Motivation Boosters

1. Do It For You - Sixty-nine percent of women who work out regularly - do so to please themselves alone. The more you exercise to please others or assuage guilt, the less likely you'll be to stick with it.


2. Set A Goal - Set a goal that is specific, actionable, short-term and measurable. Big-picture concepts, like "I want to be slender in six months," don't carry as much oomph as "I want to fit into a size 10 in six weeks."


3. Follow a Program - If you have a plan before you exercise, then you're accountable to it, and you'll feel more satisfied once you fulfill it. The better you feel after your workout, the more likely you'll be to do it again. So take a class or hire a trainer.


4. Toss Your Scale - Measure your exercise achievements by how your clothes fit. Research suggest that post-exercise, you'll feel slimmer before the scale backs you up, so waiting and waiting for the perfect number to appear might be discouraging. When you've challenged your body with exercise, you'll benefit from an improved mood and a sense of mastery, which is associated with better body image. Those good vibes will help you stick with your program long enough to get physical results.


5. Sense Your Success - More than one in three say visualizing their success is key. Research shows that visualizing a few minutes a day, a couple of days a week, can alter your behavior. "If you imagine yourself successfully working out, you can create and strengthen the belief that you're capable of it."