Staying on track to meet your fitness goals

I’m on the path to getting back in shape and staring in the face of all of the obstacles to doing so. Everyone that starts a workout regimen begins with all of the energy and motivation in the world. Keeping it is the problem!
Like most people I began with an ambitious plan, working out at the gym, eating right, getting outdoors and staying active, even exercising during commercial breaks when watching TV! (This can definitely reduce the amount of television one watches.) Now, a few days into it when the soreness kicks in and cravings for a 64 ounce steak settle in, I have to find ways to stay motivated and not give in to temptation (is that the couch calling me?).
I’ve got a few ideas on how to stay on track to meeting my fitness goals, but jsut like anything else with fitness or working out, or dieting, it takes discipline and a huge commitment from me. To motivate myself to begin a fitness program I set some very specific goals for myself. Anyone can do this by asking themselves “what’s important to me?” For some people it’s a certain weight goal, or maybe getting into a certain article of clothing. Some people want to be able to participate in a certain event like a 5K run, or a dance competition. Some people target a body part to work on such as six pack abs or 20 inch arms, while there are some of us who just want to see the tops of our shoes again…while wearing them! Whatever your motivation, make it reasonable, but somewhat out of easy reach so that you have to work hard to achieve it. So, rule one, set a goal.
Next, remove temptations. This is easier said than done, especially for those of us who have momentary lapses in sanity in the grocery store (how did those potato chips get into my cart?) You have to eliminate the urge to cheat on yourself. You can do this by doing things like shopping only the outer ring of the grocery store, everything you love is in the middle aisles laying in wait, ready to carry you 100 miles away from your goal. Stay out of these aisles, your health and your sanity depend on it. If you really need something from the inner aisles, fall down on the floor and when a store associate comes to see if you are okay, tell them that you have a rare condition and that the only thig that can help you is the item in aisle 6! (I’ve only been kick out of and permanently barred from three grocery stores for this act.) Stop sitting down! We all feel the need to leave one room and go sit down in another, Stop it! Stay on your feet, stay active. You’re not tired so stop telling yourself that all the time. When you really are tired, your body will let you know, and then you can rest. Think about your day for a moment. I’ll give you a quick example of my morning: get out of bed, start my coffee, sit and wait for coffee, pour coffee, sit and drink coffee, sit and watch the news, sit and watch ESPN, sit and have breakfast, get ready to go to the gym, sit and think about my workout, sit and “mentally prepare” myself for said workout, do you see the trend here? I take so many breaks per day it’s amazing that my body has the opportunity to burn a calorie! If I focus on moving around more and resting less, my metabolism will increase, and after a while I will find myself having more energy. Rule two, stay active.
I’ll give you one more then wrap this article up. Stop whining and complete your workouts. This is something I have to say to myself all the time and believe it or not, it works. Listen, you may be sore, you may be fatigued, you may want to sit in a dark room with a tub of ice cream and a spoon, but will any of that help? If you’re sore and you decide not to work out, you’ll still be sore, probably even more so because you aren’t stretching out the sore muscles. You may feel fatigue, but you have to realize that it’s just because you’ve been sedentary for a while, fight through it and the rewards will be great (a Ranger school instructor said that, and he was right.). As far as the ice cream goes, refer to rule one.
Meeting your fitness goals requires determination and will power. You can take these steps and others to lighten your load, but it will always be a struggle, if it’s not, look around, you might just be back on the couch. Get out there and be active.