Have an exercise buddy or partner. This is a must, according to the experts, having accountability to someone else, even if it’s your Labrador, keeps you honest. It’s much easier to say no to yourself than to someone else,” who goes for bike rides regularly with friends.
Schedule your workouts. Keep a calendar that lists specific times for your workouts. Make an appointment with exercise ahead of time, and you won’t have the excuse of running out of time.
Weigh yourself daily. This is one of the best tools to see if you’re slipping up. Weighing yourself daily can keep you on track so that you don’t let 300 extra calories a day or one missed workout set you back.
Don’t do too much, too fast. Don’t get over-motivated. Lifting weights that are too heavy or starting out with six days a week of aerobic exercise is a mistake. People end up hurting themselves in the first week and then they give up.
Log your steps. Logging the time that you work out will help you achieve your weekly goal, even if you get off track one day. It will also inspire you at the end of the week when you can look back and see what you’ve accomplished.
Cook more often. Portions, and calories, are out of control when you eat out. You’ll almost always consume fewer calories in a meal cooked and eaten at home. Save restaurants for special occasions, and get together with friends for a walk instead of a meal.
Don’t turn water into wine. Not only does a glass of wine or beer add a couple of hundred extra calories, after a few glasses, but you’re also not as conscious of consuming more calories in your meal. You don’t have to give up drinking but do cut back.
Beware the one-way valve. You walk past the small chops at a party, grab some cheese and crackers, and quickly consume 300 calories before dinner even starts. We have no problem randomly over-consuming extreme amounts of calories, but we never randomly, sporadically have extreme bouts of caloric expenditure.
