Whether you're just starting in your fitness journey or you've been killing it in the gym for years now, I think we can all agree that sometimes, staying motivated is HARD! How to we get out of that "funk"? How do we not feel completely derailed after taking some time away from our #fitlife? How do I even get the motivation to START something?! All of those thoughts and feelings are NORMAL! I hope these tips on how to stay motivated help you, no matter what stage of your fitness journey you're in!
FIND SOMETHING YOU LOVE DOING, AND DO IT FOR THE RIGHT REASONS
If you're going to the gym, dreading your work out, chances are you're not going to stick with it long-term. Find something you actually look forward to doing! Find something that is fun for you, that you feel empowered doing & that makes you feel better/stronger/faster! Do something that makes you feel like a badass. You'll never stay committed if you think of it as a chore or as something that you have to do. Do it for the right reasons. Sure, exercise is something we all should do, for the number of beneficial health reasons. But if you're on that treadmill in a bad mood because you feel like it's something you have to do, it's definitely time to explore your other fitness options and do something more enjoyable!
ACCEPT THAT YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE GOOD DAYS AND BAD DAYS
I get it - it can feel really discouraging when you go on vacation, or have an unplanned weekend out with friends, and suddenly feel like you've lost all progress you've made. First of all, it doesn't work like that and you will NOT undo the progress you've made in just a few days. Second of all, you're going to have OFF days. You're going to have days where you blow your macros, unexpectedly take a rest day from your workouts... hello, you have a life to live! This is why consistency is so critical to success and reaching your goals. Accept the fact that you'll have crappy days, but as long as you're hitting the gym and nailing your macros the majority of the time, I promise - you'll be just fine :)
MAKE "SMART" GOALS FOR YOURSELF, AND BE REALISTIC ABOUT THEM
New Years Resolutions always come to mind when I help people set goals. Why don't you hear about how people's New Years Resolutions are going in the middle of July? Because they don't stick with them. Why? Most likely because they had a goal that was either 1) unrealistic 2) unattainable or 3) they weren't clear on HOW to get to that goal.
Here are some examples of common goals: "In January, I'm going to start losing weight" "I want to lose 40 pounds in 2 months" "I want to start eating healthy"
Those 3 goals are either unrealistic, unattainable, or unclear on how to achieve that goal or a combination of those. Next time you have a goal for yourself, make it a SMART goal and make sure that goal can be applied to this model!
S - specific -->"I want to lose weight" is not a specific goal
M - measurable --> how do you plan to assess, track or evaluate this goal?
A - attainable --> Losing 40 pounds in 2 months is probably not attainable and can lead you down a path of discouragement and (probably) unhealthy habits
R - realistic --> is your goal truly realistic? Is doing a low carb diet realistic for the rest of your life? Probably not! I mean, I would certainly hope not...
T - time bound --> give yourself a start and an end date of when you want to achieve this goal. When do you want to accomplish your goal by?
FIND YOUR TRIBE AND SEEK ACCOUNTABILITY
The last tip I have to stay motivated is to find your tribe! Find a community that have similar goals to you. Odds are someone else is having the same struggles (or victories!) as you are. Find a support group that will help keep you mitigated & encourage you throughout every step of your journey! There is so much power in accountability!
Let go of needing to feel "motivated" all the time in order to reach your goals.
How to stay motivated is in the top 3 topics I talk about most often in my coaching and on my instagram because motivation seems to be the "grower or slower" of reaching our fitness goals. It either pushes us forward when we're excited and motivated, or it can stop us in our tracks and before you know it, we revert back to old habits because we're simply "not motivated."First off, I want to share that it's very common and normal to not feel motivated all the time. If you are, you're super human and I need you to tell us your deep dark secrets!But the last thing you want is to feel like you're constantly taking one step forward, two steps back just because you're not motivated enough to get your workout in....to meal prep your food...to track your meals...the list goes on. With this kind of mindset, it will feel like you're constantly chasing a goal that's forever out of reach. So how do we push past this and continue to gain that momentum forward? It comes down to behavior change more than anything. With behavior change, comes setting those proper SMART goals I mentioned earlier. If you're going to start your fitness journey (or anything else you're working towards) solely relying on motivation, odds are you will not get there. That's not to be harsh - but that's the reality. Because motivation is a feeling, sometimes even an impulse. Just like any other feeling, it comes and goes. So do we skip our workout, eat like garbage and throw our hands up on our goals because we're not motivated at that moment? Hopefully not. Learning to identify the changes in your environment, your routine, breaking down some of the barriers that are getting in the way of making those smart goals easier to attain are all things you'll want to delve deeper into as you go through the ebs and flows of motivation.
I hope this post helps remind you that you are a normal human being and everyone goes through ups and downs in life, especially with diet and exercise! It can absolutely be difficult to stay motivated in the gym. However, if you want something bad enough, you'll make it work into your awesome busy life....BUT don't forget to live it also :)