The Secret to Health and Fitness Success

The Secret to Health and Fitness Success

Use the Secrets of Wildly Successful People to Achieve Your Health and Fitness Goals!

To improve your health, it takes dedication day in and day out and – most importantly – the ability to pick up and stay motivated even when you face challenges or failures.  

…Henry Ford failed in his early business ventures and was officially broke 5 times before he successfully founded the Ford Motor Company.  

…Oprah Winfrey was fired from her job as a television reporter and told she was “unfit for TV.”

…Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor who told him that he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” 

The difference between those who are successful and those who aren’t is not the rate of failure.  In fact, successful people have often failed far more than those who have made fewer attempts at goals. 

The only difference between those who are successful and those who aren’t is simply – that the successful did not give up, no matter how many times they stumbled or failed. 

According to the CDC, more than one-third of the U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese.  That means roughly 78.4 million adults in the United States are currently living in a state that drastically increases their risk for obesity related illnesses and death.  

…Now of this 78.4 million, how many have tried to reduce their weight, increase their fitness and improve their lives?  The sheer number of billion-dollar diet companies, gyms and fitness equipment companies in the U.S. alone is proof that millions try to improve their health each year.  

…Then why do the obesity statistics continue to rise? 

While we all have ideas about factors that could be to blame, consider a simple factor…How many people give up on these goals each year simply due to the frustration of  challenges and failures?...And if you are one of those people, how can you stop that cycle? 

Start by Setting SMART goals -   Goals that are: S – Specific / M – Measurable / A – Attainable / R – Realistic / T – Timely.  You may have heard this term in a work or business setting.  But goal setting for your personal life is no different!

·         S – Specific Goals:  Set goals that are clear and precise, not vague.  Don’t say “I want to lose weight.” Say: “I want to lose 30 lbs. by February.”

·         M – Measureable Goals: Remember when specifying your goals, there needs to be a way to measure your progress.  If you are setting the goal to lose 30 lbs. by February, break it down into weekly increments and that will give you a set weekly goal that you can measure against to see whether you are on track to reaching your goal.

·         A – Attainable / R – Realistic: Don’t set yourself up for failure.  Setting unattainable or unrealistic goals like, “I’m going to get to the gym for an hour every single day” – will simply make you feel like a failure the first day you miss a session.  Set small goals – “I’m going to get to the gym at least twice a week” and then aim to exceed them!

·         T – Timely – Set a time-frame in which you can achieve your goals so that you stay on track. Ex: “I will reduce my cholesterol by x amount by x time.”  Pick a goal that your doctor agrees is achievable in the timeline you have set and create specific steps for attaining that goal. 

Also, set short-term milestones.  Keeping motivated when staring at the mountain peak is difficult.  Instead, break a large goal into smaller increments.  Plan to lose 5 lbs. by the next holiday or increase the speed of your walk by 1 minute by the end of the week. 

After your SMART Goals are set, keep the following tips in mind to keep yourself motivated:

·         Give Yourself Credit – If you were coaching a friend to achieve a goal, you would likely praise them each time they overcame a challenge.  Remember to give yourself that same praise you would give a child, a friend or a family member.  We all need positive encouragement and reinforcement to maintain a positive attitude!

·         Set Small Goals – Remember from the SMART Goals above – A = Attainable and R = Realistic. Start small and work your way up.   Pennies add up to dollars very quickly!

·         Stop Thinking in Black and White – Life is not always 100% one way or another, good or bad, perfect or terrible, so stop thinking that way!  There is no such thing as perfection so expecting to eat perfectly every single day or to stick perfectly to your ideal fitness routine is again – unrealistic. 

Instead, give yourself credit for improvements.  Aim to improve over the day before and give yourself credit for going against the little voice inside trying to throw out an excuse for not working toward your goal.  Again – positive reinforcement and realistic expectations will allow you to live in the ‘gray’ and improve a bit more each day.

All in all, remember that the failure rate for those who are famously successful is no different than yours and therefore you are just as likely to succeed in any goal you set for yourself.  Just keep getting up every time you stumble and keep moving towards that goal!