With many people trying to get healthy and lose weight, there are absolutely some secrets that can help. It is easy to find tips and tricks like “drink more water” or “cut out sugar” (which are both essential) but on a deeper level there are secrets that can change your perceptions and put you on the path to success. Changing your attitude and your mindset are two of the biggest secrets I can offer. The tips below will help you gain some new ideas and perspectives that healthy people know about staying thin.

Exercise because you eat well and eat well because you exercise. Some people feel like they need to exercise because they eat junk food. Other people feel like because they work out, they deserve to treat them selves to something unhealthy. Healthy people eat nutritious foods because they know that food is fuel and nutrients. They also realize that if they are going to eat a good diet, they should work out to make the most of their weight, endurance and overall health. They workout to maintain their cardio and strength and they won’t ruin their efforts by eating foods that will derail their goals.

Living a healthy lifestyle is not something you have to fight to do. It is not a punishment or a life sentence to being unhappy. Living healthy may be different than what you are doing now, but that makes for excitement and adventure. Will you miss processed and fried foods? Yes, in the beginning you will have to adjust to leaving these bad habits aside, but fill the time with searching for cool recipes that will feed your cravings as well as your physical body.

Don’t give yourself time to wallow in self pity about having to exercise. Find ways to work out that will distract you and excite you! Going for a bike ride through new neighborhoods or trails will let you go at your own pace and see cool things. Drive to a state park or outdoor garden and walk around at your own pace or challenge yourself to burn calories and work your heart.

Learn to compete with yourself. I remember feeling a bitterness against people that I would see running. I was trying to hit my own goal of running a complete mile without walking and I was having a lot of difficulty with endurance and breathing. My focus switched from my own goals to comparing myself with others. This was destructive to my attitude of being proud of my efforts on my way to accomplishing my goals. This was undermining my acceptance for myself that I needed to keep a positive attitude and give myself the time I needed to get where I wanted to be. Comparing myself to others made it easy to slip into a pity party and have an “excuse” to feel dejected and give up, but a friend reminded me how silly that was and told me to “suck it up” and get back to my goals. I decided to focus on the small steps and achievements and feel proud of what I was doing for myself and my health. Almost magically, I found strength and power and ran through the self-doubt and the burning chest and completed my mile.

Realize that working out is a new way of life and it isn’t easy. Working out is never easy because the point of working out is to push yourself to your max abilities (and a little further each time) to get stronger and healthier. But this is your new life and you are awesome! So, read some inspirational quotes, listen to some pump up music and get out there and kick your own butt!

Realize that eating healthy is easy. If you are used to standing at the fridge or the pantry eating a box of cookies while you decide what to have for a meal, you have a lot of habits to change. It might take some time to get used to opening the refrigerator and finding salads, quinoa salad and grapes instead of unhealthy foods, but you will get over the habit of eating high fat, high sugar and processed foods.

Healthy people know that they feel better both physically and emotionally when they opt for “good” foods instead of “bad” ones. Satisfying a craving for ice cream feels comforting while you’re eating it, but afterwards you realize that it was just silly to acquiesce when you could have grabbed a natural frozen fruit bar and gone for a walk around the block until you felt the craving subside. Give yourself healthy food choices and that is what you will have to eat. It is simple.

It is so important to read inspirational articles to stay focused and motivated. It is critical to read informative articles about fitness, eating and overall health. It is also important to always remember that some really big secrets to living a healthy lifestyle and staying thin are to work on changing your attitude and your mindset. Keep working at doing things that are in your personal best interest and discover what works for you. Everyone can’t do cross fit or be a vegetarian, but every individual can exercise and eat well in personalized ways that work for them.

The biggest secret that healthy people know to stay thin is to never ever give up on yourself. You are worth every effort and sacrifice you make. You are incredible and unstoppable. You can do this.

What are your challenges to health, diet and exercise?