Staying Consistent With Health & Fitness

Staying consistent and motivated with health & fitness is hard! It is hard for almost every aspect of life, especially when it comes to managing your time and keeping on top of your health and fitness. There are so many distractions around; social media, shopping days with friends, the pile of laundry that’s been waiting for days, the coffee date with friends, or the new Netflix series that you’ve been meaning to binge. I’m sure, like most of us, you wake up with all the best intentions, but before you know it, the day is over. We’ve all been there. 

Before we get into the tips I’d like to introduce myself, my name is Isabella, and I am the person behind https://btswithbelle.com/. I am pretty new to blogging and I have found Olivia’s blog so helpful with starting up my blog. I am so grateful and excited that Olivia and I have decided to do this guest post collaboration and I really hope you find my advice helpful!

Over on my blog I am documenting my own personal health and fitness progress and my training for my first ever charity run in April, I also talk about different skincare and beauty products that I’m loving, as well as general advice. I also have a passion for social media and my Instagram is a place that I enjoy documenting my life on. 

So let’s get into it… the question is, how do you stay motivated and consistent when you have all these distractions or you just can’t be bothered? I’m going to go through some tips to help you get your mojo back on track. 

DEVELOP CONSISTENT HABITS

The first step you need to take if you are looking for a strategy to be more consistent in your life is to build behaviours that are more constant. The only way you will be able to maintain a higher level of consistency is if you begin from the very beginning. Fortunately, there are a few ways that you can do this, including the following: 

HAVE REALISTIC GOALS

Being consistent will be tough for you if you do not have a clear sense of what you need to achieve, so be sure that you set for yourself realistic goals. Therefore, you should make your goals as basic and simple as possible, with results that can be measured objectively. This could be dropping a dress size by your upcoming holiday, or working towards a run. After that, you should break down that larger goal into a series of more manageable actions that you must complete in order to succeed.

It’s also understandable if your goals aren’t the common goals we might otherwise think of. For example, you might be getting fit to pass a SEQOHS Safety critical medical, and then move on with those great habits from there. Every purpose counts, just make sure you adjust your approach for the best outcome.

KEEP TO SCHEDULE

In order to be consistent, you need to be aware of what daily responsibilities you are accountable for, as this could affect the times that you are able to take steps towards your goal. A schedule will assist you in keeping on track, regardless of whether it is in the form of a planner, a calendar, or a list of reminders on your phone. In this way, you will be able to determine the lifestyle changes that you have the time for. 

USE REMINDERS

Because you are forming a new health & fitness routine, it is important that you keep in mind what it is that you are doing. Make an effort to have reminders of your own things as well as other locations such as your house, place of employment, and/or school. When you are attempting to adjust your schedule, it is extremely easy to forget about new commitments and calls that you have made. Put notes in places where you’ll see them so you’ll remember them throughout the day.

Create a schedule that is realistic

Creating a schedule is not going to magically make you more consistent, so do not expect it to happen, however it can help you to feel more organised and to stay on track. 

So for example, you might intend to go to the gym on Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday mornings at 7 a.m. What steps will you take to make sure that actually happens?

You might choose to:

• Lie your gym clothes out the night before
• Get a good night’s sleep
• Go with a friend – you might be relying on each other, which could you make you more accountable
• Make breakfast in advance
• Do exercise that you enjoy

It does not matter which schedule you choose to follow as long as it is realistic for you and can be incorporated into your life in some way.

PUT YOUR SCHEDULE INTO YOUR DIARY

If you keep a diary this will be extremely helpful for you to stay on track! If you do not keep to your plan, it is not going to do you any good. Therefore, transform your schedule into a string of appointments that you have made with yourself.

Your diary is the place where you can plan your week and set your routine. This way everytime you go to check your diary you will be reminded of the plan you have put in place. After a few weeks, these will become habits that you will automatically follow.

Thanks so much to Olivia for this collaboration! Feel free to check out my website, and the post “3 Pieces of Blogging Advice All Writers Need” Olivia has written for me.  

Thank you so much – Belle x

Twitter – Instagram – Blog