People often want to lose weight just for the sake of losing weight. Clearly with the number of people who struggle to lose weight, that isn’t a big enough motivator, and I’m not entirely sure it should be. Consider these options for eating right and exercising more. Instead of posting “skinny images” around the house, print out these concepts and hang them up:

• Better Body Image
• Live To See Grandkids
• Sleep Better
• More Energy
• Cleaner Arteries
• Stronger Body
• Less Winded
• More Flexible
• Stronger Bones

This is only a start. Imagine what it would feel like to get a better quality of life, not what it would be like to be thin. We should all carve to be healthy as much as we long to be thin–myself included.

According to the USDA’s food pyramid we are supposed to consume 5 to 9 servings of fruit and veggies per day. Can you challenge yourself to eat that many fruits and vegetables everyday for one week? Plan on doing it next week and you’ll have this weekend to prepare for it.

Maybe you’ll feel better.

Okay, the weekend is no doubt when many of us break our healthy lifestyle, vowing to get back on track Monday morning. That isn’t the end of the world, but there are little things you can do to not completely fall off track. Before you finish the workday today come up with a time and place that you will engage your core this weekend. Are you going to a picnic? to church? to a movie? Think about it when you get there and then pull your belly button to your spine. Knowing where you want to do it in advance will help you remember.

Hopefully, if you keep training yourself to use your core, you will start to do it naturally.

“Were man to devote as much time and energy to himself as he has devoted to that which man has produced, what astounding and almost unbelievable progress would be made.”–Joseph Pilates

It’s important to remember when the world gets the best of us and life gets stressful that making time to take care of our own bodies and mental well being is important. Pilates clearly thought so. If you struggle to make time for yourself, remember that everything you produce or do for others will get done better if you feel better and are healthy. And if you don’t maintain your own health, eventually, you won’t be able to help others. So put yourself first and feel good about it. You should be your number one priority without feeling any guilt.

Picnics and parties may pop up on your list of things to do this weekend. It can often be hard to stay on track when there are so many goodies around. Don’t make yourself feel guilty about a day off, instead be a little more active. Try any of these suggestions, or come up with something you prefer. Maybe you can do them all. Hey, it is a long weekend after all.

• Get family and friends to go for a walk at the picnic
• Play volleyball or another sport that is being played at the picnic
• Go for a walk at your town center or town green
• Try a new activity–kayaking or swimming or ultimate Frisbee or…..
• Do 20-minutes of Pilates on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday
• Take a hike
• Bring a couple jump ropes or hula hoops to the party (anything you used to play with as a kid) and try and get people to use them with you
• If you’re throwing the party, plan a relay race and race in it