I’m not motivated! How can I stay motivated? 

I have been working out and eating right and have lost 20 pounds, but I still have quite a bit more to lose! Probably the hardest part about losing weight is staying motivated, it can be a long hard journey to a goal and without the proper tools and mind set, many can be easily derailed! The problem with motivation is that it’s an emotion and emotions are subject to change (aren’t they ladies!?). When I talk about motivation I’m usually referring to being determined. I’m not always motivated to go to the damn gym, but it’s those days that I decide I’m determined to at least make the most out of 20 minutes in the weight room. Having said that, here is what I have found to be motivating:

Your Body Knows It’s Job. 

Every time you eat, everytime your body breaks down the food to convert into energy, every time a cell uses the things you give it, you never have to tell it how to do it’s job. The best part about losing weight is that you really don’t have to think about how you’re going to use what you feed your body, you simply have to give it the things it needs and let nature do it’s job. If you are eating under your calorie goals, burning more energy by exercising, you ARE going to lose weight. This is not a “well maybe I’m just heavier set,” or “I just can’t starve myself like models.” Your body does not work differently that those that have lost weight, you just have to stick to your plan and you ARE going to see results. 

Don’t Throw Out An Entire Day of Good Choices Over One Bad One. 

It’s going to happen, you’re going to have a donut for breakfast or not get to the gym and write off the day as a failure. Eventually it might turn into a week, maybe a month. Pretty soon a year will pass and you’ll realize that you’re still the same weight. Don’t let this happen to you! So ok… You’ve had a calorically dense breakfast, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a good lunch, a lean dinner. It doesn’t mean you can’t go to the gym that day. Sometimes we make those bad choices, that’s ok! What’s life without a little bit of fun and sprinkles? However, to lose weight all your good choices are going to have to outweigh the bad and you can’t do that if you keep putting off good choices to start off “with a clean slate.” 

Plan For Success 

Imagine making your lunch, dinner, and packing your gym bag EVERY NIGHT. Difficult, right? If you aren’t planning ahead, I can guarantee there will be a day where you will just say, “Screw this, I’m tired,” and a good diet and lifestyle can be derailed. Plan for your success by making lunch and dinner ahead of time. I make my lunches for the week on Sunday and I started making my dinners too. I know there is something done that I can just grab and eat and I know how many calories are in it.

Be Ready 

Motivation is going to come from many different places and you’re going to search for it too. Maybe it’s looking at pictures of bodies you admire, maybe it’s reading about someone who changed their life. However, the best motivation is going to come from yourself and WANTING to change. You might eventually get tired of the body you have, of being self-concious, of sweating up one flight of steps. Eventually… You are going to realize that you’ve HAD ENOUGH and the fire is going to stay with you because you’re finally ready for change. People always want to know the secret and there is no secret, there is just doing it.

Hope this helps!