One of the hardest things to do when deciding to work out and get healthy is staying motivated. There are days when I just don't wanna! I am tired, busy, have other things to do that sound like more fun....ect., ect,. ect,. I tell you, it is a change in your mind set. I have put my work outs on my calendar as something I have to do. If I have an appointment with someone else, I won't miss it or just blow it off, so treat I workouts the same way. It is an appointment with myself. I make it a priority, not just something I'll do if I have time. Once I got in the habit, I miss it when it's not a part of my day. For the longest time I would look at Pinterest and see all of these great recipes and pictures of great workouts and motivation and say, "Tomorrow I am going to start" only to be sitting in my bed the next night thinking, I should have started eating better today and I should have worked out while I had the chance.
So, in January, I made a New Year's Resolution to say "tomorrow" no more and I haven't looked back.
There have been days that haven't gone according to plan, but I have
done my very best. I plan at the beginning of the week for meals and
snacks and schedule my workouts according to what I have going on that day. It helps so much to have it written out and planned for. I can just look at my fridge or my phone and know what snack to pack or what I need to pull out for dinner. It really has been a life saver to do all of my thinking at the beginning of the week so that I don't have to think about it when I am in the busyness of the day.
These little things that I consistently do everyday and every week have helped me to stay motivated to do the right thing. I know for a fact that when I don't plan my meals and have healthy things in the fridge, I will be more likely to make a bad choice. It is the same with my workouts. If I don't have a set time to workout, it is more likely that I will put it off until something comes up and I just end up not doing it at all. With that being said, I have to admit that I am not a morning person. It is a wise idea to workout first thing in the morning, but I take some time to get my engine going in the morning. I need to shuffle around, have some coffee and slowly ease into my day. I cannot hop out of bed and start jumping around, it just doesn't work. I know this, so I schedule my workouts for about and hour after I get up. In doing this, I am not setting myself up for failure and say, "well, I didn't do my workout before breakfast, so I just won't get it done today." I also find that setting goals for myself is a great motivator. I work at it 30 days at a time. So, each month I set a goal to get these workouts in and put them in my calendar. Then I say, "At the end of this 30 days of workouts, I am going to....buy new work out clothes, get a pair of jeans, get a pedicure, or new jammies." It works for me to have something to look forward to, along with the satisfaction of completing my workouts and seeing my measurements go down.
Staying motivated is something that is different for everyone. We all have things that keep us on track. I too need accountability, challenge groups are a great way to start. It helps for me to have someone looking to see if I worked out and giving me new "assignments" each day and sometimes it is the cheerleading that I seek the most. All I know is that it all works together to get me going each day and keeps me on track.
What is it that you seek the most when needing motivation? A challenge group may be just what you've been looking for. My next one starts on June 23. I can be your cheerleader and help you figure out menus and get you going on those workouts. Nothing feels better than laying your head down at night knowing you did everything you needed to do.
If you would like to be a part of my next challenge group, message me or comment for more information.
Dawn Stern
Independent Team Beachbody Coach
http://www.teambeachbody.com/dawnstern
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