Weight, Wait, Wait – Fitness Trends, Tips and Strategies to Ward off the Weight

Enjoy the guest post prepared by the Wellness Institute at Seven Oaks General Hospital expanding on 3 strategies to get past your most difficult wellness challenges:

1) Avoid

2) Alternate Plan

3) Acceptance

Helping you reach your health and fitness goals

Setting a goal is the first step to helping you stay motivated. It should be a specific and measurable goal, and then it can be broken down in to small action planning steps. For example, you don’t want to say that “my goal is to be more active”, but rather to attend a fitness class every Monday this winter, or to walk for 30 minutes three evenings per week. Action plans can also related to things you don’t want to do.

Writing down your goals and plan is a built in accountability measure. It also helps demonstrate progress (a great motivator itself). Sharing goals with family members can provide additional support.

At the Wellness Institute, our staff meet with new members individually to make sure they have a exercise plan tailored for their personal health, but also to their goals. For example, choose exercises you enjoy, make sure the time commitment is realistic, and try group classes for added social support and accountability.

It’s also important to think about relapse planning. Sometimes how well we do at achieving our goal depends on how well we cope with challenges. The best way to overcome challenges is to be ready for them. For example, if working over time at work will get in the way of attending a fitness class, or going for your walk, start planning for that now. A relapse plan may include:

Avoid – how can you avoid the situation. Perhaps overtime is optional and you can choose not to work more hours.
Make an alternate plan – if you have to work more, perhaps you can do your exercise class on the weekend instead, or perhaps go for a short walk to lunch rather than after dinner.
Acceptance – like anything in life, some things are outside of our control. There are some situations where you may have to accept that life gets in the way of your exercise or wellness goal. In this case, you have to ask yourself – what got in the way, how did it feel? What did I learn? How do I get back on track? If working overtime meant that you didn’t exercise for a full week, its important to accept that and get started again before it becomes two weeks. These are key copings strategies that will help you reach your goals.

Other ways to stay motivated is trying new activities. Check online for new classes or programs. Group classes are a great way to stay motivated. And if you exercise with a buddy, you can encourage and support each other.

And remember – you can do this! (here’s the show, if you want to have a listen! Your Life, Unlimted with Stephanie Staples & Casie Nishi

To your health! Steph

Stephanie Staples, CSP* is the author of When Enlightening Strikes – Creating a Mindset for Uncommon Success and an internationally acclaimed motivational speaker. She empowers audiences & clients across North America to bring their ‘A’ game to work and to life. Stephanie has a special interest in working with and empowering nurses and healthcare providers. She happily calls Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada home. You can get loads of complimentary resources to help with issues such as work/life balance, wellness, stress management and happiness in general, as well as find out more information about her coaching and speaking services at http://www.YourLifeUnlimited.ca. * Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), conferred by the National Speakers Association is the speaking profession’s international measure of professional platform proficiency. Less than 10 percent of speakers have earned this credential and are recognized as some of the best in their fields. Stephanie was one of only five professional speakers in Canada (and the only woman) to attain this designation in 2013.

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Contributed by Stephanie Staples at Your Life Unlimited

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Weight, Wait, Wait – Fitness Trends, Tips and Strategies to Ward off the Weight

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