After 5 years, I understand that the effort isn't so much with "sticking to it" as it is with "making it worth sticking to". No matter how hard you try, you will not make yourself stick to something for the long run if you can't make it enjoyable and interesting.
That doesn't mean that you can make it fun and exciting all the time. There are times when working out just plain sucks, you're tired, you're hurting and you just don't wanna. Also there are times when you want brownies, fries and a burger, no matter how colorful and pretty your salad is. At those time, yeah, the work is more "stick-to-it-iveness" than creativity. I like to think that as you go, those times are fewer and further apart. That's when the "fake it until you feel it" strength comes in.
For the other times, the idea is to make your chosen lifestyle attractive. It's not a chore that you have to do, it's a lifestyle that you have chosen. Make the most of it!
When it comes to Activity, the trick is always to find something you like to do. It doesn't have to be "formal exercise" as long as it keep you moving! Do some gardening, take your laundry upstairs one piece at a time instead of piling it up. Go walk with a good friend and catch up on the gossips of the week.
You're more into the formal exercise trend? Put the treadmill in front of a TV with a DVD player. What's a better time to catch up on the missed episodes? Going to the gym? Stop by the library and grab some audio books, as you work out, you can catch up on the adventures of your favorite heroes. Take a dance class, a animal step class, a yoga class with your dog! Anything, as long as it keep you moving!!
When it comes to the food, it's the same idea. You can eat lettuce and grilled chicken all the time but that gets extremely boring very fast. Not only you want to vary the foods you eat, but you want to make an effort to make it look good as well as taste good. Eating should be an experience for the 5 senses, not just a tasting experience.
Here's a few examples of what we regularly eat at home. It's nothing complicated or overly exotic, bit I always make an effort to make the food look attractive and interesting.
Shrimps with sauteed peppers and broccoli over lettuce. I made sure to use different colors of peppers and to put the shrimp in the place first and then put the pepper mix (which had cook with the shrimps) on top to make it look more colorful. I seasoned it well, and added some cumin at the end to make it smell good. The raw lettuce's texture contrasted well with the cooked peppers and broccoli.
This is store-bought brown rice sushi that came into one of those plastic boxes. I took it out of there, and served it with a bright green side and with couscous. I place those two side by side, then used my little soy sauce dish to make a 3rd "item" and added the sushi at the end. The visual was interesting (and the food YUM-MY).
This was a little less visually interesting, but the smells was incredible! The turkey meatballs were very fragrant and so was the hummus. I added a green salad for color and couscous for a "neutral taste".
This is just plain grilled salmon with roasted asparagus. Both were very well spiced and delicious. I also roasted Brussels sprouts and organized the plate in sections. It was interesting looking and very yummy!
These are all very simple plain foods, nothing over the top. The idea is to make a effort to make it look good, smell good, to mix the textures and the flavors so that all senses are put at work! What about hearing you say? Wait until your family comment on your culinary experiments!
Just make a little effort, it doesn't have to be every meal, it doesn't have to be every work out, just every once in a while, go the extra mile. You'll see it'll be worth it. Bet you'll want to do it again!
Be good n stuff!
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