This post is written for people who would like help with their motivation to maintain a healthy level of fitness.

I’m writing it from my own experience of being able to maintain and enjoy exercising and losing 24lbs in weight in a relatively easy and simple way. These are some of the strategies I recommend.

1. Find a form of exercise that you absolutely love to do

This might sound obvious but finding a form of exercise that you love is probably the single most effective thing you can do to help you to stick with a regular exercise routine.

When I  joined my local gym my fitness was assessed and I was given a programme to follow.  This  programme was based around the regular gym floor equipment such as the treadmill, cross trainer, rowing machine, and weights.  It was a good, well thought out programme but there was just one problem.  I hated it!  Every 5 minutes on the treadmill felt like an hour of mind numbing boredom. I had to literally force myself to go and before long I was using any excuse to skip a session.  Pretty soon I had stopped going to the gym completely although I was still paying for my gym membership!

And then, I noticed that my gym were offering Nia dance classes.  Nia dance is great fun.  It’s a combination of dance, martial arts, and yoga.  I  absolutely loved it.  I loved being in a group of people, I loved the music, I loved the diversity of it.  At the end of the class I had the biggest smile on my face.  This wasn’t dull and boring exercise – this was exciting and alive and in the moment.  This was pure joy!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you shouldn’t work out on the gym floor.   My husband, for instance will happily run on the treadmill  for 20 -30 minutes listening to his iPod before moving on to his resistance training.  If you love it, great, keep doing it!

My point is, that if you can find a form of exercise that you  love it will become a joy and a pleasure in your life rather than an arduous chore that you have to get through.  It will become a sustainable way of life for you and you are more likely to stick with it and stay fit over the longer term.

Think about the types of activities you enjoy: cycling, walking, swimming, throwing a frisbee?  Do you like exercising on your own or with a group?  Inside or outside in the fresh air.

2. Don’t be afraid to try new forms of exercise – you might just like it!

If you’ve found one form of exercise that you love, why stop there?  Why not find two or three or four?  Mixing things up and trying new things can keep up your interest, help tone different muscle groups and increase stamina.  Helping you to maintain your fitness.

I overheard a girl in my local gym say  that she didn’t want to do any weight training as she didn’t want to bulk up.  The fact is that unless you are training specifically to be a “body builder” and lifting extremely heavy weights, adding light to moderate resistance training to your exercise routine can help you to lose weight faster as muscle burns up more calories than fat even after you have stopped exercising!

I had wanted to go to an aerobics class for weeks before I finally plucked up the courage. I had convinced myself that I wouldn’t be able to keep up. I’m so glad now that I went – yes, I found it challenging to begin with but I was surprised at how the music carried me along and it wasn’t as difficult as I’d told myself in my head.

Is there something you have always wanted to try?  Why not give it a go.  You might be pleasantly surprised.

3.  Develop Your Mental Endurance

Mental endurance is just as important as physical endurance when it comes to running that extra mile or doing a few more squats.  As I mentioned above we can convince ourselves through negative self-talk that we can’t do something or come up with all sorts of excuses in our minds not to exercise. It can stop you in your tracks and prevent you from taking any action towards getting fit and healthy.  I know, I’ve been there!

I think the moment for me to really commit to getting and staying fit was the day I walked into that aerobics class. I kind of overcame a mental barrier in my mind. It was like stepping into the unknown and was a bit scary but after I’d done it once, that was it – it only took that one step. And I think you just have to do it – suspend all your doubts, fears, negativity, distractions and excuses and just go ahead and do it.

Commit to getting and staying fit. Make looking after yourself a priority.  Don’t give up on yourself!   Find a way to make exercising an enjoyable and sustainable part of your life.  Find a way to make it work for you. I know you can. You will feel so proud of yourself once you do.

Ask yourself  “Who do I need to BE to get fit and healthy?”  I’ve talked about this in my free e-course Motivation Boosters.  When I decided that I needed to do something about my health and fitness I told myself that I needed to BE someone who looked after her body.  I needed to BE someone who was willing to do what it takes to lose weight and get fit. I needed to BE someone who could go that extra mile.

Who do you need to BE?

4. Eat slowly – it takes 20 minutes for your body to feel full

A surprisingly easy way to help with weight loss is to eat slowly.  It takes the body around 20 minutes to start to feel full.  So if you eat slowly you are more likely to eat less.

5. Eat food that helps you to feel fuller for longer.

Another easy way to stave off hunger pangs is to eat food which makes you feel fuller for longer.

Scientists have discovered that eating a simple bowl of blended vegetable soup can help you to feel fuller for longer than if you were to eat the same ingredients separately with a glass of water.  The reason for this is that if you eat vegetables with a glass of water,  the water passes straight through your stomach to your intestines.  However, if you blend the ingredients together the water stays in your stomach making you feel fuller for longer. I’m not suggesting that you only ever eat vegetable soup but having a bowl once or twice a week can help you in your weight loss.

I hope you have found these tips useful.  If you have any other tips that you would like to pass on then please comment below.

Please share this with others using the button below if you think it may benefit.

It is National Stress Awareness Day today and I thought I’d write about some tips I use myself to help me to deal with stress and become more relaxed if ever things become a bit overwhelming.

1. Get Out Into Nature

A walk through autumn woods with the smell of damp earth and mushrooms, fallen leaves and the crunch of acorns under foot is for me the perfect anti-stress remedy.  Being by the sea or a river is equally evocative.

As you are walking, focus your mind on what you are seeing.  Look at the colours,  look at the textures, look at the wildlife.  What do you see, hear and smell?  Say it in your mind.  Let your walk be a peaceful, mindful, walking meditation.  Feel the connection to the earth, know that you belong here and that everything will be okay and then give thanks for the beauty and wonder of this life.

2.  Keep Fit And Healthy

Before I really got into looking after myself I used to reach for the cigarettes and wine to help me to unwind and escape feelings of stress.  This rarely worked.  The nicotine in the cigarettes made me more hyper and being hungover just makes you feel more stressed.

Exercise increases your overall level of fitness and releases lots of feel good endorphins which will  enable you to cope better with stress.  By the way, endorphin is a shortened form of ‘endogenous morphine’ and means ‘morphine produced naturally in the body’.  However I have found that there is another benefit to exercise.

When you are exercising, especially highly choreographed exercise, like dance, aerobics, yoga or body pump it usually means that you are living in the moment.  You are concentrating solely on your body and the move you are doing or just about to do.  If you are concentrating, ‘in the moment’ then you are not worrying about the future or the past.  It is like giving your mind a complete rest for an hour or so.

3. Ask For Help And Get A Fresh Perspective By Talking Things Over With A Friend.

Have you ever been so worried or stressed about something that you can’t see any solution or way forward.  It may be difficult for you to get away from the situation that is causing you stress or the  problem or situation just goes round and round in your head like some vicious loop or you keep walking down that path of negativity to the worst possible scenario.

Stop!..don’t suffer in silence.  Take some time out and get some balance by talking things over with a good friend – someone you trust, who is good at listening and who can help you to gain new insights into a situation that can help you to see it from a different perspective and help you to either work out what  action you can take or help you to relax about it.

Start by making a list of anyone who may be able to help, friends, relatives, colleagues, family, and also professional people and support groups.  Then choose someone who is most likely to help – friends often really do want to help but have a think about the best person.

Often just being in the company of a good friend can  help you to relax, have a laugh and wind down and get some balance.   If they are not the best person to share what’s on your mind then take comfort in being with them anyway and choose someone else to open up to.

4. Focus on the positive

Make two lists:  one of everything that is going well for you right now and the other of everything that has gone well for you in the past.

The first list would be things that you are grateful for – could be anything, from the weather to having a good relationship with a sibling or friend or partner.  This is to help you to gain some balance in your life.

The second list would be situations that you have dealt with successfully in the past, like moving house, getting married or moving away from home.  Things that may have been stressful at the time but you coped and you got through it.  How did you do that? and What did you learn from the situation and about yourself that can help you to deal with the situation now?

5. Step Out Of Yourself And Place Your Attention On To Someone Else.

I have found that a good antidote to feeling stress is to help someone else by performing a random act of kindness. It’s a similar thing to when you are exercising and your mind is diverted away from your stressful situation and onto something more positive.  It’s not about ignoring your problems it’s about giving yourself some mental space in order to be refreshed and more able to deal with the situation. You also get that feel-good factor of having been kind to someone else.

I hope you have found this article useful and remember you are not alone. Everyone feels stressed from time to time and don’t feel that you have to just put up with feeling this way.  Seek help from friends or from a professional if you need it.  Cause we need you!

If you think this article may benefit others then please share it using the button below.  If you have a favourite way to relieve stress then I’d love to hear about it.