It should come as no surprise that if we are highly motivated then we are more likely to exercise. And obviously, if we exercise more then we are less likely to have problems managing our weight.
The problem is that being motivated to exercise is not the same as being motivated to lose weight. Motivation to lose weight is usually not in short supply, but motivation to actively do something about it might be. Dieting is the usual course of action for many. Restricting food intake might be hard, but for many it’s much easier than actually getting out there and burning off some of that food. Of course the best policy is a combination of the two: eat fewer calories and burn more off by being more active.
So if motivation to exercise is the key, how do we go about increasing it? As usual, some of the answers are not always where we expect to find them. Perhaps we should look at one of the other great barriers to exercise — time, or more specifically, the shortage of it. Research clearly shows us that lack of time is one of the biggest reasons people fail to exercise. Interestingly, the solution to one of the problems lies in addressing the other.
Lets look more closely at the time issue. We all have 24 hours in the day, yet some people manage to exercise and some don’t. Those that don’t often say they don’t have time which just means they don’t place exercise as a high enough priority. Some of the very busiest people still find time to exercise. Is it because they know that taking some exercise will actually make them more productive during the day — seemingly buying time? Or are they just better organised? Probably both.
If you want to exercise, then prioritise!
Stick it at the top (or near the top) of your to do list. Then something fascinating will happen. If it’s a priority, we’ll more likely do it earlier in the day, that way there’s less stuff occurring during the day to knock us off-course. Now, here’s the fascinating bit: research shows that exercising in the morning can reduce the motivation to eat. Yes, read that again. You might think that the exercise is going to increase your apetite, so think again.
There you have it. If you want to increase your motivation to exercise whilst decreasing your motivation to eat, then get out in the morning, not only will it set the day up nicely, it will make managing your weight easier.
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