Making fitness a lifestyle

Making fitness a lifestyle is the key component of living a fit and healthy life. When health and fitness becomes a way of life we will have much more success each day obtaining a well conditioned mind and body. Living a fit and healthy life is about making smart choices that have our best interests in mind. This is a learned process that often can be frustrating, time consuming, and arduous. However, the alternative can be more disappointing.

My father taught me to live with as little hanging over my head as possible. And my mother taught me through example how to do so. When I make poor nutritional choices that stem from emotion and laziness I am bombarded with should have, would have, and could haves. When I make smart nutritional choices that will contribute to my health and fitness and enable me to achieve my short term goals then I am free from guilt and the suppressing "I wish I did not eat that" thought that invades my sleep. When I pass on a workout just because I am feeling tired and quite frankly because I just don't want to exert the effort to workout, I will spend the rest of the day thinking that I know better, that I should have gone to the gym, and that if I did workout I would have felt 100% more energetic and confident. There is no absolute in life, and we are not perfect, and there will be days that work, sickness, injuries and prior obligations will interrupt our nutrition and fitness game plan. However, if each day we choose to make fitness a lifestyle and make decisions that promote our personal health and fitness, then there will be less opportunity for guilt to invade our sleep, for fatigue to cancel a workout, and we won't find ourselves constantly saying " I'll be better next week."

Today is the day. Make choices that promote health and fitness. Eat to fuel your body and mind. Rest adequately in order to recharge and restore yourself. Exercise to burn excess fat, build cardiovascular endurance, and to release stress. Speak kind and sincere words about yourself and others. And if today becomes a challenge and your choices were not optimal then forgive yourself, reestablish health and fitness as a priority, and create forward momentum.

Change, adapt, adjust, and move forward.


Quick tips: Making fitness a lifestyle

* Establish a daily schedule outlining your to do list, when you will exercise, when you will prepare and eat meals, and when you will rest.
* Organize and structure your daily schedule according to priorities and then set your fitness appointment in your day planner.
* Establish a realistic exercise frequency and duration for each exercise session and know your game plan when entering the gym.
* Establish short and long term fitness goals, develop a plan for achieving them, and set up a personal system of tracking your progress and rewarding your efforts.
* Prepare and plan your meals for the week. Decide what meals you would like to prepare for lunch and dinner. This will promote quick meal preparation time and you will stay on track with your nutrition.
* Surround yourself with others who are fit and healthy.
* When eating out and attending happy hours and parties, know the menus of the restaurant to see the available healthy choices, and or eat a clean meal before to help you stay on track with your nutrition game plan.
* Always keep in mind exactly what you are working for and how you will achieve your goals.
* Each day make choices that promote healthy and fitness, forward momentum, and effective progress.