What Is Your Motivation To Keep Exercising

Motivation to keep exercising is the key to losing weight. According to magazines, everyone sticks to a workout program for the first month or so. It's fun when we first start a program or become a member of a gym. Everything is new and full of electric energy. You can't help but become a part of it. But as the weeks go on the momentum begins to slow and we see the inside of the gym or the track at the high school less and less.

Okay, so what can you do? I know we all have our off days. We get home from work late, the kids are driving you crazy and on top of that you still have to cook dinner. I know all of these things don't happen at the same time, but they could. The last thing on your mind is exercise or going to the gym.

When it comes to exercise it's easy to miss a day and then another and then another. Even when we enjoy exercising there is always other stuff in our lives that come into play. Family, work, stress, and things outside our control all can derail us at some time. But, it's during that time in our lives that we have to find the motivation to keep exercising, it's crucial.

It's also important that we work out on a consistent basis and watch what we eat. But sometimes even after we worked out faithfully, we step on that scale and it hasn't budged. That is not encouraging. It is a blow to the stomach and can send some people for the ice cream in the fridge to sooth their heartbreak.

In order to stay motivated we have to remember why you decided it was time to lose weight in the first place. Losing weight can be the difference between living a healthy life and being on medication for conditions that are a result of obesity. Knowing that you may not be alive to see your kids grow up or grow old with your spouse is a major motivation.

You don't have to sacrifice all the foods that you love, just remember moderation is the key. We all want to enjoy life and what is life without food? It just means making smart decisions when you eat, especially when it comes to portions. It's not that one cup cake or slice of pizza that you eat that's going to make your diet fail or make you unhealthy. It's whether you eat one or ten slices of pizza that makes a difference. We all have times when we want to eat what we want as a way to kick back. It is falling back into bad habits that are the problem.

You can also stay motivated by changing your thinking. If you are stressed, exercise to relieve the stress. You don't have to go to the gym to work out. You can get a great workout in the garden. Ripping out weeds is a terrific way to beat the stress in your life. Imagine that each weed is a problem that you are gaining control over and and just pull that sucker out.

I don't really use the scale to guide myself in my weight loss. I use it the first day to find out my starting weight, and then use my clothes as a guide for gauging how well I am doing with my exercise program. This made a huge difference to my self-esteem and my will to keep going.

Motivation to keep exercising is huge and a big part of being successful in weight loss, so whatever matters most to you, remind yourself of that fact when you feel like giving up. Don't give up and don't throw away the progress you've made. Remember Rome wasn't built in a day and your weight won't come off that fast either. It took time to gain the weight, it will take time to lose it. Don't give up.