Your Path to Health and Fitness

Walking towards health and fitness is not really the hard arduous job that everybody seem to think it is. When you really think about it, the hard part is often the start. Afterwards, everything else will be easier once you really get the hang of it. All it takes is discipline and commitment.

Below are some tips on how to get a head-start on your road to health and fitness. Read each one and you’ll realize that it is actually easier to undertake. You just need to take the first few steps.

Start small. If your favorite dish is something that your doctor asked you to avoid, there is no sense in skipping it altogether and then binging on the dish when you can’t take the abstinence anymore. Take moderate steps towards the goal. If you eat the dish everyday, try to cut down on your consumption and make it just three times a week. IF you have managed that, cut down further and make it once a week. That way, you are able to still enjoy the food and not increase your craving for it.
Plan modestly. Set goals for yourself but that does not mean that you have to kill yourself to get it and when you don’t you’ll also kill yourself. Setting too high goals will often only lead to disappointment and frustration. When you plan, make sure that you can do it. How will you know? Be realistic. You know what you are capable of. It is better to set goals for yourself that you know you can do. Accomplishing them will give you a sense of achievement that will make you more confident and more willing to continue with your task.
Have a buddy sharing the aches and pains as well as the joys of accomplishment. It will help make the process easier and more bearable. In fact, people with a buddy when doing a self-improvement project are better able to stick with their plans than those who are doing the projects alone. This is because when you have a buddy with you, he or she acts as a support system that will help keep you on track and prevent you from giving up. Besides having a friend with you experiencing the same things makes the process more fun and more enjoyable.
Have discipline. This is one of the few things that will make or break your plans to finally live a healthy lifestyle. In order to really stick to the plan, you need to develop self-discipline especially when it involves things that you really want to do or things that you are used to doing. Temptations along the way will be many and you need to be prepared to face all that!
Do it for yourself. A lot of people start to live a life of health and fitness when they are trying to get a new guy to notice them or when they want to impress a lover. Although these are valid reasons, sometimes, they are not enough to see you through the entire process. It is better that you do it for yourself because you want a healthier and better you, than doing it for other people’s approval. After all, the only approval that you will ever need is your own.

And since the points mentioned above require the right mindset, here are some more focus points to motivate you. Note that this is included here just for emphasis:

Mind Strategies to Encourage a Healthy Lifestyle

Although you must follow through with certain behaviors when you’re seeking to live a healthier life style, many experts believe that healthy behaviors have their roots in your mind. What you think and believe will determine how well you’ll follow through and apply the paradigm of a healthy lifestyle in your daily existence.

Consider these mind strategies to galvanize your efforts for a healthy lifestyle:

Recognize your prior life successes. Take some time to reflect on what you’ve been successful at in the past. Then, use those prior life successes to ignite your passion to live healthy.

Maybe you’re proud of the fact you worked yourself through college.
Perhaps you’re known as the co-worker to go to when seeking work knowledge.
Maybe you took care of your ailing mother and nursed her back to health.
You can use these past successes to your advantage in the present!
Consider what’s good and positive about your life right now. Perhaps you live in a lovely apartment located just where you want to be. Maybe you’re in a great relationship and you’re optimistic about how it’s progressing.

When you embrace the enrichment of your life, you’ll be more motivated to strive for good health.
Think about the connections between a healthy lifestyle and a happy life. For example, reflect on how great you feel physically and emotionally when you eat a good breakfast. Also, take notice of how well you can relax and sleep when you skip that heavy snack in the evening.
When you recognize the intimate relationship between your daily lifestyle choices and your emotions, you’ll be more focused on taking steps to live well.

Renew your commitment to your own health each day. Determine what you really want for yourself and your future.

What kind of lifestyle do you desire? A life where you sit in front of the television all evening and most weekends or one where you’re active, trying new physical activities all the time, and discovering adventure?
Make it a personal goal to become physically and emotionally stronger. When you have physical strength, emotional strength isn’t far behind.

Vow to strengthen your core and get it into tip-top shape.
Tap into your courage to follow your path to a healthy lifestyle.
Realize that you can eat the flavors and foods you want in moderation. Use positive, optimistic thinking regarding nutrition. Avoid taking the approach that you must deny yourself of the tastes you love.
Instead, say that there’s nothing you can’t have as long as you limit the portions. And then remind yourself of all the healthy good food you can have like juicy fruits, savory vegetables, and high protein snacks.
Take it one day at a time. Living your life one day at a time keeps things simple. Say to yourself, “Just for today, I will eat fresh and healthy foods and I will exercise.” Recognize that although tomorrow is another day, for now, you’ll stay on the path you’ve chosen for increased vigor and vitality.
Remain emotionally connected with yourself—live life consciously. When you live life consciously, you recognize the power you hold in every decision. Pull from your energy to make positive choices from that power.

You’ll likely experience feelings of exhilaration and conscientiousness in your efforts!
Have faith and confidence in yourself. Get in touch with your self-confidence to take a clearer path toward vitality and longevity. Ponder these aspects of you. Re-discover your fearlessness.

When you apply these strategies, you’ll experience the sweet joy that comes with demonstrating a healthy lifestyle. Go ahead – you know you can do it!