You’ve laid out your diet and fitness plans and are making great progress as you head toward your end goals. Don’t let life derail your efforts. Try these six tips to help you stay on track and reach your goals. 

1. Identify Your Motivation

The why behind your newfound fitness and diet plans can be as important as the ultimate end goal, so make sure you identify the motivation that is driving your plans. Having concerns about your health can give you a huge incentive to make changes, but don’t discount the draw of fitting into a little black dress either. 

2. Use Activity Trackers Wisely

Knowing what you are and aren’t doing can help you stay on top of your progress toward goals. Make sure you avoid the common pitfall of using extra steps or calories burned to justify a diet-wrecking splurge. Today’s activity trackers can help you monitor more than steps and calories. They can tell you if you are doing moderate or vigorous exercise, the quality of your sleep, and monitor your vital signs. 

They can also keep track of your activity over a period of time. So, if you miss a fitness goal today in your workouts, you can look back and see how you killed it yesterday. Many online fitness methods now keep track of your workout progress for you. You can set up prompts, goals and reminders to help keep you accountable. You can compare what's on offer and learn a bit more about the latest online fitness trends HERE. Our favourite is still the Sleek Ballet Fitness App of course! 

3. Clean Your Pantry

Whether you have changed eating habits to embrace healthier options or to lose weight, cleaning your pantry and refrigerator can help you stay on track. After all, if the first thing you see when you open the door is a towering stack of cookie packages and chips, you are probably going to reach for them. Think out of sight, out of mind here. 

This can be a challenge in households with small children or family members who have not embraced the new food trends. Although everyone can benefit from establishing healthy eating habits, it’s not realistic to assume they will all go willingly. Relocate the less healthy options to lower shelves for little ones so they can have easy access and you won’t be tempted to pilfer their treats. 

4. Rethink Meal Planning

While you are considering food options, determine if meal planning could fit into your lifestyle. Take meal planning to whatever level works for you. Making three days worth of overnight oats a couple of times each week can help you get a healthy start to each day without cutting into your morning routine. Having lunches and healthy snacks proportioned so you can grab them as you head out the door is meal planning, too. Try one of the Sleek nutrition plans to help build great planning habits

If you are ready to really embrace meal planning, then you might want to prep several meals at once on the weekend and stash them in the freezer. Coming home to a ready-to-heat meal or a crockpot prepared dinner is a great way to eat home-cooked nutritious food. It can help you maintain diet guidelines, and it might even help you save money on takeout and restaurant meals. 

5. Learn Something New

Don’t let boredom derail your careful planning. Adding variety to your diet and fitness routines can help keep them interesting and engaging, which may help you stay on track. Learning a new skill, whether it is a type of cooking, a new outdoor activity, or ballroom dancing, can be a great way to keep your motivation up. 

It doesn’t have to be physical either. Learning about the health benefits of plant-based diets or taking a polyphenol supplement might be just what you need to renew your commitment to a healthy lifestyle. 

6. Be Patient

Even if you feel like you’ve taken several steps backward, be patient with yourself and your progress. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your new diet and fitness plans won’t be either. It takes months to make something a new habit, so allow yourself the luxuries of time and forgiveness. Pretty soon, you’ll wonder how you did things any other way. 

By Paisley Hansen