Through the winter it is hard to remain focused on eating healthy, exercising, and losing weight. By the time March rolls around, many people feel like they have tons of weight to lose.

Here are a couple of ideas on how to stay focused and stay motivated for weight loss so you can be ready for the warmer weather in a couple of months.

Make a commitment to a charity – When you join an athletic fund raising event, you have no choice. Get yourself on a Relay for Life team or some other walk for a benefit.  You are not going to let down those who sponsored you and you’ll burn calories while preparing.

Lift the amount of weight you have lost – Using free weights, work out with the same amount of weight you have dropped. This makes it easy to remember how much you have lost. It is motivating to see how much you are struggling to lift that 10-pound weight. You can't possibly forget how far you've come when you're sweating doing three sets. You used to be carrying around that weight!

Make a great play list -A recent study on women's fitness found that women are more likely to stick to an exercise program if they listen to music while working out.

Do not wear baggy, loose clothes – Don’t make yourself comfortable in your gained weight. Put on the tight jeans, or leave out your bathing suit. Give yourself a visual reminder of the goal you want to accomplish.

Work out with others- Many studies have proven that support from other people can keep you motivated to lose weight. So get some friends to work out with you. Get yourself a personal trainer, who can help you, create an exercise program for you, keep you company, and keep you accountable.

Group exercise classes - Join a group exercise class and make friends with the other regulars. Seeing them will inspire you to attend even when you feel like not going. Guilt is motivating. When you don’t go to your exercise class, everyone knows.

Too many people make the New Year’s Resolution to “Lose Weight”, or to “Get in Shape” in the New Year. Unfortunately, almost as many people are unsuccessful. Why? They don’t have a plan, they haven’t thought this out.

Understanding food and nutrition may be the perfect place to start. Assess your present diet, start a food log. Every item that you eat or drink should be documented in this log. After a week or so, you can review that log and see what can be removed, reduced or changed in your diet.

Sedentary lifestyles have been determined to be more dangerous than or just as dangerous to your health as smoking. For mental and physical health and well being, exercise is imperative. If you are new to exercise, you may find it challenging at first to get up, out and motivated. This is where an exercise plan really comes into play. Working with a personal trainer, or being a regular at a favorite group exercise class is very helpful in keeping your motivated through the hard part, a.k.a. the beginning.

However, once your exercise routine and your weight loss plan get rolling, it is much easier to keep rolling. As your mental health improves, and endorphins in your brain are being made through exercise you’ll feel it become easier to get started each day.

Answer Is Fitness in North Attleboro is here to help you meet your weight loss goals, and we are serious about your health.