Here's how to stay motivated with your exercise routine

Are the short-term benefits of healthy exercise more motivating than the long-term benefits? What motivates you? Is it losing weight or the fact that you are in a better mood after exercising?

Pause for a moment and think about why you exercise now or have exercised in the past. If your answer is to lose weight, you are not alone - 75% of people say that they exercise to lose weight. Unfortunately, few people who are motivated by weight loss continue their healthy exercise routine beyond one year.

Why do people fail with healthy exercise habits?

Behavior change scientist, Dr. Segar, in her book No Sweat, addresses why people fail to continue with healthy habits despite the best of intentions. It's not that people aren't trying!. Dr. Segar reasons that people are more motivated to sustain a positive routine because of the short-term benefits. She uses the simple science of motivation to help people maintain fitness for a lifetime.

What are the long-term benefits of exercise?

• Losing weight
• Decreasing blood cholesterol
• Decreasing blood pressure
• Managing blood sugar

What about the short-term benefits of exercise?

• Connecting with others
• Having more energy
• Improving mood (endorphins)
• Blowing off stress
• Being more patient with children and co-workers

Picking an activity you enjoy can help motivate you to exercise!

Immediate and noticeable short-term benefits can help you sustain behaviors, continuing them beyond one year. Dr. Seger's research implies that the short-term benefits of healthy exercise are more motivating than the long-term benefits. What do you think?

How to start working out again

Working out does not have to involve a class at the gym, it can be simple activities that you do while you are living your daily life. Find more opportunities to move or "More OTM '' as Dr. Segar suggests. Try these OTM ideas from Dr. Segar's book:

• The Phone Moment

  • If you are talking on the phone, use that opportunity to get up and walk around.
  • Use it as an opportunity to walk the dog, put away dishes, or hang up laundry.

• Active Waiting

  • Use "waiting" time to walk or move. This is a great opportunity for parents, who wait and watch while their children are in organized sports.

• Coffee Walk

  • Grab a coffee to-go and head out for a walk or window shop rather than joining a friend to sit at the coffee shop.

Best motivator - joy in the moment

The best motivator for exercise is joy or happiness right now. Movement does not have to be high intensity and does not mean you have to sweat. Just move and enjoy it! Find movement that brings you joy, connects you with friends, and makes you happy in the moment. What healthy exercise gives you joy?

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This content was reviewed and updated by Brenda Braslow, MS, RDN, LDN, CDCES on July 5, 2022.

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Exercise->Tips Weight Loss->Motivation