So everybody knows that consistency is the key to lasting and successful weight loss and fitness. Whatever your goals are, intermittent and random efforts here and there aren't going to get you anywhere other than frustrated. You'll feel like you're doing something but you won't see any results, which will then lead you to feel like it's a hopeless cause and give up. At least until the next time you get all revved up and jump in for another effort or two, and the cycle starts all over again.

So how to bust the vicious circle and actually stick with it, permanently? You've got to get addicted. I've been really busy for the last few weeks and my workout routine has kinda gone by the wayside. Well, not kinda, more like totally. Now I won't say that I'm addicted to exercise just yet, but I have definitely missed it! I'm a little surprised by that, to be honest. I just started working out regularly and for real within the last year, so I'm not someone who has always been into it by any means. So I can say, from my own perspective anyway, that it is possible! I'm going to be getting back into my routine by the end of this week hopefully, and maybe I'll end up end up addicted before too long. Here are some tips and tricks to help you on your road to addiction (sounds funny to say with a positive meaning, but its true!):

• Get the timing right. Different times of the day work for different people, so be honest with yourself when setting up when you're going to exercise. Is after work really the best time? Maybe it is, and maybe it isn't. The trick is to actually workout though, not just say you were going to but such-and-such came up and you couldn't. Minimizing your excuses will really help, and choosing the right time of day can help you do that.
• Along the lines of minimizing excuses and choosing the right time of day, choose the most convenient options. Joining a gym 20 minutes away is not a smart move, unless you love to drive in which case maybe it is. Again, it's about knowing yourself and being honest about what you really have a shot at sticking with and what you don't (and no, you can't put "all exercise" into the unrealistic category!).
• Make it a priority, and not just for you but for all your friends and family too. Let everybody know when you plan to exercise and let them know that other plans will have to work around it. At first it will take some reminders and willpower on your part, but after awhile it will become a "given" that you workout at whatever time and you'll stop getting so many tempting invitations that interfere.
• Plan plan plan. Do whatever you need to do to make sure you have what you need when you need it for your workout. Skipping the gym because you forgot to pack a change of clothes is not a good excuse. Do it the night before, get up early, whatever -- make a plan and stick with it.
• Talk about it, be inspiring. Be inspiring to others and you'll be inspiring to yourself. Talk about your new habits like they're part of your life, not just a temporary weight-loss plan or something you're trying to see what happens. It is now part of who you are (after all, you're addicted, right?)
• And lastly but not leastly, become an addict. This means focus on how good you feel during exercise and after you've exercised and and pretty soon you'll be craving that feeling if you skip your workout. When I say I "missed my routine" that's what I miss feeling -- that "I'm exhausted but refreshed at the same time" feeling, and the wonderful lightness of being guilt-free. Too often we focus on the negative.