Stay Fit Not Fat

Life is far too short to not take health and fitness serious. So many people do not think exercise and a healthy diet is necessary in life. I know you have heard it a million times but maybe you need to hear it just one more time before you take action... IT IS IMPORTANT.

Exercise and a healthy diet is proven to add years on to your life, or think of it like this. You have a maximum number of years to live, you do not know what that number is, but for every day, month, year you let pass by without exercising and stuffing your face with junk food you lose time off of that clock of life.

Motivating yourself to exercise can be a difficult thing to do, but why? Well because exercise is tough work. I am not going to lie to you, getting fit is EASY, all you have to do is do the exercises, it is the exercise that are hard. Stressing and straining you muscles hurts, sometimes stored up toxins are released from your muscles when you exercise and you feel sick, your body is sore, etc etc. Here is the amazing thing, once you are done working out, your body restores itself creating more energy, a better metabolism and better health.

Here are a few abnormal ways to motivate yourself to start working out.

- Goals with consequences. Set a reasonable and fairly easy goal for yourself. Tell a friend that if that goal is not met by a certain date you'll give them $10, and every week after that is another $10 until your goal is met. Make the goal something attainable and give yourself enough time. This is to start out easy and get you going. Maybe the goal is to lose 5 pounds in 2 weeks and keep it off for another 4 weeks. Maybe its that you will run one mile 6 times in the next 15 days. And make sure your friend collects the money from you if you fail. Pick a friend that will take the money and not feel bad for you.

- Plan a Hike. Plan a hiking trip that is long and will take some training and preparation to do. Make it a camping trip with some friends, make it a 20 mile 3 day trek. Pay for campsites and train train train. Sometimes knowing you will achieve a goal and make it through the trip is enough to get you going.

- Pay yourself. Pay yourself either in real money or junk food. YES it is okay to treat yourself with junk food if its apart of your workout plan. The trick is that you have to really limit your junk food intake so that when you reward yourself it is a rare treat. I love Butterfinger candy bars. After I do a long hike or complete a 3 or 4 day workout you better believe I am getting myself a butterfinger and mowing that thing down. You can also use money. Pay yourself to run, or workout and spend that money on whatever you want. Now make sure you budget this into your lifestyle and do not go into dept over it, but try it.

You need to take exercise and health seriously. For some of you you need to just buckle down and do it. It is amazing how once you get into regular exercising all the sudden you miss it if you do not do it for a while. It can be addicting. Go for it and stay fit not fat.