Health and fitness - ways to stay motivated

Whether you’re on a weight loss journey or simply want to maintain your current level of fitness, staying motivated can be challenging.  I have come up with some tips to help you stay on track.

1. Track your steps
If you need the extra push to be more active, consider tracking the number of steps you take every day.  The World Health Organisation recommends that we take 10,000 steps a day.  There are many mobile phone apps that have a step tracking function (some of which are free, such as Walk Tracker and Google Fit) or you can invest in a tool specifically designed for this purpose, such as a Fitbit.  This measures other things such as calories burned and your heart rate.  If you’re using the calorie counting app My Fitness Pal, you can connect it to your pedometer or step counting app, so it tells you not just how many calories you have consumed but also how many steps you have taken.

2. Read health and fitness magazines
While you have to take what they say with a grain of salt, reading health magazines in your spare time is a great way to stay up to date with fitness developments and increase your knowledge of health and fitness.  As an avid runner, I really like Runner’s World.

3. Subscribe to sports events emails
While not much is taking place at the moment due to Covid, being on the mailing list for running and other events is a great way to stay informed about what’s happening and may even inspire you to participate.  I receive emails to notify me when 10k running races are taking place in Auckland, which I enjoy competing in.

4. Buy some new exercise gear every season
There’s nothing to inspire you to exercise more than the thought of having new gym gear!  Update your exercise wardrobe each season, even if it’s just adding a t-shirt or some new socks to what you already have if everything you wear is still in good condition.  Sports stores have good sales from time to time so keep an eye out.

5. Weigh yourself more regularly
This might be a little controversial, but I actually find weighing myself more regularly helps me stay focussed on my weight loss goals.  I used to weigh myself once a week during my personal training session at the gym and believed that weighing any more often was obsessive and unhealthy.  Prior to lockdown, I purchased some new bathroom scales as my gym was closed and I couldn’t train with my PT.  I found myself weighing every day in the morning. It became something of a ritual. Over the past eight weeks that I have been doing this, not once have I strayed from my meal plan and I managed to exercise nearly every day (I might have had a couple of days off here and there when I felt really drained).  If weighing more regularly than once a week helps you to stay motivated and on track, I say go for it.  I wouldn’t want to be weighing myself any more than once a day though.  That might be too much.