The mind may not be a muscle, but it's still incredibly strong, and can make the difference between succeeding and failing at your goal. Being fit is a marathon, not a sprint, and it requires making changes to your entire lifestyle.
- Don't approach this with the mindset that you can abandon the changes you make as soon as you reach your ideal fitness goal, or you risk slipping into your bad habits again. Being fit should mean incorporating things into your life that you can eventually do by second nature—by habit.
Keep track of your progress and be proud of minor improvements. It is a good idea to start a ‘fit journal’ so that you can keep track of when you work out, what you do, and for how long. You can also log what you eat each day. You may find that when you have to write down whether you snacked or not, you may be less inclined to snack.
Create a commitment contract with yourself. These contracts are otherwise known as a reward system. Set a goal for yourself and then decide upon a reward for yourself. Pick an item that you really want, or something that you really want to do.
Get someone else to get fit with you. It is much easier to reach your goals when you have someone to share in the pain and gain. Create a schedule that you can both commit to and keep each other on track.
2. Exercising to Get Fit
Incorporate more physical exercise into your daily routine. By regularly challenging yourself, you keep your physical self "tuned up." If getting fit means losing weight, this will help the pounds melt away—and stay away! If you're training for endurance, this is the way to ensure steady improvement.
Start an exercise regimen and stick to it. An proper fitness program has five components: A warm up, an aerobic workout, strength-building exercises, stretching (flexibility), and a cool down.
Switch things up. Any physical activity that takes a bit of effort will help you get fit, but it's important to remember that variety is the spice of life—and of physical fitness! More importantly, as your body gets comfortable performing a certain activity, it learns to do it more efficiently, making it easy for you to plateau in your workouts. Keep both your body and your mind guessing by enjoying a diversity of activities and having fun.
- Dance for exercise. Anything from ballet dance to breakdancing or even jump style will increase your fitness if you stick with it. Enroll in a Zumba class or hip hop class. You’ll be surprised by how many calories you burn while having fun.
- Jump in the pool. It doesn't matter if you're treading water, dog paddling, ormastering the butterfly stroke. Swimming is a good form of exercise that can be fun, too.
- Pick up yoga. Yoga is a healthy exercise that keeps both your mind and body fit. Pick one day a week to let your body indulge in some serious stretching, rather than doing your normal workout. Yoga will help you maintain your flexibility, but is also a great way to tone your muscles.
3. Eating and Drinking Right
Give your body the fuel it needs. As you become more active, you'll need more food, but not just any food—you need healthy, energy-laden food that will jump-start the next phase of your day, not weigh it down.
Keep your house stocked with the right food. Purchase the healthy fruits, vegetables, whole grains, soups, etc. that you want yourself to eat, and keep the junk out of your cupboards so you won't be tempted. It's not bad to indulge once in awhile, but it's too easy to do so if you keep your house full of unhealthy treats. Instead, the best litmus test for your true desire to indulge is if you're willing to make the trip to the bakery or supermarket to purchase it.
Drink 8-10 glasses of water each day. Water keeps you hydrated and promotes optimal metabolic activity.[11] Moreover, water takes up a great volume in your stomach, so you will feel fuller without having consumed many snacks or meals. This is a great tool to keep off the excessive calories that you don't really need, but consume due to psychological eating or not knowing your satiety levels.
Let your body rest. When you're giving your body a run for its money with varied physical activities, you also need to let it recover by getting a sufficient amount of sleep. Determine how many hours of sleep you need in order to feel refreshed in the morning, then discipline yourself to wake up and go to bed at the same times on a daily basis.
Get a check-up. To stay fit in the long run, you should perform regular maintenance on your body, just as you would with a car. Take yourself to the doctor and dentist regularly to make sure everything is running smoothly on the inside and to prevent any potential problems from arising.
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