Exercise Excuse 6: “I Always End up Quitting.”
Set small, attainable goals. Then you’re more likely to feel like a success, not a failure, says Brunett. If you exercise for five minutes a day for a week, you’ll feel good — and be more likely to want to try 10 minutes a day the next week.
It also helps to keep a log and post it somewhere public — even on Facebook. Craft calls it a “wall of encouragement.” Friends and family can then say, “Hey, you did 15 minutes yesterday. Great job,” she says. A log also helps you see if you’re starting to fall off the wagon (or the treadmill).
Having an exercise buddy keeps you accountable as well, says Boston psychologist Eric Endlich, PhD, who works with patients who need motivation to diet and exercise. When you back out of a scheduled workout, you’re letting down your buddy as well as yourself.
And look toward the future. It’s harder to start exercising than to stick with it once you’ve got your momentum going, says David Coppel, PhD, a sports psychologist in Kirkland, Wash. “I bet you after two weeks of this,” he says, “you’ll feel really good.”
WebMD