Ever wonder how celebrities do it -- keep up their busy work schedules, appear at all the latest, greatest parties and red carpet events, promote their personal causes and charity endeavors, and not lose all their marbles? Seems diet and exercise have something to do with it. Here, four stars weigh in on their high-energy tricks.

• Whoopi Goldberg stays energized by making healthy food and taking it wherever she goes to minimize temptation. While eating at someone else's house, she asks for very small portions. Good idea -- eating too much always weighs me down and makes me feel sluggish.
  
• Daniel Craig keeps up his strength by going to the gym every night when shooting Bond movies. He does as many of his own stunts too. His reward once shooting is over: Lying on a chaise lounge. Hey, relaxation is part of the whole feel-good package, right?
  
• Eva Mendes stays on top of things by running and keeping white flour and sugar out of her diet. It helps her feel better about herself.
• Gerard Butler just likes a good challenge. Give him one and he's invigorated.

  Stars who stay energized(click thumbnails to view gallery)

  

Source

Got a special something that cheers you up, puts a bounce in your step, keeps you on a motivated roll? I do. There's the loud music I pump through my MP3 player when I run and the candles I burn while I write -- Pumpkin Pie and Cinnamon Stick are the my scents of the season. And I love, absolutely love cool weather. It was 68 degrees this morning in Florida. The high today will fall somewhere in the 80s. I know that's still pretty warm but compared to the stifling heat we've had lately, this is a cool Fall day. It makes me happy, energetic, enthusiastic about life.

Today I ran in the cool air. It's my perfect scenario -- running in crisp temperatures -- and it made me realize there must be something that inspires each of us to reach for the stars. Whether embarking on a new diet plan, a fabulous exercise program, or a renewed commitment to all things health-related, there's got to be something that helps you soar.

Think about it. What makes you want to be the best you can be? Sunsets? A fresh bouquet of flowers? Looking at old photos? If you can't quite decide, take a peek at these 100 ideas. See what grabs you, and then let that something power you forward as your hop on the treadmill today, grab that juicy apple, resolve to stop smoking.

We all have our ups and downs -- there's no getting around that -- but a little inspiration may be all it takes to climb out of the valley and journey to the peak. That's how it works for me.

Source

I am a pro at falling off the dieting wagon. I've had so many false starts it's no wonder I'm not a depressed blob sitting in a corner somewhere. But I think what keeps me going is knowing that eventually I'll get a good grip and be able to hang on (I always picture an old-fashioned wooden wagon careening down a bumpy hill at full speed!) because eventually I always do. I've started a serious health/diet/fitness effort a few different times in my life and it always took me more than several tries before the new effort really "took."

Try these three tips from The Diet Blog for not only getting on the wagon but for staying on it for good: Use guided imagery, set multi-dimensional goals, and develop an exercise vision. Any other tips you can think of that make a difference for you?

Source

Some days it feels almost impossible to get motivated to work out. Maybe you want to sleep in a little later or are too tired after work, perhaps you've got plans with friends and want to spend time getting ready rather than going for a run or maybe your favorite reality show is running its big finale. There are a tonne of excuses to run through that make it easier to allow yourself to skip a workout.

If you're finding that excuses are winning out over exercise on a regular basis, maybe you need some tips on how to stay motivated. Some of the 20 listed in this piece include getting the tough part of the workout over first so that you look forward to the end, book an actual time to workout (maybe with a friend or a trainer) so that you have to show up, pick an exercise routine that you enjoy so that you're more likely to do it and set a goal for yourself and once you reach it, treat yourself to a beauty treatment or a pair of shoes you've been eying.

How do you keep yourself motivated when it comes to working out?

Source

We've all done it -- promised ourselves this time it was gonna be different, that this time we were going to stick with it through to the end, NO MATTER WHAT. And then later, maybe even just a few days later, our resolve dissolved and we forgot all about that powerful conviction we had and started making excuses and finding reasons to go back to our old ways before we ever even really got started.

So enough of that, right? Writing down your plan can help, although if writing out a contract for yourself doesn't work what about writing a "Dear John" letter to your bad habits? Read this example, and write one in your own words. Then every time you feel weak just read it over and you'll feel refreshed and re-motivated!

Source

In a recent set of face-to-face interviews with eight St Louis area pediatricians it came to light that doctors feel pretty useless when it comes to helping obese children and their families lose weight and get healthier. Those that are successful come to the doctor's office already motivated to make changes and the doctor simply needs to answer questions and get them on the right track, but families that do not walk in raring to go are frustrating for doctors because often there's nothing they can say to get them instantly fired up and motivated towards lasting change.

The results of this study seem to point out that finding ways to get families to take an interest in getting healthy on their own, before they go in to see the doctor, is key. Then they can use their time with the doctor for questions and guidance, and they'll have the necessary motivation to keep the momentum going in the months after they've left the pediatrician's office.

Source

I'm a big fan of the occasional cheat day, but of course blowing your diet can be hard on your health depending how often and how majorly you mess up. But when thinking about what you'll have to deal with when "falling of the dieting wagon," there might be more to consider than just the cost in "pounds gained" or "efforts wasted." What about financial impacts? What about harm to your wallet and an unpleasant dent in your shopping budget?

Okay, so this chart of costs is a little over-the-top, but it gets its point across. If, for whatever reason, your health isn't enough motivation to get you through a rough patch and keep you on track, maybe focusing on a financial angle will work instead. They came up with $3538.44 in additional costs incrued by giving in to temptation, and you better believe I can think of much better ways to spend that kind of dough than on extra doctor visits and prescriptions!

Source

It's about motivation, and the fact that it's really hard to get (or stay) excited about something when you don't have tangible results for your efforts. Martha Beck,PhD seems to think that 4 days is the magic amount of time needed to start successfully on a weight loss plan. She says it's not so long (like a week) that it's too hard to stick to it, but it's just long enough to start seeing the results of your labors -- which will in turn inspire the motivation needed to continue.

I haven't read her book on this subject, The Four Day Win, but in reading what she has to say about the basic principles it makes perfect sense. Some of it is based on setting realistic and specific goals, planning out rewards, and even writing out and signing a contract. These are all things I've heard of before, and throwing in a "baby steps" idea sounds like a good plan to me.

Source

I don' t know what the exact number is, but I do know that the vast majority of weight loss and fitness related New Year's resolutions have already ended in failure. And it isn't even February yet, how sad! Truth is that even though many people are good at supporting and motivating their friends and family, they suck at helping themselves. If you are your own worst enemy when it comes to keeping yourself on track, then maybe you just need to learn how to be kinder to yourself and focus some of that caregiver energy inward. This article has 10 tips that seem to share the theme of developing positive habits and coping methods -- like signing an actual pledge to yourself that you'll reach your goal, and calling on your own personal "911 squad" whenever you're about to do something self-destructive.

In theory, losing weight and getting fit should be one of the easiest things in the world for anybody to do: by eating less and exercising more. But something hangs us all up and makes it one of the hardest things instead. Just think, though, how successful you could be if you could only learn to conquer your own inner demons.

Source

Feeling fat has become so common in our society that's it's almost uncool not to feel ugly and overweight. If you're standing around the water cooler with a group of colleagues and somebody complains about how gross they feel and that they're planning on starting a new diet, everybody chimes in with how and why they hate their own bodies. Nobody like's the person who stands there and says, "Yeah, I don't worry about what I eat cuz I'm already so hot." Stuck up fatty...

Now there's nothing wrong with being confident, although it does go best with some humility. But the important thing is not to let the negativity of people around you drag you down, and not to let "feeling fat" become a sneaky term for other emotional issues like being unhappy or lonely. It's difficult, if not impossible, to achieve anything positive if all you've got is negative energy. Start by changing how you talk to yourself, the actual words you use. Be kind (or funny) with yourself, but not self-loathing or critical. Become that confident happy person you imagine yourself to be if you were thinner, and before you know it your body will catch up with your thinking.

Source