Although it easy to begin a fitness and nutrition regimen, it is often challenging to maintain the motivation to see it through to the end. Since modern people lead busy lives that include work, school, family time and social obligations, good intentions to keep the body in optimal shape and eat healthier on a consistent basis often fall by the wayside. However, anyone who is willing to take the time to plan for success and unexpected occurrences can learn how to maintain fitness and nutrition goals for life.
Step 1
Initiate a buddy system. Ask your spouse or a family member, friend or co-worker to join you in completing one to two of your fitness or nutrition goals per week. You can meet up at the gym twice a week for workouts, go grocery shopping at the local organic foods market or simply go for a brisk walk around the park. Other buddy system ideas include exchanging healthy food recipes, swapping weekly calorie records and scheduling reward days to local retail stores when both of you have reached your fitness or nutrition goals for the month.
Step 2
Take time out to eat breakfast every morning. After eight to 12 hours of going without food, your body needs nourishment to elevate its glucose levels and give your brain and muscles the energy they need to perform satisfactorily throughout the day, states the American Dietetic Association. If you don't eat breakfast in the morning, you may experience irritability, restlessness and fatigue that could stop you from hitting the gym on your way home from work or cooking the healthy dinner you had planned for the evening. The American Dietetic Association recommends a breakfast such as citrus juice and whole-grain cereal with milk, which supplies iron, fiber, calcium, riboflavin, Vitamin C and thiamin.
Step 3
Consult with a registered dietician. Registered dieticians can assist you in reaching your nutrition goals through nutritional counseling, recipe makeovers, body composition analyses, food diary analysis and metabolism testing.
Step 4
Hire a personal trainer. A personal trainer can teach you how to use correct form while working out, give you the motivation and companionship you need to maintain your fitness goals and design an individual workout program for you based on your favorite fitness activities.
Step 5
Book hotels with on-site fitness centers when you go out of town for business or pleasure. Call the hotel's front desk and verify that the exercise facility will be in operation throughout your entire visit and that it will be open when it is convenient for you to work out. If the hotel you are staying at does not have a fitness center, ask if they partner with a local gym to offer discounted daily or weekly memberships to out-of-towners. You can also call fitness centers near the hotel and ask if special discounts are available for out-of-towners.
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