I was recently joking around with one of my clients about how cool it would be if diet and exercise only involved waving a magic wand…<sigh>. Without that magic wand, staying in shape is HARD. Unless you are one of those rare individuals who truly love the sweat and tears (and yes, sometimes even blood) that go into working out and eating healthy, you need some help. Motivation is key to this! Here are some tips to help keep you motivated on your journey for a healthier lifestyle:
- Set a Goal and write it down!
Once you have that goal written down, look at it often. “Out of sight, out of mind” is so true! Put your written goal in a place you will see daily and constantly be reminded of what you want to achieve. - START SLOOWWWW… There is nothing worse than hurting yourself the first day and being unable to continue. On top of the physical pain, mentally it will really crush you. Ease into your new workout or diet. DON’T dive in the deep end if you can’t swim!!
- Find a fun exercise or activity that you like to do (or at least don’t hate)! If you don’t like to run, but set out to jog every morning, it’s going to deplete your motivation pretty quickly! Instead, think about hiking, rock climbing, skiing (snow or water), etc. to satisfy your exercise needs.
Surround yourself with motivation! Be it motivation quotes, pictures that inspire you, or a pair of jeans you want to fit into, make sure you are physically able to see these things to remind you on a daily basis of where you want to get!- Give yourself daily, weekly, and monthly challenges. This will give you something to strive for in bits and pieces. These small victories keep you challenged on the road to your goal(s). A daily challenge could be as simple as drinking X glasses of water for the day. Weekly could be working out every day for the entire week. And monthly challenges could mean training for an upcoming race. Keep it realistic, but fun.
- Plan your workouts ahead of time. Know what you are going to do ahead of time. Write it down. Indecision leads to inactivity. Have a plan and stick to it.
- Track your success. Show your progress. Seeing you are moving forward, regardless of the pace, can be a big motivator.
- Give yourself treats. When you achieve a success, treat yourself (NOT with food). It could be something as simple as relaxing with your favorite movie or, if you reach a significant goal, buy yourself a new outfit!
Find fun apps. There are several fun and FREE apps you can use to make things more fun and interesting. Zombies, run! is a fun app to use when you are running.
Remember the end of workout feeling. There is something about the end of workout endorphin rush that really makes you feel amazing and motivates you. Try and capture that feeling and remember it when you are making excuses for not working out.- Write down how you feel after working out. Create a journal and write down when you workout, what you did and how you feel after your workouts. This could give you a better indication of what works best for YOU!
Make yourself a motivational playlist. We all have those songs that make us feel like Rocky running up the steps in Philadelphia. Find those songs and play them LOUD when you are working out.- Try a personal trainer. Sometimes we just needs someone to hold us accountable. That’s what a personal trainer is for — to keep you on track and not allow you to make excuses.
SJD Health and Fitness 