A healthy look is the cornerstone of modern beauty. Your outfit, makeup, and hair still matter, but today we appreciate a core of health that blooms from within. Part of being healthy is being fit, but working fitness and exercise into your life can be a challenge. 

So how do you overcome the challenges around regular exercise and turn it into something you do every day or even something you enjoy?

1. Embracing the idea of fitness

One of the hardest parts of making exercise a regular part of your life is wanting to exercise and wanting to do it every day. How do you turn that “ugh” feeling into one of excitement? 

Scientists have looked into making exercise fun, and they have come up with these suggestions.

♦ Make it a social activity.

♦ Pick a day that feels like a fresh start, such as New Year’s Day, your birthday, the first of the month, a Monday, etc., and use that as a starting point.

♦ Set a goal, they’re very motivating.

♦ Keep at it for at least a month, which is the time it takes to build lasting habits.

2. Change in mindset

In addition to these tips, changing your mindset about exercise can turn it from a chore into something you enjoy doing. You don’t have to go to a gym to exercise, you just need to be active. Going for a walk, golfing, riding a bike–there are so many different ways to enjoy exercising.

3. Think long-term

If you’re diving into a fitness program with a short-term goal of losing weight for a special day, you might find yourself falling short of your goal. This could be because a study has found that people who work out tend to eat more. 

Whether it’s because you feel you deserve a little extra or you’re hungrier, extra eating can quickly defeat short-term fitness goals, and it can be frustrating.

It seems that working out and weight loss go hand in hand, but if you banish the weight loss goal, you’ll be more successful at making fitness a habit. Ultimately you may lose weight, but then what? Exercise is about living a healthy lifestyle that includes fitness. It’s about the journey, not the destination.

4. Prioritize yourself

Would you leave the house without showering, without makeup, without combing your hair? Whatever it is that makes you feel pulled together is important, and you make it a priority. Exercise needs to be treated the same way. 

You deserve to be healthy and to enjoy the things your body can do. It’s even better if your chosen exercise feels like playtime. 

5. No more guilt or shame

Too many people hit the gym because they feel guilty or a sense of shame. This may be because they’re not living a healthy lifestyle, or maybe they’ve indulged too much and are not happy with their weight and/or facing health issues, or they feel societal pressures. If you’re associating your fitness plan with bad feelings, it’s never going to be something you enjoy. 

Once you relieve the pressure and the bad feelings, exercise feels less like a chore and more like a choice. Then, while you’re exercising, focus on how strong you’re getting, how breathing and moving are easier, and how good it feels to move.

6. Make fitness your style

As you’re carving out your style-persona, make sure that fitness and health are a part of it. Embracing who you are doesn’t just mean accepting yourself, it means making the most of what you have and living life to its fullest. A big part of that is being physically healthy. 

Once you've found an exercise routine that you love, Foundation Collagen Elixir can help you maximize the benefits. The delicious elixir's unique combination of beauty-boosting collagen, keratin, and prebiotics work with plant-based superfoods to fuel the body & biome with beauty-boosting superfoods for great skin and hair. As a bonus, the collagen can help your joints as your body gets used to your new lifestyle. 

If you make fitness a part of your style and what defines who you are, it becomes easier to make exercise a regular part of your life. 

Final thoughts

Fitness is not just about being thin or having bulging muscles. Fitness is part of the broader idea of being healthy and living a lifestyle that’s full of good choices. Exercise is one part of that spectrum. All of these efforts come together to help you live your best and healthiest life.

If you’re struggling in any area of a healthy lifestyle, it’s important to look at why there is a struggle. What makes this something you find hard to do or simply don’t want to do? 

If you can find out where the bad feelings come from, you’re halfway to fixing it and making those good changes you want part of your routine. It takes effort, but the results are worth it.