R.U.N. toward a healthier lifestyle

Every January we see an influx of people in the gym ready to live a healthier lifestyle and change their habits. By the middle of February we find a lot of those people have reverted back to their December habits and living the same lifestyle to which they’re accustomed. The new year is a great time to make a change, as it symbolizes a new beginning, a fresh start and an optimistic outlook. But how do you avoid falling out of the new routine when the novelty of the new year has worn off? How can we keep the progress going when we don’t feel the progress as much anymore and the emotion of starting a new life has gone away? A physical run will help you reach your fitness and healthy living goals, but so will a figurative R.U.N.

Reach out

Many times when we set out to reach difficult goals, such as a lifestyle change, we do so on our own. Going in alone makes challenges greater and decreases our likelihood of succeeding. Have you tried this lifestyle change before and not succeeded on your own? Reach out to friends and professionals to help you this time. Discuss your lifestyle change with friends, get into a fitness routine together and hold each other accountable. Putting together a success team will dramatically increase your chances of success with making a successful and sustainable change in your lifestyle habits. Part of your success team should also be a personal trainer to help guide you through a healthy lifestyle transition and workout routine. Connect with professionals and friends. Reach out to your resources to increase your probability of success.

Understand the commitment

Emotion drives our change for a healthier lifestyle, but the emotion can wear off and we must have a plan to continue from there. Making a lifestyle change takes commitment and an understanding of the depth of that commitment. It’s more than making it to the gym a few times a week and eating more salad. The tougher times are the temptations that you face with the comfort foods or activities that previously held you back from your goals. It’s resisting going out to eat with friends as often, passing that isle at the supermarket (you know the isle that I’m talking about) and not staying up so late, so you have a fresh mind for the next day. It’s identifying the routines and habits that held us back before and knowing that we’ll have to overcome the temptations to melt back into our comfort zones in order to be stronger tomorrow and continue the progress. Understand that these crossroads will happen and have a plan to run, not walk, the other way from them.

Never quit

Through understanding the level of commitment that you’re making, you must identify that there will be head winds and tail winds, up days and down days, and ebbs and flows. Progress comes with time and it moves slowly. Know that when you have your down days that it’s just part of the progress and, even when you don’t want to get active on that day, some movement is better than none. Understand that by moving a little bit on the down days, you’re still getting stronger and tomorrow will be easier because of your victory today. Never quit. Never give in. Always keep your larger goal in the front of your mind, so you can see the bigger picture.

Take a different approach to your success in 2017 and plan your journey to a healthier lifestyle. If you’ve tried this before and not been as successful as you’ve wanted to be, learn from those pitfalls and identify how to overcome them this time. Reach out to industry professionals and friends for support, understand the commitment that you’re making, so you can identify temptations before they happen and never quit working toward the better life you want for yourself. We have a strong community and knowledgeable professionals at Anytime Fitness, Winter Park to help you reach your goals. Reach out to us and R.U.N. toward a better life this year!

Patrick McGaha Jr., member experience manager at Anytime Fitness, Winter Park, is dedicated to building a welcoming environment in the club, conducive to helping members and clients reach their health fitness goals. To get your fitness and nutrition related questions answered by a certified personal trainer, or for a free personal training session, call us at 321-972-5833 or email [email protected].