimming laps, playing tennis, racquetball, or any other sport. Not only will it help keep you in shape but you get to have fun and enjoy yourself while doing it!
5. Work out with a buddy! This will also keep you honest. If you have someone depending on you or waiting around for you to go to the gym you are not going to want to disappoint them and you can both motivate each other. Maybe there is a day when you don’t feel like going to the gym but your gym buddy does then they will probably get you butt there, and on the other hand there might be those days when your friend isn’t feeling the whole exercise thing, and you can motivate them and keep them going. It will end up benefitting both of you in the long run!
6. Make little adjustments in your Dailey routine! Do you need to go to the store and its only a few blocks away? Walk or ride your bike there! Have an extra 20 minutes? Take the dog for a walk, go jogging, ride your bike do anything that gets your body moving for a little while. ALWAYS take the stairs! It will get in some extra cardio exercise and then on those days (very rare days!) that you just cannot fit exercise into your schedule, you won’t feel as bad because you did a little extra everyday to make up for it. Just making little changes in your daily routine can really help with your overall health
7. Find different ways to stay motivated! I know it might sound silly but if you workout with music try to find new music each week that you like to work out too. I know that when I download new music to my iPod that I cannot wait to go for a run or go to the gym, so that I can listen to all my new songs! Music is also a great motivator itself, I love when I am running and one of my favorite songs comes on my iPod. Not only do I want to keep going but a lot of the time if find myself pushing myself more then I would have if I did not have my music going!
Don’t drink enough water? Go out and get a new water bottle, just like downloading new music, having a new water bottle to use will remind you to drink more water! Join a team or exercise group! They are going to depend on you being there and if someone is depending on you it is going to be hard to disappoint them! You can also try something new!
Have you never run a 5K before? Well go out and give it a go! Not only are 5K’s and other races inexpensive to sign up for, they are usually to benefit a good cause (and you get a t-shirt for participating!) therefore not only will you feel good about yourself because you ran a 5K but you also are helping out with a great cause!
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