Well hey my friends!
I’ve been thinking about motivation, discipline and consistency lately. I know all of these things are key in order to have any success with health and fitness…or really any goal in life.
I also gotta say that I’ve been strugglin’ a little this past month! I find myself doing well for a few days and then I just kind of lose my ooph and end up eating a little crappy and consequently feeling a little crappy and then I don’t sleep as well and then my workouts seem daunting….and on and on. It becomes a downhill spiral!
On the flip-side, I KNOW that when I get things turned around and when I get a positive thing going, it becomes much easier to stick with my goals! When I eat well, my body obviously feels and functions much better! I sleep much better, have more energy and my workouts feel awesome. I also notice positive changes in my digestion, skin, hair, mood…pretty much my whole life.
I always remind myself that when I’m doing well, feeling well and have a good thing goin’……STAY THERE! I need to remember that it took work to get to that spot and I need to protect my progress, good health and results!
Anyway, with that being said. I was thinking today about all the things that help me to get my mojo back when I’m in a rut. Oh, and by the way, being in a rut is a normal part of life. Don’t beat yourself up, think you’re a failure or think you can’t change your life. You CAN! The key is to never give up and never stop trying!
Soooo, here are five things that always help me to find my motivation and get my mojo back!
#1. Remember Your Why!
Sometimes we can get so caught up with losing weight, the number on the scale, how we fit in our clothes, all the yummy food we’re trying not to eat, etc. etc. etc. and it can make us feel overwhelmed and burned out.
I think it’s so important to take a step back, take a long, hard, objective look at our lives, and remember WHY we want to be healthy, WHY we want to make the effort, WHY we want to lose weight and WHY it is worth the effort and sacrifice!
In case you’re wondering, here are some of MY WHYs!
- Set a good example for my kids
- Be at a healthy weight so my body can function optimally and I can avoid a lot of diseases (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, etc.)
- I want to age gracefully and stay mobile and be active as I age!
- I want to feel attractive and comfortable in my own skin! (side note: true self esteem and confidence needs to come from the inside, however, having a healthy, trim, capable body is a HUGE factor in boosting that confidence level too!)
- I feel a need to stay healthy and attractive for my husband too. That may sound weird, but it’s important!
- When I strive to live a healthy lifestyle, my ENTIRE life is blessed. I have more energy, I’m happier, I’m more motivated and productive, the stresses of life are easier to handle, I sleep better, I just FEEL better!
I have more WHYS, but those are the ones I can think of for now. I think it’s important to actually WRITE DOWN your WHYS and then look over the list whenever you need a reminder as to why you’re doing all that you do!
#2. Have a Positive Mindset!
I think it’s so easy to get overwhelmed and frustrated with healthy living at times. It’s helpful and necessary to remind yourself that you are not a victim! Healthy living is a choice and a blessing. Yes, it’s hard, but you can do it!
Instead of thinking of all of the foods you’re trying to avoid, think about all the foods you can and should have that will fuel your body! Instead of dreading your workouts, remind yourself that you’re lucky to have a strong, capable body.
It’s also soooooo important to avoid thoughts like:
- Nothing ever works for me
- When I eat well, I don’t notice a difference, so I might as well just eat what I want!
- Life is too short to restrict myself
- I’d rather be fat and happy
- I just have bad genes, so it won’t make a difference
- I’m a failure and never stick with anything, so I might as well not even try.
You get my point.
This way of thinking is toxic and will get you nowhere! If you allow thoughts like that to exist in your brain, you are guaranteed to be frustrated and never reach your goals!
Again, remind yourself that you are NOT a victim! Healthy living can play a huge positive roll in your life and help you to feel and look better than you ever thought you could!
#3. Take Progress Pictures and/or find Inspiring Pictures
“Before” pictures can be depressing, embarrassing and stressful, but they are very effective! I think it’s so important to get a clear picture of where you’re at! It can help you to be honest with yourself about the changes you need to make and it can serve as a huge source of motivation.
“After” pictures are obviously so motivating! It can be hard to see progress in the mirror or even on the scale, but pictures SHOW the progress! I’ve been amazed many times by how much difference 5 or 10 pounds makes!
I’m so grateful for ALL of the “before” and “after” pictures I’ve taken over the years. They’ve helped me to remember how far I’ve come, helped to remind me not to go back there and helped to motivate me to keep trying or to try again!
If you haven’t ever taken any official progress pictures, see if you can find any pictures that can serve as a motivation to you. Find pictures where you feel trim, fit and strong and then hang them up somewhere as a reminder to you!
I do feel a need to mention that if those “motivational pictures” were taken at a time when you weren’t necessarily living a healthy or sustainable lifestyle, it might be better NOT to use those pictures.
What I mean, is that if you’ve lost weight in the past by severely undereating or over-restricting or developed any type of eating disorder, DO NOT use pictures from that time as motivation!
It may end up messing with your brain and cause you to think you have to fall back into those unhealthy practices to lose weight. I’m here to tell you that you CAN lose weight, LOOK amazing and FEEL amazing without feeling miserable in the process. You can find a healthy lifestyle you can live with for the long haul that will give you the results you’re looking for!
#4. Write down your goals and find a way to measure them.
There have been SO MANY times in my life when I know I need to shape up, eat better, take better care of my body and lose a little weight. There have also been so many times when I just tell myself, “Okay, you’re gonna hit it hard, eat well, cut out the crap, get your workouts in and get your sleep!”
I always mean well and feel motivated, but more often then not I just end up being frustrated that I can’t stick to my goals and improve my situation.
Willpower, is awesome, but it can’t be relied on. Sometimes it’s there and sometimes it’s just not. That’s why we need to focus on identifying our goals, physically writing them down and then holding ourselves accountable! This process helps us to develop life skills and habits which are way more practical, effective and reliable than just willpower!
I like to get a cute notebook, write my goals down (you can also write your “WHYS” down in this notebook to reflect on) and then review them every night before I go to bed to see how I’m doing! It really is motivating to see a trend starting and it makes me want to keep going and not quit!
I’ve also tried a few apps to help me keep track of my goals, but I haven’t found one I love. If any of you have an app you love that helps you to keep track of your goals, please let me know!
BTW, I love My Fitness Pal, but I’ve just gotten sick of tracking every single thing I eat, so I really don’t use it too often anymore. I still think it’s a fabulous teaching tool and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is just getting started with health and fitness or who wants to learn about calories and the nutritional makeup of food. It really is helpful!
However, IMO, it’s not a lifestyle. I may still use it from time to time to regain my motivation or hold myself a little more accountable, BUT it can be a pain in the beehind and very tedious. I DO NOT want to live that way, so I always just strive to do the best I can by staying mindful, accountable and loosely tracking calories and macros in my head (I always overestimate and/or round up.)
I’ve done this stuff for years and have a very good understanding of what’s in the food I eat. For me it’s more of just staying mindful and paying attention to what I’m putting in my body and not so much the tracking of every little thing. I’ve had great success with this process.
#5. Get rid of crappy food and then fill your home with good food!
This is kind of a no brainer, BUT you will eat whatever is in your home. If you have foods in your home that will call your name and tempt you to stray from your goals, get it outta your house!
I’m talkin’ ’bout chocolate chips, bags of potato chips, candy, cookies….whatever is hard for you to resist or have a reasonable amount of. For example, when I’m seriously trying to improve my health or lose weight, I always cut waaaay back on sugar.
I’ve had many people tell me that’s not a good idea because “everything in moderation,” but I’m here to tell you it is magical for me!
To each his own!
It’s so important to figure out what works for you and to identify the things you know are holding you back! AND THEN, go forward and do those things!
I don’t cut sugar out forever, but I do like to cut it out for about a month or so from time to time (I’ve gone longer a few times too) in an effort to heal my body, lessen my cravings and just get that addiction out of my body!
When I cut out sugar (I’m just talkin’ about the obvious forms of sugar; treats, candy, cookies, chocolate chips, etc.) it’s really hard for about a week or two, BUT then it gets significantly easier and I always feel so good! It’s always a HUGE reminder to me that I need to control my sugar intake!
THEN, after about a month of cutting it out, I start to just not want it anymore. It’s so easy for me to resist it or just have a little bit. It’s awesome. Once I get to that point, I always strive to “stay there” for as long as I can! THEN, if find myself becoming addicted to it again or just having too much of it in my life….I cut it out again!
I love sugar and I love my favorite treats and I’m not willing to cut them out of my life altogether, so I just try to keep myself in check, listen to my body, be honest with myself and then do what I gotta do to have a healthy relationship with it.
This works for me!
On the flip-side, when I’m making an extra effort to eat well, I try to fill my home full of good foods and focus on all of the healthy, yummy food I can and should eat!
An added bonus is when I cut out all the crappy food, I start to crave the healthy stuff! It tastes so much better to me and the cruddy stuff just makes me feel sick. I’m always amazed as I go through this cycle and witness it for myself…again and again.
I also feel a need to say that some would question why I’d ever eat the cruddy stuff when I know it makes me feel sick and isn’t good for me?? Well, I’m human and I love junk food too! Ha ha! I always want to have some of my favorite junk food in my life from time to time…..so I just gotta keep myself in check and do my best to balance it in my life!
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Well there ya go, these are some of my top tips that always help me to get motivated and get my mojo back! There are SO MANY other things you can do as well like;
- Sharing your goals with a loved one or on social media
- Finding a friend or friends to do it with you! There is strength in numbers!
- Meal prepping (cooking healthy meals that can be used over several days)
- Having 5-6 very quick and easy meals that you can whip up anytime. Always have the ingredients on hand and make these meals when you don’t know what to eat!
- Find a form of exercise you love or at least don’t hate.
- Get adequate sleep! If you are sleep deprived, you will not succeed at your goals and you will feel awful. Trust me, I am a believer!
Well I hope these tips have helped you to feel motivated! Always remember that life is a journey. Unless you are super human, you will always have times when you’re more motivated and doing better and times when you’re just not. This process will continue to happen again and again and it’s okay!
It’s a’ight. Don’t sweat it. Just keep on seeking that motivation and trying to live in a way where you can feel your best!
I hope you all have a great weekend!!
I love this Melanie! I needed this this week! I love the DQS app. I feel like it is WAY easier to track and it helps me see what I can and should eat instead of what I can’t.
Thanks so much Angie!! It’s a never ending battle, right?? I need to check out that DQS app! ❤️