We may wonder how we can stay motivated long enough to achieve fitness or weight loss success when we begin an exercise and eating plan. The real dilemma with any wellness program is sticking with it long term – like for life!

At some point in time, almost everybody has started a diet plan, an exercise program or both and unfortunately most of us give up and surrender our high expectations a short time later.

We look for quick, simple effortless solutions to our problems. We wait for a miracle pill, drug or product to immediately cure our personal ailments and weaknesses. We tend to become disillusioned even with our own efforts and lack staying power and patience for the long haul.

We need to understand, fitness, strength and weight loss is not a quick fix process. It is not a happening or an event. It is the result of 100’s of tiny steps day after day, workout after workout and healthy meal after healthy meal. It is a systematic process, one that doesn’t product huge changes overnight and is not a quick sprint.

Although we know all of this, staying motivated in general remains challenging for many people. Fitness motivation is a learned process, one that gets easier with time and practice just like anything else worth having. This process is divided into three main parts.

1. Knowledge – Attitude changes toward fitness begin with education so you understand why exercise is important and what sort of life you will have if you do not fit proper exercise into your schedule. Taking responsibility and educating yourself on the benefits of exercise and proper nutrition is the first step in the process.

2 – Attitude – If your attitude is the stumbling block holding you back from achieving your health and fitness goals would you be willing to change it? You can only reach these goals when you have a positive exercise attitude and need to remind yourself how much better you will look and feel, how you will resist disease and how you will have a longer higher quality of life than if you don’t exercise.

3 – Behavior – Adjusting your behavior is the most difficult task of all. Your eating plan, training and lifestyle are unquestionably important, but what is way more important than which specific nutrition or training plan you choose is whether you have the ability to put them into action consistently. Beginning an exercise program is one thing, but sticking to it for an extended period of time is quite another thing.

The ultimate key to fitness success is your ability to motivate yourself to take consistent action and change your habitual behavior. You need to act on it, to get it done, to follow through and stick with it. You must do it, so be your own coach and get yourself going.

The motivation to act is the ultimate key to success and when you ‘get it’ you will understand that self-motivation is responsible for driving behavior, creating action, changing habits and… most importantly — getting results.
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Carolyn Hansen is a certified fitness expert and fitness center owner who coaches clients to look and feel younger. In her nearly 30 years of fitness and bodybuilding competition experience she has helped thousands of people start their journey towards being strong, fit and youthful at any age. Visit her at FitnessWeightLoss.com

-Do you have additional ideas on how to stay motivated to exercise and stay in shape? Please use the comments below to share your thoughts and ideas.

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