20 Secrets of Very Fit People

1. Keep a water bottle with you at all times and drink from it
often. Water should always be your drink of choice. To kick things
up every once in a while, try adding lemon, lime, cucumber, or a
few berries to liven up the flavor without adding significant
calories.
2. Look at exercise as a pleasure and a privilege, not a burden or
chore. Think positively about the changes regular exercise will
produce. Rather than obsessing about your next meal, get excited
about your next workout!
3. Eat well-balanced meals and remember that excess calories, even if they’re from food that’s fat free and high in protein, will turn to
excess weight. No matter what the latest fad diet says, extra
calories equal extra weight!
4. Limit caffeine and exposure to even secondhand smoke.
5. Focus on short- term fitness goals with an emphasis on completing
daily exercise.
6. Keep a daily log of what you’re actually eating. This includes every
time you grab a handful of chips here or eat the crust of your kid’s
sandwich there, and ALL of your snacking.
7. Enjoy an occasional (once a week) “unhealthy ” treat, but never an
unhealthy week or unhealthy vacation.
8. Enjoy contributing to the health of others by having a partner or
friends to exercise with, as well as recruiting others who want to
feel better and have more energy. Have a neighbor who’s sitting on
the porch every morning when you walk by? Ask him or her to join
you on your walk!
9. Avoid monotony by taking up new forms of exercising, or using
things that keep you motivated and inspired, like new shoes or
great music.
10. Subscribe to fitness magazines to keep focused on health as an
overall way of life.
11. Invest in the right tools— good shoes, a portable MP3 player or
iPod®, fitness equipment, a new series of tapes, etc.
12. Make it your goal to do some form of exercise 6 or 7 days a
week. If some days you exercise once in the morning and once in
the evening, even better! If you’re eating right, exercise will fuel
your energy level!
13. Don’t compare your body to others’. Instead , work to be your
personal best.
14. If your diet is unbalanced, take daily vitamin and mineral
supplements for total health.
15. Work to take your exercise to new levels of intensity.
16. Create an exercise schedule the day before instead of leaving it to
chance or waiting to “find ” the time. If our last three Presidents of
the United States can make time to work out every day, you can
make time too!
17. Move beyond the boundaries of weight loss and into total
fitness. Measure success by the way your clothes fit, not some
number on a scale.
18. Stick with eating plans you can maintain indefinitely. Remember
that no matter how hard you’re working out, if you’re consuming
too many calories, you’ll never see the muscles that lie beneath
layers of fatty tissue.
19. Get adequate amounts of sleep, but remember that people who
exercise regularly fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly.
20. Limit alcohol intake to special occasions.

(Source: challengescompleteme , via fitter- -happier )