 out is amazing for physical health, disease prevention and mental wellbeing. For me, it’s also the thought that I’d like to maintain the my weight loss. It’s also totally ok to think “I want to look seksi in my jeans” or “I want to blast my 5k/10k/half marathon/walk around the block time out of the water.” Write down your goals, make an inspiration board and take a second each day to think about your nutrition and fitness endeavors. Remember that goals should be realistic and measurable.
4. Surround yourself with a support team. Make sure to have at least one good friend or family member to cheer you on with your goals and you can share your success with. If not, the blogworld is an awesome resource for motivation and virtual workout buddies
5. Make a plan, but don’t worry if it ends up being plan B. Take some time at the beginning of each week to plan out your meals and workout routine. It makes it so much easier when you don’t have plan on the spot, and all you have to do is cross it off the list. Need some help? Check out my meal planning, how to create a workout plan and weight training 101 posts.
6. Have fun with it!!! Eating chicken breasts and vegetables all day and giving yourself a redundant, too-long training schedule is a quick recipe for burnout. Experiment with new classes, recipes, ingredients and make it exciting. Variety is the spice of life
Any other tips that I’m missing?? How do you stay motivated?
I’m off to get a tart pan for that raw chocolate tart and meeting a friend for Zumba!
xoxo,
Gina
52 Comments
I just try and remember that feeling of how good I feel after a workout. I start each day with a workout so if I don’t do it, I just feel icky the rest of the day!
These are great tips, Gina!! Thanks for sharing with everybody <3 I'm definitely a believer in trying new things – they'll make what bored you before seem like an old friend when you start incorporating it again. I used to run every day. Now I mix it up with elliptical workouts and I've seen improvement across the board.
New playlists really help me, too. I try to keep them current and as I like poppy music when I run I almost always know the lyrics to songs when I go clubbing with friends. #workoutbonus! ;D
For me, exercise and eating healthy are like brushing my teeth. I just have to do it. If I don’t, I feel sluggish and my self-confidence wanes. If I do, I feel like I can conquer the world…and I LOOOOOVE that feeling.
Don’t be afraid to re-try something you didn’t necessarily think was a good fit in the past. I HATED yoga when I first tried it 10 years ago, and now it is such an integral part of my life! I’m so glad I didn’t let my old feelings overshadow my desire to give it another go.
Staying motivated was hard for me for a while. I like to set goals and go for them. Thats what I’ve done my whole life and thats what works for me. I’ve always trained for sports (bball and volleyball) so athletically related goals were all I had, but now I have optimal health goals….I try to eat a piece of fruit and/or a veggie with each meal and snack….I’ve seen such great resuts 🙂 as well as staying mentally well!
Great tips — for me I just need to change it up if I need to. After a while I get burnt out on running. Then I switch to something else, and then I “miss” running and go back to it. It seems to work out that way. As long as I’m moving I’m feeling good!
With weight training or running I found that having a great book on MP3 or a new playlist on my player really helps me get back downstairs to my gym. Love the planning ahead of time tip. That really helps me. Also there are many ways to do the same thing –like intervals on the treadmill instead of steady state, or pyramids or dropsets weightlifting instead of the 3 sets of 10. It helps me to change it up. Gina –you’ve got great tips on different ways to lift -thanks!
I think doing something that you love is a big help. If you dread it then it will always be an uphill battle. I think its also important to remember that you aren’t “good” if you work out and “bad” if you don’t. You should do it because you enjoy it and it makes you feel good. If that is the case then if you slip up you will know that you are just listening to your body and will get back to it. Don’t see an off day as a fail.
Love this post! I, too, was getting bored with the weight training thing and am doing a lot more yoga these days. I also agree that you’ve got to have FUN! Life is too short to do stuff you hate.
I think having a goal or something to work toward is really helpful for me. I’m a runner and love staying active, but when I sign up for a race or decide I really want to be able to do x y and z poses well in yoga, I have something that I’m able to consistently work toward and achieve.
My best motivation is just reminding myself the reasons why being healthy and active are important to me. For everyone this is different reasons, such as, keeping up with their children, preventing a disease, or a certain look they are striving for.
Lovin’ Spoonfulls has quickly became one of my favorite places since I moved to Tucson in August. Most weekends I can be found there. In fact, on Saturday night I had that exact meal!
Thanks for this post Gina. Something i really needed to read 🙂 xx
Love the tips! I’m all about #1– I get burned-out easily, and have to change it up frequently! Lately, Physique 57 classes are keeping me motivated, but when that changes, I’ve got a whole DVD library at home to keep me interested! (a collection that my husband often gives me grief about… but it’s fun to have a selection!)
I also try to really APPRECIATE how good I feel now. Eating healthy has literally changed my whole outlook on life, and I’m a happier person because of it. I don’t want to go back to how I used to feel, so it’s good motivation to keep it up!
good tips. i just remember how A) great i’ll feel afterward and B) how not awake i’ll feel if i don’t
P.S. Your pumpkin pie looks PERFECT!! That photo should be in a cookbook! 😉
Thanks so much for this post!! I definitely find myself getting in workout and/or food ruts, so it’s always nice to see more tips on how to stay IN THE GAME, so to speak. 🙂
I need to do more switching things up, I find myself on the elliptical a lot and I know there are more fun work outs out there!
Great tips!
Because I’m focusing on weight loss I find its hard to stay motivated when the scale or measuring tape isn’t moving so I focus on the reasons behind why I do what I do. I actually have to tell myself sometimes that I feel so much better when I’m eating healthy and exercising. Mind you sometimes it takes a more concrete reminder… like having one bad meal out with the girls and feeling icky later. Sounds silly but a reminder does help.
Great tip on keeping it fresh… I find this is key for me and often when I don’t feel like working out its because I’m not excited about my workout any more. When I try something new or even get new workout gear it really helps to motivate me. Like this spring I tried tennis for the first time and was on the court non-stop for some time!
Thanks for sharing your tips! I also think it’s super important to incorporate rest days to avoid burning out. For it to be totally effective, I’ve learned that I have to be mentally ok with not working out. I’ll use the time to paint my nails or do something fun that I usually don’t have time for during my super busy weeks!
I needed this! I have no motivation right now and need to try and get back on track!
You came up with enough tips to keep anyone motivated! I loved #6: maintaining a healthy lifestyle should be FUN. For too many years I followed structured workout plans and consumed unenjoyable meals made up of bland proteins and rationed fruits and veggies. How exciting it has been to realize that I can be healthy and happy while eating all the good eats I want and experimenting with fun and different modes of exercise.
Key, critical, mucho importante for me is making it fun!
Without a bit of fun, fabulous music or changing it up- staying motivated never lasts.
Awesome tips!
I agree on all of these! I also find that reassessing your goals once in a while to find out if you really, truly want them is also a good thing to do. Sometimes I see things that have been on my list for AAAAGES that I’ve been putting off – then when I really think about them, they’re not so important to me any more. What IS important though is health, so