Getting yourself to lace up your sneakers and get moving is half the battle to losing weight. Once you get yourself motivated to start a new regime, it will be easier to keep it going and reach your goal. Keep a positive attitude even when results don't come as quickly as you'd like, because getting down on yourself may make it easy for you to give up.
Choose a Buddy
When you make a workout plan with a friend, you'll have someone to support you along the way -- and someone to hold you accountable. Ask a friend who you know wants to lose weight to team up with you. Choose someone who you get along with well and who's at a similar fitness level. Make plans to meet at the gym or to go for walks. When you don't feel like exercising, you'll be motivated to get up and go anyway because someone's counting on you. This is ideal if you find exercise boring, because you'll have a friend to talk to the entire time. Go grocery shopping together and discuss what you eat each day so you won't be tempted to make poor food choices.
Write a Schedule
Scheduling exercise into your daily routine means you won't be able to use the "I have no time!" excuse. Each night, write out the schedule for the next day. When doing so, be realistic about how long everything takes you, so you will not find yourself squeezed for time. Write exercise into the schedule, whether it's a 15-minute walk during your lunch break or a stop at the gym on the way home. Keep the schedule with you and look at it throughout the day. It will be harder to skip an exercise session when it's written down.
Reward Yourself
You'll start seeing your body change within a few weeks of starting a new exercise regime, but giving yourself other tangible rewards will make you even more motivated. If your goal is to lose weight, buy a new dress or pair of pants in your goal size. Hang it on a wall in your bedroom so you can be reminded of your goal each time you consider skipping a workout. Fun rewards are also motivating. Pick out a new gadget or weekend trip that you'll get when you reach a workout goal. Set a goal of the number of hours that you must exercise before buying your reward.
Make It Fun
The surest way to motivate yourself to exercise is finding a way to enjoy it. To make walking, running or using a gym machine fun, listen while working out. Download podcasts and radio shows about topics you enjoy, or borrow recordings of your favorite comedians from the library. Borrow audio recordings of books by your favorite authors and let yourself listen to a new chapter only while you're exercising. Taking a new class can also make exercise fun. Sign up for figure skating or synchronized swimming for a change in your normal routine.
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