Fitness is not a habit, a task, or even a trend you follow. It is a lifestyle – a lifestyle when followed, gets the best benefits in every way – physical, emotional, and mental.
However, it takes work and discipline to turn fitness into a lifestyle you keep following for the rest of your life.
You need to be truly in love with the idea of adapting fitness to your life so you can get maximum ease at converting it into a lifestyle.
Can You Make Fitness a Lifestyle?
Making fitness your lifestyle means creating a life that revolves around health and wellness. Instead of letting yourself be controlled by strict patterns and habits, make the lifestyle work for you so in the end, you are truly satisfied with what you have on your plate.
Many people, unfortunately, forget about this and end up making poor lifestyle choices. They either play it too hard and push themselves beyond the point of bearing that they lose it, or they make it so impossible to start it in the first place. The idea is to make peace around it, so you don't end up doing either of these things. In this article, we will see what are the ways through which you can make fitness a lifestyle.
For more tips and tricks, keep reading below...
1. Make It Fun
Fitness requires discipline with passion. No amount of alarm clocks, reminders, and getting hard on yourself will push you to get that motivation. Instead, you need to turn the other way around and consider making it fun for you.
It is noted that when we make something fun for ourselves, we tend to be more excited and passionate about it. The trick lies in the psychology of it, so make sure you do something about it in the most convenient and fun way possible. Instead of bringing yourself to eat a healthy diet and exercise, you need to accompany fun ways to bring fitness to you! If you aren't a runner, find alternatives such as biking, rowing, or a HIIT class!
For example, try learning fun and healthy recipes you can make with your loved ones. Turn some music on in the kitchen and think of meal-prepping as a way to get fresh from all the routine you have been following at work.
Make a low-calorie, high-protein pizza! Set friendly competitions with your pals at the gym and see if you keep each other on your toes. This way, you will be driven by enthusiasm and a healthy sense of competitiveness. It will make it easier for you to adapt to a lifestyle that centers around fitness.
2. Schedule Exercise Into Your Day
You also need to schedule exercise into your days if you want to make fitness your regime. Most people see fitness as something hard to stick to because they separate their fitness regimen away from their routine. This is not going to help you as, eventually, you are going to feel burdened by it.
So, instead, try to see how you can schedule exercise in your day in a way that becomes a part of your daily routine. Similar to how we have to plan for a date night with our partners, you need to schedule a specific time to work out, or else it will never happen.
One tip that works for most people is to put exercise in chunks during different parts of the day instead of getting it cornered at one particular time. This will help you have a fun time exercising instead of it feeling like a burden.
For example, you can break exercise into chunks, such as walking. Walk for 30 minutes in the morning and strength train for 30 minutes in the evening.
This way, it will become integrated with your routine, and instead of seeing it as "extra" stuff on your daily checklist, you now see it as something of a habit.
The whole trick is to bring the exercise integrated into your schedule for the day.
3. Be Flexible
One significant mistake people make with their fitness regime is they don't find ways to make it sustainable enough. That means they don't listen to the signs their body is trying to give and push themselves to the point where their body no longer accompanies their mind.
The same thing applies to the diets they consume. For example, intermittent diets, keto diets, and other trendy diets are not sustainable in their nature. Rather, they think of flexibility as a weakness and push themselves for severe calorie restriction or nutrient avoidance, making them fall into cravings and emotional eating disorders.
Also, other problems, such as anxiety, body dysmorphia, and physical problems, rise.
It is important to understand that this will not work in the long run. Being sustainable means, you are going to do something in a balanced way so that you can follow the regime easily. Listen to your body and be flexible when needed.
There is a thin line between actively listening to what your body has to say and giving in to your temptations. Practicing mindfulness can help you achieve that goal in a better way. You will notice that with time, it becomes easier for you to follow with discipline.
Fitnello Fitness provides flexible and sustainable meal plans and ideas for busy women. There is a healthy recipe to satisfy each and every one of your cravings. The meals are tasty, diverse, and healthy!
4. Join A Community (GROUP CLASSES)
It is shown that humans are social beings, and they need social support in order to pursue their dreams and ambitions. No matter how much determination you have, you cannot do much in isolation.
So, the best thing to do is to reach out and ask for help because that is the bravest thing to do and sustainable as well. You need to join group classes so that you can make the perfect environment for you to exercise your way through weight loss.
The answer is to look out for people who have similar problems as you do and follow similar regimes as yours. You will feel more heard and empowered this way.
Joining group classes is a great option if you are looking for an enabling environment to do your fitness regime.
Get yourself registered for a class that possesses a positive, influential environment. That is especially helpful for people who are looking for some guidance regarding exercise as well as for people who find it difficult to keep up with their workout regime.
The environment will also lead you to push yourself by awakening in you a healthy spirit of competition. You can also learn from the experiences of others around you and use the emotional support from one another. This will allow you to push yourself farther than you could have done alone.
5. Set Goals and Reward Yourself
One psychological trick many people are not aware of is the art of positive reinforcement. You can play this on yourself and get much better and more effective results in terms of weight loss or any kind of fitness goal you like to pursue.
Many people, however, fall into the trap of pushing themselves too hard for too long. Eventually, they end up punishing themselves, and this cycle gets broken by rebellion. For example, you might restrict yourself from eating your favorite dessert for two months. You end up thinking about it for the next few days, but you stop yourself from even tasting a tablespoon of it.
This will end up in rebellion real soon, and you will end up eating multiple servings of that dessert.
Instead, learn how you can play around with delayed gratification and improve your overall sense of achievement by rewarding it with healthy and positive gifts.
For example, if you need to get a fitness watch for yourself, set a goal for yourself first instead of spontaneously buying it. You may set a pattern that after exercising daily for a month without breaking a streak, you can gift yourself that watch.
However, the key is to stick to healthy and fruitful rewards that will add to your happiness as well as accelerate your fitness lifestyle instead of downplaying it in the end.
Final Words
In order to make fitness a lifestyle, it's crucial to realize that this is not just about a temporary change or a quick-fix diet, but about a comprehensive transformation that embraces both physical and mental wellbeing.
Begin with setting attainable goals that can realistically fit into your daily routine. You might start with a short workout or a simple walk every day. Gradually increase your activity level over time as your strength and endurance improve.
Nutrition is a critical component as well. Opt for whole foods over processed ones, increase your intake of fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins, and ensure you drink enough water. A healthy diet can boost energy levels, enhance performance, and help recovery. Making fitness a lifestyle also involves a solid mental aspect. It's important to stay positive, resilient, and kind to yourself.
Fitness is a journey, not a destination. It's okay to have days when you don't perform at your peak. Remember, the key is consistency and persistence, not perfection. Find activities you truly enjoy, whether a dance class, hiking, or yoga. The more you love what you do, the more likely you are to stick with it.
Finally, get enough sleep to allow your body to heal and recover. Fitness is not just an activity, but a lifestyle choice that involves an all-round commitment to health and wellness.
I hope you find these tips about making fitness a lifestyle useful. You see, the key here is to make fitness easy and convenient for yourself rather than making it sound like a burden.
Once you understand how fitness really works, nothing will be impossible for you.
You need to make friends around it rather than becoming enslaved to the idea of making fitness your lifestyle. Remember, the end goal is to make yourself happier and healthier, and you can do it only when you approach fitness with the same attitude as well.