Many people in Sacramento, CA, have started diets or exercise programs that ended in disaster. Sometimes, programs are destined to fail from the start because the diet is too restrictive or the exercise program is too hard for their fitness level. Lack of motivation also diminished willpower. If you think willpower is your problem, you’re probably wrong. Getting and staying fit is all about changing lifestyle habits. Habits are hard to change but with the right help, it’s possible.

Identify your goal and why you want to achieve it first.

Some people start without a goal or any motivation to improve their fitness. If you ask, they say they want to lose weight or get fit but can’t identify how many pounds they want to lose or what it means to get fit. Be precise when you identify your goal and link it to a reasonable time limit. I want to lose twenty pounds in ten weeks by losing two pounds each week. Or…I want to be able to run up the stairs without stopping by the end of August. Both lack one thing. It’s the why. Why do you want to improve your fitness? Do you want to look better, live longer, or have more energy to play with the kids? Find your why, and you’ll find extra motivation to boost your willpower.

Focus on eating healthy rather than dieting.

Diets don’t work. They’re often too restrictive and always end, either in success or failure. That’s when the dieter returns to their eating pattern that added the extra pounds in the first place. Even if the dieter lost all the weight they wanted, those extra pounds will return home and sometimes bring friends. When you focus on lifestyle changes and eating healthier, willpower isn’t as necessary. It’s all about choosing food wisely and making the best choice. For instance, if you substitute brown rice for white rice and save calories while improving nutrition.

If you structure your program correctly, it diminishes the need for willpower.

Putting exercise on your schedule at the same time daily as an appointment helps ensure you’ll stick with the program in two ways. It creates a consistency that builds a habit. Habits are hard to break. It also elevates exercises’ importance and ensures it’s not an afterthought at the end of the day. Too often, there’s no time left to exercise then.

• Do meal planning. Plan meals one day, shop on another, and cook everything for the week on the weekend. Just heat and eat during the week.
• Check your sleep schedule. If you lack sleep, it’s harder to motivate yourself to exercise or stick with healthy eating. Lack of sleep causes an increased production of ghrelin, the hunger hormone, and a decrease of leptin, the satiety hormone.
• Boost your progress by focusing on moving more. Do simple things to improve your fitness, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator or walking to lunch. Every extra step taken helps with fitness.
• Check with your healthcare professional before starting any fitness program or dietary change, especially if you have a health issue.

For more information, contact us today at Team-ISC