For unmotivated folks: Think of fitness as brushing teeth

A lot of people wonder how they can stay motivated and continue to exercise even when they don't feel like it at times. Now obviously, you should always have your ''WHY'' but more importantly I think it's vital to look at exercise as an integral way of living. When we get up in the mornings, we routinely shower, have breakfast (or not), brush our teeth, tie our shoes, and leave the house and then continue on with our lives.

I think that it's important to think about fitness as something that is vitally important and critical for health, not something that you just decide to do when you're motivated or when you have the urge to do it. You ever hear someone say, ''Man I'm gonna start working out after New Years.'' Well, the truth is that, that's probably the wrong mindset to begin with no matter how motivated they think they are. That kind of mindset suggests that that person doesn't already think of fitness as something that they should put value each and everyday. It's not a matter of wishing, it's a matter of doing.

Weight lifting and conditioning have so many more benefits than just helping with body composition only. They have numerous benefits and I truly think that nobody has ever lived a completely fulfilling life without exercise one way or another. So when someone is complaining about their results or maybe they have been getting results but aren't patient enough, they should look at fitness as something that has to be continued for life, not just something that's an ''event'' that they are trying to rush. Because it's not an event, it's a process that takes time and commitment.

That is sort of the way I have been viewing fitness. No matter how happy or unhappy you are with your results, you have to keep going. There is no other option.

Now as far as diet, for someone with more weight to lose, obviously diet is going to play a critical role in helping with fat loss, because it's so much easier to avoid that slice of cake, than it is to burn it off by doing 90 minutes of cardio, or whatever the case maybe.

But when it comes to fitness, I truly believe that you have to continue to work at it every single day, or at least you have to try to be moderately active every single day and engage in something even if it's just walking around the mall when you have no energy that day, because using energy creates energy.

So when it comes to fitness, I think that it's important to follow your routine regardless of how much weight you want or need to lose. Perhaps if you're trying to lose fat, look at what you're eating even more than what you're doing and try to adjust or make gradual improvements. But nothing replaces exercise when it comes to well being and building up your endorphins, and preserving your strength and muscles. For those that aren't motivated, I think that you should find why you wanted to start in the first place and always remember that, but at the same time, you have to truly buy into the idea that fitness is not just something that could help your life, but something that is very necessary in your life regardless how you feel. Because the more fit you become, the easier it gets.