It’s 5:35 AM and your alarm is buzzing for the third time. You need to get up and workout because it’s On. Your. Schedule. You know, the one you make at the beginning of every month? You told yourself for the 100th time you were going to make this a routine. The only thing going through your mind is you need more sleep. You are way too tired to be up right now. 5 more minutes isn’t going to hurt. But you know later in the day you will get mad at yourself for skipping your morning workout…
Is this you?
How do you keep yourself motivated to workout when you just don’t want to? Or maybe you are at a plateau in your progress and you need to restart, or maybe you haven’t even started yet? Well, take it from your very own, personal, self proclaimed, fitness guru… yours truly! I have 6 tips to help you get motivated and also stay motivated!
1) MAKE A PLAN and stick to it.
Just like doctor’s appointments, your workouts should be non-negotiable. They should be a priority for your health and sanity. Everyone’s plans look different. Maybe you commit to working out 3 times per week. Or maybe you commit to working out 6 times a week. Whatever it is, put it on your calendar, and DO IT!
BONUS: When you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins. These endorphins interact with the receptors in your brain to trigger a positive feeling in the body, thus making you feel happy!
2) STOP DIETING!
It’s really simple. Cut the fad diets, eliminate processed foods and refined white sugars/flours from your diet. Organic veggies, fruits, lean meats and legumes are what you want to go for. You can ease yourself into this change by cutting your portion sizes down to start. Think about how much you would normally eat, and cut it in half.
SUGAR FACT: The American Heart Association recommends no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar PER DAY for women and no more than 9 teaspoons of sugar PER DAY for men. I can tell you right now that one carmel mocha frappe chino double espresso latte whatever has more than your allotted amount of sugar in ONE DRINK. (did that scare you a bit?)
3) STAY CONSISTENT.
Whatever changes you make, stick with it for longer then a week. This journey is a long and slow one if you do it right. Crash diets and yo-yo dieting are going to screw up your body long term. If you make a goal of exercising 3 times per week, stay with that and measure your progress after 8-10 weeks. If you aren’t seeing any changes by then, it’s time to ramp it up a bit and start exercising 5 times per week. (for example)
4) DRINK MORE WATER.
In order for your body to properly function in regular day to day activity, it’s recommended that you drink half your body weight in ounces. So if you weigh 150 lbs, drinking 75 ounces of water at a MINIMUM is your goal. When you add workouts and you sweat, drink even more to replace the water you lost through sweat.
You can use a water calculator here to check for yourself!
5) ACCOUNTABILITY:
I highly recommend you use an app (for example, joining a diet bet.com challenge), tell a friend, or discuss your goals with your spouse. You need someone or something to hold you accountable so you don’t start out strong and then bail out after a week or two.
6) REWARD YOURSELF!
Set up a little reward system for yourself when you start to meet your goals. (example below)
When you lose 5 lbs for example, go out and get a manicure. You work hard so you deserve it!
Now that you are going to implement those steps to help you get and stay motivated, share with me how these worked for you! And are there any other tips that I missed? Let me know:)
XOXO- Jenna
Great tips Jenna!! I’ve never been able to wake up early to work out – it just doesn’t work for me. BUT I can head to the gym in the morning, and that does work! I just have to MAKE myself! Because you’re right, the benefits of working out – even if it’s not to lose weight – are sooo worth it!!
I have never really been one to wake up early either, but I also don’t have a 40hr a week job that requires me to! I do enjoy having my me time- it just makes me feel awesome!
Ok I SO needed this! I just joined a Crossfit gym _yesterday_. I don’t think I’ll have a problem actually going to the workouts (it’s my only ME time, after all!), but I probably need to cut back on the ‘ol sugar intake if I want to see any sort of lasting changes… 😉 Great post, Jenna!
I had to learn the hard way about the devil we call sugar 😉 Ill have to keep you accountable and check up on you! Your welcome!
Ok. Accountability accepted. 😉
This is awesome Jenna!!!! AWESOME TIPS!
Thanks love!!!!!
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